Proficiency
Characters and monster are good at various things. Some are skilled with many weapons, while others can only use a few. Some are better at understanding people motives, and other ate better at understanding the secrets of the world. All creatures have a Proficiency Bonus, which reflects the impact that training has on the creature's capabilities. A character's Proficiency Bonus increases as the character gains levels. A monster Proficiency Bonus is based on its Challenge Rating (CR). The Proficiency Bonus table shows how the bonus is determined,
This bonus is applied to a D20 Test when the creature has proficiency in a skill, in a Saving Throw, or a with an item that the creature uses to make the D20 Test. The Bonus is also used for spell attacks and for calculationg the DC of saving throws spells.
Proficiency Bonus
| Level or CR | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Up to 4 | +2 |
| 5-8 | +3 |
| 9-12 | +4 |
| 13-16 | +5 |
| Level or CR | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 17-20 | +6 |
| 21-24 | +7 |
| 25-28 | +8 |
| 29-30 | +9 |
The Bonus Doesn't Stack
Your Proficiency Bonus can't be added to a die roll or another number more than once. For example. if a rule allows you to make a Charisma (Deception or Persuassion) check, you add Proficiency Bonus if you're proficient in either skill, but you don't add it twice if you're proficient in both skills.
Occasionally, a Proficiency Bonus might be multiplied or divided before being added. For example, the Expertise feature doubles the Proficiency Bonus for a certain ability checks. Whenever the bonus is used, it can be multiplied onlt once and diviced onle once.
Skill Proficiencies
Most ability checks involve using a skill, which represents a category of things creatures try to do with an ability check. The descriptions of the actions you take specify which skill applies if you make an ability check for that action, and many other rules note when a skill is relevant. The DM has the ultimate say on whether a skill is relevant in a situation.
If a creature is proficient in a skill, the creature applies its Proficiency Bonus to ability checks involving that skill. Without proficiency in a skill, a creature can still make ability checks involving that skill but doesn't add its Proficiency Bonus. For example, if a character tries to climb a cliff, the DM might ask for a Strength (Athletics) check. If the character has Athletics proficiency, the character adds their Proficiency Bonus to the Strength check. If the character lacks that proficiency, they make the check without adding their Proficiency Bonus.
Skill List
The skills are shown on the Skills table, which notes example uses for each skill proficiency as well as the ability check the skill most often applies to.
Skills
| Skill | Ability | Example Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | Strength | Jump farther than normal, stay afloat in rough water, or break something. |
| Acrobatics | Dexterity | Stay on your feet in a tricky situation, or perform an acrobatic stunt. |
| Sleight of Hand | Dexterity | Pick a pocket, conceal a handheld object, or perform legerdemain. |
| Stealth | Dexterity | Escape notice by moving quietly and hiding behind things. |
| Arcana | Intelligence | Recall lore about spells, magic items, and the planes of existence. |
| History | Intelligence | Recall lore about historical events, people, nations, and cultures. |
| Investigation | Intelligence | Find obscure information in books, or deduce how something works. |
| Nature | Intelligence | Recall lore about terrain, plants, animals, and weather. |
| Religion | Intelligence | Recall lore about gods, religious rituals, and holy symbols. |
| Animal Handling | Wisdom | Calm or train an animal, or get an animal to behave in a certain way. |
| Insight | Wisdom | Discern a person's mood and intentions. |
| Medicine | Wisdom | Diagnose an illness, or determine what killed the recently slain. |
| Perception | Wisdom | Using a combination of senses, notice something that's easy to miss. |
| Survival | Wisdom | Follow tracks, forage, find a trail, or avoid natural hazards. |
| Deception | Charisma | Tell a convincing lie, or wear a disguise convincingly. |
| Intimidation | Charisma | Awe or threaten someone into doing what you want. |
| Performance | Charisma | Act, tell a story, perform music, or dance. |
| Persuasion | Charisma | Honestly and graciously convince someone of something. |
Constitution Ability Check
Constitution checks are uncommon, and no skills apply to Constitution checks, because the endurance this ability represents is largely passive rather than involving a specific effort on the part of a character or monster.
Saving Throw Proficiency
Proficiency in a saving throw lets a character to add their Proficiency Bonus to saves that use a particular ability. For example, proficiency with Wisdom saves lets you add your Proficiency Bonus to your Wisdom save. Some monsters also have saving throw proficiencies in their stat blocks
Each class gives proficiency in at least two saving throws, representing that class's training in evading or resisting certain threats. Wizards, for example, are proficient in Intelligence and Wisdom saves; they train to resist mental assault.
Equipment Proficiency
A character gains proficiency with various weapons and tools from their class and background. There are to categories of equipment proficiency:
Weapon Anyone can wield a weapon, but prodiciency makes you better at wielding it. If you have proficiency with a weapon, you add your Proficiency Bonus to Attack Rolls made with it.
Tools If you have proficiency with a tool, you can add your Proficiency Bonus to any Ability Check you make that uses the tool. If you have Proficiency in the skill that's also used with that check, you have Advantage on the check too. This means tou can benefit from both skill proficiency and tool proficiency on the same ability check.