Skill Variants

Source: Dungeon Master’s Guide p. 263

A skill dictates the circumstances under which a character can add his or her proficiency bonus to an ability check. Skills define those circumstances by referring to different aspects of the six ability scores. For example, Acrobatics and Stealth are two different aspects of Dexterity, and a character can specialize in either or both.

You can dispense with skills and use one of the following variants. Choose whichever one best suits your campaign.

Ability Check Proficiency

With this variant rule, characters don’t have skill proficiencies. Instead, each character has proficiency in two abilities: one tied to the character’s class and one tied to the character’s background. The Ability Proficiencies by Class table suggests a proficiency for each class, and you choose which ability is tied to a given background. Starting at 1st level, a character adds his or her proficiency bonus to any ability check tied to one or the other of these two abilities.

The Expertise feature works differently than normal under this rule. At 1st level, instead of choosing two skill proficiencies, a character with the Expertise class feature chooses one of the abilities in which he or she has proficiency. Selecting an ability counts as two of the character’s Expertise choices. If the character would gain an additional skill proficiency, that character instead selects another ability check in which to gain proficiency.

This option removes skills from the game and doesn’t allow for much distinction among characters. For example, a character can’t choose to emphasize persuasion or intimidation; he or she is equally adept at both.

Background Proficiency

With this variant rule, characters don’t have skill or tool proficiencies. Anything that would grant the character a skill or tool proficiency provides no benefit. Instead, a character can add his or her proficiency bonus to any ability check to which the character’s prior training and experience (reflected in the character’s background) reasonably applies. The DM is the ultimate judge of whether the character’s background applies.

For example, the player of a character with the noble background could reasonably argue that the proficiency bonus should apply to a Charisma check the character makes to secure an audience with the king. The player should be encouraged to explain in specific terms how the character’s background applies. Not simply “I’m a noble,” but “I spent three years before starting my adventuring career serving as my family’s ambassador to the court, and this sort of thing is second nature to me now.”

This simple system relies heavily on players developing their characters’ histories. Don’t let it result in endless debates about whether a character’s proficiency bonus applies in a given situation. Unless a player’s attempt to explain the relevance of the character’s background makes everyone else at the table roll their eyes at its absurdity, go ahead and reward the player for making the effort.

If a character has the Expertise feature, instead of choosing skills and tools to gain the benefit of that feature, the player defines aspects of his or her background to which the benefit applies. Continuing the noble example, the player might decide to apply Expertise to “situations where courtly manners and etiquette are paramount” and “figuring out the secret plots that court members hatch against one another.”

Personality Trait Proficiency

With this variant rule, characters don’t have skill proficiencies. Instead, a character can add his or her proficiency bonus to any ability check directly related to the character’s positive personality traits. For example, a character with a positive personality trait of “I never have a plan, but I’m great at making things up as I go along” might apply the bonus when engaging in some off-the-cuff deception to get out of a tight spot. A player should come up with at least four positive personality traits when creating a character.

When a character’s negative personality trait directly impacts an ability check, the character has disadvantage on the check. For example, a hermit whose negative trait is “I often get lost in my own thoughts and contemplation, oblivious to my surroundings” might have disadvantage on an ability check made to notice creatures sneaking up.

If a character has the Expertise feature, the player can apply its benefit to personality traits related to ability checks, instead of to skills or tools. If a character would gain a new skill or tool proficiency, the character instead gains a new positive personality trait.

This system relies heavily on players developing their characters’ personalities. Make sure that different characters’ traits—positive and negative—come into play with about the same frequency. Don’t let a player get away with a positive trait that always seems to apply and a negative trait that never does.

At your discretion, you can also tie a character’s ideals, bonds, and flaws to this system.