Overview
Proficiency represents the training and learning an individual has in a respective area and subject. This provides a variety of bonuses, mainly and most often that an individual may add a proficiency bonus to the ability checks or contests that involve that proficiency. There are some exceptions to this, mainly armor, which often do not require any rolls. Additionally, some proficiencies represent a character's level rather than specific knowledge in one subject. Proficiency therefore comes in three different variants: level-based, simple and tiered.
Proficiency Bonus
Your proficiency bonus can't be added to a single die roll or other number more than once, However it may be doubled or halved for example, before you apply it. If a circumstance suggests that your proficiency bonus applies more than once to the same roll or that it should be multiplied more than once, you nevertheless add it only once, multiply it only once, and halve it only once.
Level-based Proficiency Bonus
Proficiency in weapons and spellcasting is determined by your character level, providing a fixed bonus. If something refers to your proficiency bonus, without referencing anything else, like a skill, it refers to this bonus.
| Level | Proficiency Bonus |
|---|---|
| 1 | +2 |
| 2 | +2 |
| 3 | +2 |
| 4 | +2 |
| 5 | +3 |
| 6 | +3 |
| 7 | +3 |
| 8 | +3 |
| 9 | +4 |
| 10 | +4 |
| 11 | +4 |
| 12 | +4 |
| 13 | +5 |
| 14 | +5 |
| 15 | +5 |
| 16 | +5 |
| 17 | +6 |
| 18 | +6 |
| 19 | +6 |
| 20 | +6 |
Simple Proficiency Bonus
Proficiency in armor is either or, meaning that either you have it and gain the proficiency bonus or you don't. For armor, this means being able to wear it effectively, easing the burden of carrying it and maneuvering in it.
Tiered Proficiency Bonus
Proficiency in skills, tools, languages and performances come in tiered progression, determining a characters skill level. The tiers are: Trained, Skilled, Expert, Master and Legend, providing a proficiency bonus of +2, +4, +6, +8 and +10 respectively. Each time you gain proficiency in a skill, tool, language or performance, you increase your tier one step, increasing its level.
Tiered Proficiency Gain per Level
At 1st level, for each point of Intelligence modifier you have, you may choose two proficiencies of your choice from the tiered proficiencies to gain or lose proficiency in.
When you gain proficiency from Intelligence gain, you may either increase the tier of a proficiency you already know by one, or gain the trained tier in a proficiency of your choice. When you lose proficiency from Intelligence gain, you must decrease the tier of a proficiency you already know by one.
This works retroactively, such that when you permanently increase or decrease your Intelligence modifier, you may either choose one tiered proficiency that gains a tier or one that loses one.
After 1st level, every level you gain lets you choose one proficiency of your choice from the ones you already know, and increase its tier by one.
Proficiency Generalization
Some tiered proficiencies have sub-proficiencies which must be chosen instead, like languages. These determine how your general knowledge in a subject is applied. For example, proficiency in languages does not automatically make you more proficient in every language you speak, but rather gives a choice between becoming more proficient in one of the the ones you know, or learn a new one and becoming trained with it.
However, these sub-proficiencies often overlap in skill and proficiency, i.e. your proficiency generalizes. Learning languages usually becomes easier the more languages you learn, each new increasing one's ability to learn another.
Each time you gain proficiency in a tiered proficiency with proficiency generalization, you may choose an amount of sub-proficiencies equal to your current tier's proficiency bonus. Each sub-proficiency is increased separately in their own tiers, such that being Skilled in languages means that you may either choose three languages that you are trained with, or one that you are skilled with and one that you are trained with.
Additionally, you may only achieve a tier in a sub-proficiency equal to your proficiency tier plus one. For example, you have to be at least an expert linguist, to be masterful in a language, i.e. the expert proficiency tier is required for the proficiency to have mastery in a sub-proficiency.
| Tier | Proficiency Bonus | # of sub-proficiencies |
|---|---|---|
| Trained | +2 | 1 |
| Skilled | +4 | 3 |
| Expert | +6 | 7 |
| Master | +8 | 13 |
| Legend | +10 | 21 |
Skill Proficiencies
Skill proficiencies describe the character's knowledge, ability and training in certain specific areas, such as Acrobatics, Coercion or History. Skill proficiencies are tiered proficiencies, as described above, and tends to be the main way to alter ability checks.
This is done either by being called upon by the DM demanding a certain type of check, or asked by a PC when an ability check is called for, if an alternative can be used. Note that skills are separate from ability scores, meaning that even skills seemingly only used for physical purposes can be used with mental ability scores. For example, a Wisdom Athletics roll might be asked for by a PC to determine if they can find the safest route to climb up a steep cliffside.
Below is each skill proficiency listed, as well as the main features they cover. Some have effects that affect passive featurs, like Brawn and carrying capacity, and some grant synergistic Tool proficiencies, like Alchemy and Alchemy supplies.
Synergistic Tools
Each time you gain a tier in a skill with a tool proficiency associated with it, you receive a tier in the associated tool. However, if more than one tool is associated with the skill, you may only choose one that increases.
For example, when gaining proficiency in the Geography skill, the character must choose between Cartographer's Tools or Navigator's Tools.