Skill Checks in 5e: Full Guide
A skill check in 5e is an ability check tied to a specific skill, such as Perception or Stealth. You roll a d20, add the skill's ability modifier, and add your proficiency bonus if you are proficient in that skill. If the total meets or beats the DC the DM sets, usually 10, 15 or 20, you succeed.
How do skill checks work in 5e?
A skill check is an ability check where a particular skill applies. When your character tries something with an uncertain outcome, like climbing a cliff, spotting an ambush or talking past a guard, the DM names the skill and sets a Difficulty Class (DC).
- Roll a d20. The d20 roller works fine, with your bonus typed into the bonus box.
- Add the modifier of the ability linked to the skill.
- Add your proficiency bonus if you are proficient in the skill (double it if you have expertise).
- Compare the total with the DC. Equal or higher succeeds.
The DM should only call for a roll when failure is possible and interesting. Opening an unlocked door needs no check.
What are the 18 skills in 5e and which ability do they use?
The list of skills and their default abilities is the same in the 2014 and 2024 rules. Constitution has no skills.
| Skill | Ability | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | Strength | Climbing, jumping, swimming, grappling |
| Acrobatics | Dexterity | Keeping your balance, tumbling, escaping a hold |
| Sleight of Hand | Dexterity | Picking pockets, palming objects |
| Stealth | Dexterity | Sneaking and hiding |
| Arcana | Intelligence | Recalling lore about magic and planes |
| History | Intelligence | Recalling past events, kingdoms and people |
| Investigation | Intelligence | Searching for clues and working out how things fit together |
| Nature | Intelligence | Recalling lore about terrain, plants and animals |
| Religion | Intelligence | Recalling lore about gods, rites and cults |
| Animal Handling | Wisdom | Calming or controlling animals |
| Insight | Wisdom | Reading someone's intentions or spotting a lie |
| Medicine | Wisdom | Stabilizing the dying, diagnosing illness |
| Perception | Wisdom | Noticing things with your senses |
| Survival | Wisdom | Tracking, foraging, finding your way |
| Deception | Charisma | Lying convincingly |
| Intimidation | Charisma | Threatening or pressuring someone |
| Performance | Charisma | Entertaining an audience |
| Persuasion | Charisma | Convincing someone honestly |
The DM can pair a skill with a different ability when it makes sense, such as Strength with Intimidation when you lift a thug off the ground. Your ability modifiers are explained in ability scores in 5e.
What DC should a skill check be?
The rules give a simple scale. Most checks in play are DC 10, 15 or 20.
| Task difficulty | DC | Chance at +0 | Chance at +5 | Chance at +8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very easy | 5 | 80% | 100% | 100% |
| Easy | 10 | 55% | 80% | 95% |
| Medium | 15 | 30% | 55% | 70% |
| Hard | 20 | 5% | 30% | 45% |
| Very hard | 25 | 0% | 5% | 20% |
| Nearly impossible | 30 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The chances assume a single roll with no advantage. A +5 is typical for a level 1 character proficient in a skill with a 16 in its ability. A +8 is roughly what a level 5 character with expertise in that skill might have. Notice that DC 30 is out of reach for anyone below +10.
Is a natural 20 an automatic success on a skill check?
No. In both the 2014 and 2024 rules, natural 20s and natural 1s only have special effects on attack rolls. A skill check is just the total against the DC, though many tables play nat 20s as a great outcome when the total is close.
How do proficiency and expertise work for skills?
- Proficiency: you add your proficiency bonus (+2 at level 1, up to +6 at level 17) to checks with that skill. Your class, background and sometimes species or feats grant skill proficiencies. See proficiency bonus by level.
- Expertise: you add double your proficiency bonus. Rogues and Bards get it in both rule sets; in the 2024 rules, Rangers and some other classes and feats grant it as well. Expertise only applies to a skill you are already proficient in.
- Jack of All Trades: a Bard feature that adds half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to ability checks that don't already include it.
Your proficiency bonus is only ever added once to a roll, even if two features would each grant it. Tool proficiencies, such as thieves' tools or a herbalism kit, work the same way as skills: if you are proficient with the tool you're using, add your proficiency bonus to the check.
What is a passive check in 5e?
A passive check is a fixed score the DM uses without anyone rolling. It represents the average result of a task you do over and over, or lets the DM check something secretly.
Passive score: 10 + all modifiers that would normally apply to the check. Add 5 if you'd have advantage, subtract 5 if you'd have disadvantage.
Passive Perception is the most common. A Ranger with +5 Perception has a passive Perception of 15, so a monster hiding with a Stealth total of 14 is spotted automatically, while a total of 16 slips past. Passive Insight and Investigation work the same way when your DM uses them.
How do group checks and contests work?
Group checks
When the whole party attempts something together, like sneaking through a camp or crossing a swamp, everyone rolls the same check. If at least half the group succeeds, the whole group succeeds. This lets a skilled character carry a clumsy one without the worst roller automatically ruining the plan.
Contests
When two creatures directly oppose each other, both make a check and the higher total wins. Examples include a Stealth check against someone's Perception, or two characters grabbing the same object. On a tie, the situation stays as it was before the contest.
One change worth knowing: in the 2014 rules, grappling and shoving use a contest (your Athletics against the target's Athletics or Acrobatics). In the 2024 rules, the target instead makes a Strength or Dexterity saving throw against a DC based on your Strength and proficiency bonus. See grappling in 5e for details.
Helping
A character who takes the Help action to assist with a task gives the next check advantage. Advantage is worth about as much as a +5 bonus when you need around 11 on the die, and less when you need a very low or very high roll; the advantage guide has the exact odds.
FAQ
How many skills are there in 5e?
There are 18 skills. Strength has one, Dexterity has three, Intelligence has five, Wisdom has five and Charisma has four. Constitution has none.
What is a passive skill check in 5e?
A passive check is a score used when nobody rolls: 10 plus all the modifiers that would normally apply to the check. Advantage adds 5 and disadvantage subtracts 5.
What is expertise in 5e?
Expertise doubles your proficiency bonus for a chosen skill. Rogues and Bards get it in both rule sets, and in the 2024 rules Rangers do too.
Is a natural 20 on a skill check an automatic success?
No. In both the 2014 and 2024 rules, a natural 20 only has special effects on attack rolls. On a skill check, the total still has to reach the DC.
What DC should a DM use for a skill check?
Use 10 for easy tasks, 15 for medium ones and 20 for hard ones. Reserve 25 and 30 for feats that only experts or legends can pull off, and don't ask for a roll at all if the task can't fail.
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Contains content from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.