The skill system in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons says only a little about what each skill can do, certainly when compared to previous editions. 3.5E, for instance, was very detailed about what skills covered.

However, with that lack of definition comes freedom – and confusion. Especially when one player moves to a different group and discovers that the skill does not do what they expect!

I have recently posted on Twitter about how you could combine some skills– I considered the potential of combining Nature and Survival, and also Perception and Investigation.

However, this also made me consider other aspects of skills in the game.

Alternative Ability Scores

Designers and Dungeon Masters are exploring the potential of using other ability scores than the primary with a skill. One of the common ones I hear is using Charisma with the Investigation skill to represent the gathering of rumours and information from townsfolk. It is an excellent extension of the possibilities of the discipline.

However, this makes me wonder if we could extend more skills in such a manner. It is the reason I consider combining Survival and Nature. Consider the potential of a Wilderness Lore skill that allows checks using Intelligence to represent knowing things about the wilderness, and Wisdom to deal with its more survival-based elements.

Some have suggested a Physical Training skill that encompasses both Athletics and Acrobatics. I am less sanguine about this. I think this consolidates too much into one area, especially as there are significant differences between the training of various athletes. Someone good at swimming is unlikely to be trained in a high-wire act.

Of course, exactly how many skills you have is a matter of taste!

Overlapping Skills

Another technique I am considering is allowing skills to overlap in effect. This method may be assumed by the system already but let us make it explicit.

Does it break the system to allow someone trained in Acrobatics to climb a wall? Probably not – and it helps with those rogues who think Acrobatics should be more useful than it generally is. However, perhaps we could combine it with Strength – so you can use either your Acrobatics or Athletics proficiency to climb a wall, but in both cases, you use your Strength modifier.

Overlapping usages also can apply to both Survival and Nature. There is a good rationale for splitting the skills, with Nature representing better training in the identification of unusual natural phenomena while Survival is more the techniques in the wilderness. However, an Intelligence (Survival) check may be needed to identify an uncommon plant. I remain unsure if this is a good idea.

Where is Streetwise?

The one skill I very much wish still existed in the game is Streetwise. You can approximate it with History and Investigation skills. Still, the lack feels like a hole in the game, especially as urban adventuring is a significant part of many campaigns.

Streetwise is an example of a skill that we can use with three different ability scores:

• Charisma to talk to townsfolk to gather rumours and discover clues
• Intelligence to know the history of the settlement and notable personages in town
• Wisdom to navigate effectively throughout the streets

All of this is a more advanced treatment of skills than was probably desired in the base fifth edition game, but now, six years in, we can customise the game to fit our tastes more!