Page 79 - DnD 5e - Xanathar's Guide to Everything

When you finish a long rest during which you slept in TOOLS AND SKILLS TOGETHER
medium or heavy armor, you regain only one quarter of
Tools have more s pecific applications than skills. The
your spent Hit Dice (minimum of one die). If you have
History skill applies to any event in the past. A tool such
any levels of exhaustion, the rest doesn't reduce your
as a forgery kit is used to make fake objects and little
exhaustion level.
else. Thus, why would a character who has the opportu-
GOING WITHOUT A LONG REST nity to acquire one or the other want to gain a tool profi-
ciency instead of proficiency in a skill?
A long rest is never ma ndatory, but going without sleep
To make tool proficiencies more attractive choices for
does have its consequences. If you want to account for the characters, you can use the methods outlined below.
the effects of sleep deprivation on characters and crea- Advantage. If the use of a tool and the use of a skill
tures, use these rules. both apply to a check, and a character is proficient with
Whenever you end a 24-hour period without finishing
the tool and the skill, consider allowing the character
a long rest, you must s ucceed on a DC 10 Constitution to make the check with advantage. This simple benefit
saving throw or s uffer one level of exhaustion. can go a long way toward encouraging players to pick
It becomes harder to fight off exhaustion if you stay
up tool proficiencies. In the tool descriptions that follow,
awake for multiple days. After the first 24 hours, the
this benefit is often expressed as additional insight (or
DC increases by 5 for each consecutive 24-hour period something similar), which translates into a n increased
without a long rest. The DC resets to 10 when you finish chance that the check will be a success.
a long rest.
Added Benefit. In addition, consider giving characters
who have both a relevant skill and a relevant tool profi-
ADAMANTINE WEAPONS ciency an added benefit on a s uccessful check. This ben-
Adamantine is an ultrahard metal found in meteorites efit might be in the form of more detailed information or
and extraordinary mineral veins. In addition to being could simulate the effect of a different sort of successful
used to craft adamantine armor, the metal is a lso used check. For example, a character proficient with mason's
for weapons. tools makes a successful Wisdom (Perception) check to
Melee weapons and ammunition made of or coated find a secret door in a stone wall. Not only does the char-
with adamantine are unusually effective when used acter notice the door's presence, but you decide that the
to break objects. Whenever an adamantine weapon tool proficiency entitles the character to an automatic
or piece of ammunition hits a n object, the hit is a success on an Intelligence (Investigation) check to deter-
critical hit. mine how to open the door.
The adamantine version of a melee weapon or of
TOOL DESCRIPTIONS
ten pieces of ammunition costs 500 gp more than the
normal version, whether the weapon or ammunition is The following sections go into detail about the tools pre-
made of the metal or coated with it. sented in the Player's Handbook, offering advice on how
to use the m in a campaign.
TYING KNOTS Components. The first paragraph in each description
gives details on what a set of supplies or tools is made
The rules are purposely open-ended concerning mun-
up of. A character who is proficient with a tool knows
dane tasks like tying knots, but sometimes knowing
how well a knot was fashioned is important in a dra- how to use all of its component parts.
Skills. Every tool potentially provides advantage on a
matic scene when someone is trying to untie a knot or
check when used in conjunction with certain skills, pro-
slip out of one. Here's an optional rule for determining
the effectiveness of a knot. vided a character is proficient with the tool a nd the skill.
As DM, you can allow a character to make a check using
The creature who ties the knot makes an Intelligence
the indicated skill with advantage. Paragraphs that be-
(Sleight of Hand) check when doing so. The total of the
gin with skill names discuss these possibilities. In each
check becomes the DC for an attempt to untie the knot
of these paragraphs, the benefits apply only to someone
with an Intelligence (Sleight of Hand) check or to slip
who has proficiency with the tool, not someone who sim-
out of it with a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
ply owns it.
This rule intentionally links Sleight of Hand with
With respect to skills, the system is mildly abstract in
Intelligence, rather than Dexterity. This is an example
terms of what a tool proficiency represents; essentially,
of how to apply the rule in the "Varia nt: Skills with
it assumes that a character who has proficiency with a
Different Abilities" section in chapter 7 of the Play-
tool also has learned about facets of the trade or pro-
er's Handbook.
fession that are not necessarily associated with the use
of the tool.
TOOL PROFICIENCIES In addition, you can consider giving a character extra
Tool proficiencies are a useful way to highlight a charac- information or an added benefit on a skill check. The
ter's background and talents. At the game table, though, text provides some examples a nd ideas when this oppor-
the use of tools sometimes overlaps with the use of tunity is relevant.
skills, and it can be unclear bow to use them together in Special Use. Proficiency with a tool usually brings
certain situations. This section offers various ways that with it a particula r benefit in the form of a special use,
tools can be used in the game. as described in this paragraph.