INSIGHT (WISDOM)

The Insight skill is used to discern intent and decipher body language during social interactions. Characters use the skill to comprehend motives, to read between the lines, to get a sense of moods and attitudes, and to determine how truthful someone is being. (Monsters rarely use Insight.)

Insight is used to oppose Bluff checks and as the social counterpart to the Perception skill. The skill can also be used to gain clues, to figure out how well a social situation is going, and to determine if someone is under the influence of an outside force.

When a creature uses Insight, it is making a best guess about another creature’s motives and truthfulness. Insight is not an exact science or a supernatural power; it represents the ability to get a sense of how a person is behaving.

Action: Minor action. No action is required when opposing a Bluff check. The creature needs some amount of interaction with a target to interpret its words or behavior.

DC: See the Insight table, except when countering a Bluff check, which is an opposed check.

Success: The creature counters a Bluff check, gains a clue about a social situation, or senses an outside influence on someone.

Failure: The creature can’t try again until circumstances change.

Task Insight DC

Sense motives or attitude Moderate DC of the target's level

Sense outside influence Hard DC of the effect's level

Read the mood of a crowd (easy DC)

Discern who among a cagey group is the leader (moderate DC)

Interpret enemies’ hand signs (hard DC)

Recognize a creature as illusory (moderate DC of the effect’s level)

NATURE (WISDOM)

The Nature skill encompasses knowledge and skills related to nature, including finding ways through wilderness, recognizing natural hazards, dealing with and identifying natural creatures, and living off the land.

Training in this skill represents formalized study or extensive experience. Those that have training in the skill are likely to know esoteric information in the field of study.

NATURE KNOWLEDGE

Make a Nature check to recall a relevant piece of lore about the natural world—terrain, climate, weather, plants, or seasons—or to recognize a nature-related clue (see “Knowledge Checks").

Examples of Nature knowledge include determining cardinal directions or finding a path (easy DC), recognizing a dangerous plant or another natural hazard (moderate DC), or predicting a coming change in the weather (moderate DC).

MONSTER KNOWLEDGE

Make a Nature check to identify a creature that has the natural origin (see “Monster Knowledge Checks”).

FORAGE

Make a Nature check to locate and gather food and water in the wilderness.

Action: The check takes 1 hour of effort.

DC: DC 15 to find food and water for one person, or DC 25 for up to five people. The DM might adjust the DC in different environments: 5 lower in a cultivated environment or 5 higher in a barren one.

Success: The creature finds enough food and water for 24 hours.

Failure: The creature finds no food or water. The creature must wait 24 hours to try again in the same area.

CALM ANIMAL

Make a Nature check to calm a natural beast. For instance, a character might use this check to get a wild horse to let him or her ride it.

Action: Standard action.

DC: Hard DC of the beast’s level. The check fails automatically against a beast that the character’s group is fighting.

Success: The beast is calmed.

TRAIN ANIMAL

Make a Nature check to teach a natural beast a simple trick (come, fetch, heel, stay, and so forth). This use of the skill is usually part of a skill challenge, which might take much longer than an encounter to complete.

Camouflage a trap or some other construction in a natural setting (opposed by Perception)

Build a shelter that provides some protection against harsh weather (moderate DC)

Skills

The Following are the skills outlined in D&D as they are written in the Rules Compendium. When you want to use a skill to complete a task, you must role a skill check. This is a 1d20, plus any modifiers you have, campared to the skill’s Difficulty Class, DC for short. Here are the following DC’s that are most commonly used.

Easy:

The action involved isn’t trivial but is still pretty simple. These are the simplest checks and should represent a reasonable challenge for characters that have no training in the skill (an untrained character). An untrained character is typically adding half his level to the skill and probably doesn’t have an ability score that helps him out. He might get another +1 by Epic tier, since all his ability modifiers have increased by 21st level. Trained characters have little risk of failure, and expert characters are nearly guaranteed success. These are the DCs that we suggest DMs should use when every character in the party is expec

ted to make the check or for group checks (where half the PCs must succeed on the roll to earn a success for the group).

Moderate:

A moderate check requires a bit of training or innate ability, or a bit of luck. These checks are aimed at skilled characters who have training in the skill, though there are other options for getting a similar skill modifier, such as having a high ability score (18+) in the skill’s key ability or combining a r

acial bonus and a moderate (14+) ability score. These DCs scale a little faster than easy DCs, which accounts for ability score increases or adding a feat or path feature if the key ability isn’t your primary or secondary class stat. These DCs are the standard difficulty for a skill check in a skill challenge.

Hard:

These checks are designed to test characters who are even more focused on the particular skill, though there might still be some chance of failure even for these expert characters. Without additional assistance (such as a power bonus or another character’s aid), the expert PC will succeed against these DCs around two out of three times. The expert PC typically has training in the skill, and his or her primary ability score is the skill’s key ability (or secondary ability score along with a skill focus feat or racial bonus). As the character increases in level, we expect feat and item selection to provide an extra boost along the way, as well as ability score increases. This DC is a good choice to really challenge a focused PC, though it’s also a good DC to use for repeated successes with a single skill in a skill challenge (once the first, moderate attempt is successful).

Skill List Links

Acrobatics

Arcana

Athletics

Bluff

Diplomacy

Dungeoneering

Endurance

Heal

History

Insight

Intimidate

Nature

Perception

Religion

Stealth

Streetwise

Thievery

ACROBATICS (DEXTERITY)

*Armor Check Penalty

Creatures typically use the Acrobatics skill to maintain their balance while walking on narrow or unstable surfaces, to slip free of a grab or restraints, and to take less damage from a fall.

Moving across a surface that is slippery doesn’t usually require an Acrobatics check; that surface is instead treated as difficult terrain. If a surface is extremely slippery, the DM might require an Acrobatics check to cross it.

BALANCE

Make an Acrobatics check to be able to move across a surface less than 1 foot wide (such as a ledge or a tightrope) or across an unstable surface (such as a wind-tossed rope bridge or a rocking log).

Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature’s actions that involve the creature moving.

DC: See the table.

Success: The creature can move on the surface for the rest of the action,using squares of movement from the action. The creature must spend 1 extra square of movement for each square it enters on the surface. While on the surface, the creature grants combat advantage and might fall if it takes damage (see below).

Failure by 4 or Less: The creature can’t move any farther on the surface as part of the current action, but it doesn’t fall.

Failure by 5 or More: If the creature is on a narrow surface, the creature falls off it. If the creature is trying to move across an unstable surface that isn’t narrow, it instead falls prone. Either way, the creature can’t move any farther as part of the current action.

Taking Damage While Balancing

While on a narrow or unstable surface, a creature must make a new Acrobatics check whenever it takes any damage.

Action: Free action. The check is a response to taking damage.

DC: See the Balance table.

Success: The creature maintains its balance.

Failure: If the creature is on a narrow surface, the creature falls off it. If the creature is on an unstable surface that isn’t narrow, it instead falls prone.

Surface Acrobatics DC

Unstable Moderate

Narrow (less than 1 foot wide) Moderate (+5 if unstable)

Very narrow (less than 6 inches wide) Hard (+5 if unstable)

ESCAPE FROM A GRAB

Make an Acrobatics check to wriggle out of a grab (see “Escape”).

ESCAPE FROM RESTRAINTS

Make an Acrobatics check to slip free of physical restraints such as manacles.

Action: The check takes 5 minutes of uninterrupted effort. Alternatively, a creature can make the check as a standard action, but doing so increases the DC by 5.

DC: Hard DC of the creature's level.

Success: The creature slips free of the restraint.

Failure: The creature can try again only if someone else provides assistance, most often by using the aid another action.

HOP DOWN

Make an Acrobatics check to hop down 10 feet and land standing.

Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature’s actions that involve the creature moving.

DC: DC 15. The creature can make this Acrobatics check only if the drop is no more than 10 feet.

Success: The creature hops down, lands standing, and takes no falling damage. The downward move uses no movement from the action.

Failure: The creature falls.

REDUCE FALLING DAMAGE (Trained only)

If a creature that has training in Acrobatics falls, it can make an Acrobatics check to reduce the amount of falling damage it takes. The creature can make this check whether or not the fall is intentional.

Action: Free action. The check is a response to falling.

Result: The amount of falling damage that the creature takes is reduced by one-half the check result (rounded down). If the falling damage is reduced to 0, the creature lands standing.

Example: The floor beneath Keira swings open to reveal a pit 40 feet deep. As a rogue, Keira has training in Acrobatics, so she makes an Acrobatics check to reduce the falling damage. When she hits the ground, she takes 24 damage (from a roll of 4d10). Her Acrobatics check result is 21, which is divided in half and rounded down for a result of 10. Keira’s check reduces the damage by 10, so she instead takes 14 damage from the fall.

IMPROVISING WITH ACROBATICS

Slide down a staircase on a shield while standing (hard DC)

Somersault over a creature of the same size (hard DC)

Swing from a chandelier (moderate DC)

Impress onlookers with an acrobatic performance (moderate DC)

ARCANA (INTELLIGENCE)

The Arcana skill encompasses knowledge about magic-related lore and magical effects. Training in this skill represents academic study, either formalized or as a hobby. This knowledge can touch on any source of magical power—whether arcane, divine, primal, or another one—and extends to information about the following planes of existence, including the creatures native to those planes: the Elemental Chaos, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell. Those that have training in Arcana also have a chance to know something about the mysterious Far Realm, but not about its creatures (such knowledge falls under the Dungeoneering skill). A creature can sometimes use its knowledge of magic to interact with or manipulate magical phenomena.

ARCANA KNOWLEDGE

Make an Arcana check to recall a relevant piece of magic-related lore or to recognize a magic-related clue (see “Knowledge Checks”). A creature must have training in Arcana to possess information about the Far Realm.

MONSTER KNOWLEDGE

Construct, Elemental, Fey, and Shadow

Refer to these rules whenever a character makes a check to identify a mon-ster, regardless of the knowledge skill he or she is using. The DM typically tells a player which skill to use, based on the creature’s origin or relevant keyword. If a monster’s origin and keyword suggest the use of two different skills, the DM decides which skill can be used to identify the monster, and might allow the use of either skill. For example, a dracolich is both a natu-ral creature and undead, but the DM might decide that its being undead is more relevant than its natural origin and require the use of Religion. In contrast, an abyssal ghoul is an elemental undead creature, and the DM might allow the use of either Arcana or Religion.

DETECT MAGIC (Trained only)

Creatures that have training in Arcana can use the skill to identify magical effects and to sense the presence of magic.

Identify Conjuration or Zone

Action: Minor action. The creature must be able to perceive the conjuration or the zone.

DC: Moderate DC of the conjuration’s or the zone’s level.

Success: The creature identifies the power used to create the conjuration or the zone and knows the effects and keywords of the conjuration or the zone.

Failure: The creature can’t try to identify the effect again until after a short rest.

Identify Magical Phenomenon

Make an Arcana check to identify a magical phenomenon that was created by a magical ritual or that is part of the environment, such as glowing runes on a cavern wall, an eldritch sign glimmering on an altar, a waterfall that flows upward, or a piece of earth floating in the air. This use of the skill is not normally used to identify powers, magic items, or their effects.

Action: Standard action. The creature must be able to perceive the phenomenon.

DC: Hard DC of the phenomenon’s level. If it has no level, use the hard DC of the creature’s level.

Success: The creature identifies the phenomenon’s power source and other keywords, if any, as well as the phenomenon’s basic purpose if it’s not obvious. If a magical ritual created the phenomenon, the creature identifies the ritual and is familiar with its effects.

Failure: The creature can’t try to identify the phenomenon again until after an extended rest.

Sense the Presence of Magic

Make an Arcana check to sense the presence of magic in an area. Typically creatures use the skill in this way when no magic is observable, but they suspect it is present.

Action: Standard action. The creature attempts to detect each source of magical energy within a number of squares equal to 5 + its level, ignoring all barriers.

DC: Hard DC of the creature’s level. The creature automatically succeeds in detecting any source of magical energy within range that is five or more levels lower than its level.

Success: The creature detects each source of magical energy within range and learns its power sources, if any. If a source of magical energy is within line of sight, the creature pinpoints its location. If it’s not within line of sight, the creature knows the direction from which the magical energy emanates but does not know how far away it is.

Failure: The creature detects nothing, or nothing is within range to detect. The creature can’t try again until after a short rest.

Change the visible or audible qualities of one’s magical powers when using them (moderate DC)

Control a phenomenon by manipulating its magical energy (hard DC)

Contribute to a negotiation with an elemental, fey, or shadow creature by exploiting knowledge of its behavior or culture (hard DC)

ATHLETICS (STRENGTH)

* Armor Check Penalty

Make an Athletics check to attempt physical activities that rely on muscular strength, including climbing, escaping from a grab, jumping, and swimming.

CLIMB

Make an Athletics check to climb up or down a surface. A creature that has a climb speed doesn’t have to make Athletics checks to climb.

Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature’s actions that involve the creature moving.

DC: See the Climb table. If a creature can brace itself between two surfaces, it gains a +5 bonus to the check.

Success: The creature can climb on the surface for the rest of the action, using squares of movement from the action. The creature must spend 1 extra square of movement for each square it enters on the surface. While climbing, a creature grants combat advantage and might fall if it takes damage (see below).

When a climber moves from a vertical surface to a horizontal surface, such as when climbing out of a pit, the climber chooses to arrive either standing or prone.

Failure by 4 or Less: If the creature was already climbing, it doesn’t fall. If the creature was trying to start climbing, it fails to do so. Either way, the creature can’t move any farther as part of the current action.

Failure by 5 or More: If the creature was already climbing, it falls (see “Falling”) but can try to catch hold (see below). If the creature was trying to start climbing, it fails to do so. Either way, the creature can’t move any farther as part of the current action.

Example: Fargrim the fighter has a speed of 5 and is 2 squares away from a brick wall that he wants to climb. He takes the walk action and moves 2 squares toward the wall. He then makes an Athletics check as part of the same action and gets a result of 20, enough to start climbing. He’s able to climb up only 1 square, however, since each square of the climb costs 1 extra square of movement, and he has only 3 squares of movement left. He ends the action 1 square up the wall.

Taking Damage while Climbing

While climbing, a creature must make a new Athletics check if it takes damage.

Action: Free action. The check is a response to taking damage.

DC: See the Climb table. If the damage bloodies the creature, the DC increases by 5.

Success: The creature holds on.

Failure: The creature falls but can try to catch hold (see below).

Catching Hold

A creature that falls while climbing can make an Athletics check to catch hold of something to stop the fall immediately.

Action: Free action. The check is a response to falling.

DC: See the Climb table, and add 5 to the normal DC.

Success: The creature doesn’t fall.

Failure: The creature falls and can’t try to catch hold again as part of this fall.

Surface Athletics DC

Ladder 0

Rope 10

Uneven surface (cave wall) 15

Rough surface (brick wall) 20

Slippery surface +5

Unusually smooth surface +5

ESCAPE FROM A GRAB

The escape action allows the use of an Athletics check to muscle out of a grab (see “Escape”).

JUMP

Make an Athletics check to jump vertically to reach a dangling rope or a high ledge or to jump horizontally to leap over a pit, a patch of difficult terrain, a low wall, or some other obstacle.

Simply scrambling onto a terrain feature such as a table or a chair doesn’t require an Athletics check, because such terrain features are usually difficult terrain.

High Jump

Make an Athletics check to make a high jump, usually to reach or grab hold of something overhead.

Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature’s actions that involve the creature moving.

Result: Divide the check result by 10 (round down). This value is the number of feet the creature jumps up, or in other words, the height that the creature’s feet clear.

All the squares of the jump, if any, use squares of movement from the action. The High Jump table summarizes the total distances of various high jumps based on Athletics check results. If the creature runs out of movement before landing on something or grabbing onto something, it falls.

However, if the jump was part of a move action, the creature can continue the jump as part of a double move, ending the first move action in midair and continuing the jump as part of the second move action. The creature makes a single Athletics check for the jump but can use squares of movement from both actions for it.

Running Start: If the creature moves at least 2 squares as part of the action and then jumps, double the result before dividing by 10 (or simply divide the result by 5).

Reaching Something: To determine whether the creature can reach something while jumping, calculate what one-third of the creature’s height is (round down to the nearest inch). This extra one-third represents the length of a creature’s arms. Add that number to the creature’s height and the distance cleared based on its Athletics check.

Example: A 6-foot-tall creature would add 2 for its arms’ length for a total of 8 feet, which would then be added to the distance cleared. A 4-foot-tall creature would add 5 feet to the distance.

If a creature jumps and doesn’t have a height specified, consult the Vertical Reach table and use the value noted for the creature’s size. For example, if a Large creature’s height is unknown, add 15 feet to the result of its Athletics check to determine whether it can reach something.

HIGH JUMP

Athletics Result Distance Cleared

9 or lower 0 feet

10-19 1 foot

20-29 2 feet

30-39 3 feet

40-49 4 feet

And so on...

VERTICAL REACH

Creature Size Vertical Reach

Tiny 2½ feet

Small 10 feet

Medium 10 feet

Large 15 feet

Huge 25 feet

Gargantuan 35 feet

Example: Dendric, a 6-foot-tall human fighter, attempts a high jump to catch a rope dangling 12 feet overhead. His check result is 26. If Dendric leaps from a standing position, he can’t quite reach the end of the rope (26 ÷ 10 = 2 feet plus 1? × his height [8 feet] for a final reach of 10 feet). If Dendric leaps with a running start, he can reach the end of the rope (52 ÷ 10 = 5 feet plus 1? × his height [8 feet] for a final reach of 13 feet).

Long Jump

Make an Athletics check to make a long jump.

Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature’s actions that involve the creature moving.

Result: Divide the Athletics check result by 10 (rounded down). This determines the number of squares the creature clears with the jump. The creature lands 1 square beyond the squares it clears. All the squares of the jump, including the landing square, use squares of movement from the action. The Long Jump table summarizes the total distances of various long jumps, including the landing square.

If the creature ends the movement over a drop, it falls and can’t move any farther as part of the current action. If the creature runs out of movement before landing, it also falls. However, if the jump was part of a move action, the creature can continue the jump as part of a double move, ending the first move action in midair and continuing the jump as part of the second move action. The creature makes a single Athletics check for the jump but can use squares of movement from both actions for it.

Running Start: If the creature moves at least 2 squares as part of the action and then jumps, double the result before dividing by 10 (or simply divide the result by 5).

Distance Cleared Vertically: To determine the number of feet that the creature clears vertically during the long jump, divide the check result by 10 and then add 2 if the result is at least 1. If the creature doesn’t jump high enough to clear an obstacle along the way, it hits the obstacle, falls prone, and can’t move any farther as part of the current action.

Long Jump

Athletics Result Distance Cleared Total Move

9 or lower 0 squares 0 squares

10–19 1 square (3 feet up) 2 squares

20–29 2 squares (4 feet up) 3 squares

30–39 3 squares (5 feet up) 4 squares

40–49 4 squares (6 feet up) 5 squares

And so on . . .

Example: Lyriel the fighter attempts a long jump to leap over a 2-square-wide pit and clear the 5-foot-high wall of thorns beyond it. Her check result is 24. With a running start, she easily jumps the distance [(24 × 2) ÷ 10 = 4 squares] and clears the wall (4 + 2 = 6 feet). If Lyriel jumps from a standing position, she jumps over the pit (24 ÷ 10 = 2 squares) but doesn’t clear the wall (2 + 2 = 4 feet). She hits the wall of thorns and falls prone—right into the pit.

SWIM

Make an Athletics check to swim, which includes treading water. A creature that has a swim speed doesn’t have to make Athletics checks to swim or tread water.

Creatures that hold their breath for more than 3 minutes or that take damage while holding their breath risk suffocation. See the Endurance skill for information on swimming or treading water for an hour or more. See “Currents” for rules on swimming in a strong current.

Action: The check is usually part of a move action, but it can be part of any of the creature’s actions that involve the creature moving.

DC: See the Swim table.

Success: The creature can swim for the rest of the action, using squares of movement from the action. The creature must spend 1 extra square of movement for each square it enters while swimming. Alternatively, the creature simply stays afloat, treading water.

Failure by 4 or Less: The creature can’t move any farther as part of the current action, but it treads water.

Failure by 5 or More: The creature can’t move any farther as part of the current action and sinks 1 square.

SWIM

Water - Athletics DC

Calm - 10

Rough - 15

Stormy - 20

IMPROVISING WITH ATHLETICS

Hang onto a wagon while being dragged behind it (hard DC)

Force your way through an earthen tunnel that is too small for you (hard DC)

Move into a strong headwind while flying (moderate DC)

BLUFF (CHARISMA)

Characters use the Bluff skill to make what’s false seem true, what’s outrageous seem plausible, and what’s suspicious seem ordinary. A character makes a Bluff check to fast-talk a guard, con a merchant, gamble, pass off a disguise, fake a piece of documentation, or mislead in some other way.

Action: Standard action. A Dungeon Master might allow a creature to make a Bluff check as part of another action, depending on what a creature wants to do.

Opposed Check: Against a target’s passive Insight, or against the target’s Insight check if it is actively trying to see through the deception. A creature can make the check against multiple targets at once, opposing the passive Insight of each target with a single Bluff check.

Success: The deception is successful against the target that opposed the check.

Failure: The target doesn’t believe the deception. If the check fails by 5 or more, the DM might rule that additional Bluff checks against the target for the same deception are impossible, or that those checks take a -5 penalty.

GAIN COMBAT ADVANTAGE

Make a Bluff check to gain combat advantage against an enemy by feinting.

Action: Standard action. A creature can take this action only once per encounter.

Opposed Check: Against an adjacent target’s passive Insight.

Success: The feinting creature gains combat advantage against the target until the end of the feinting creature’s next turn.

CREATE A DIVERSION TO HIDE

Make a Bluff check to create a diversion and become hidden using the Stealth

skill.

Action: Standard action. A creature can take this action only once per encounter.

Opposed Check: Against a target’s passive Insight. The target must be able to see the creature creating the diversion. A creature can make the check against multiple targets at once, opposing the passive Insight of each target with a single Bluff check.

Success: The creature can immediately make a Stealth check opposed by the passive Perception of any target that failed the opposed Bluff check. If the Stealth check succeeds against a target, the creature becomes hidden from that target until the end of the current turn or until immediately after the hidden creature makes an attack.

Entice a guard into leaving its post (hard DC)

Impersonate someone’s voice convincingly (hard DC)

Entertain a crowd with a tall tale (moderate DC)