Proficiencies

Characters are good at various things. Some are skilled with many weapons, while others can use only a few. Some are better at understanding people’s motives, and others are better at stalking around unnoticed. All creatures can have Proficiency Ranks, which reflect the impact that training has on the creature’s capabilities. A Protagonist's starting Proficiency Ranks are determined during character creation, and an NPC's Proficiencies appear in its stat block. Additional Proficiency Ranks are acquired by leveling up.
The Proficiency Bonus table describes the types of Proficiencies and the benefit that having Ranks in those Proficiencies provides.

Proficiency Bonus

Proficiency Type	Proficencies	Proficiency Bonus
Primary Proficiencies	Skills, Weapon Categories, Saving Throws, and Magical Traditions	+1 per Rank
Secondary Proficiencies	Tools, Languages, Mounts, Vehicles, Armor, and Shields	+2 per Rank

The Proficiency Bonus is applied to a d20 Test when the creature has Proficiency Ranks in a skill, in a saving throw, or with an item that the creature uses to make the d20 Test. The bonus is also used for spell attacks and for calculating the DC of saving throws for spells when the creature has Proficiency Ranks in its associated Magical Tradition.

Proficiency Thresholds

Some features require your Passive Rating for a proficiency to meet or exceed a certain number. Many secondary proficiencies, such as Languages, Mounts, and Vehicles, are not typically used in ability checks and others, such as Armor and Shields are never used for ability checks at all. Instead, these Proficiencies rely mostly or entirely on your Passive Rating with them to determine if you suffer penalties or cannot access certain features associated with the Proficiency.
If a feature has Passive Rating requirement, you must also have at least 1 rank in the chosen Proficiency. You can not meet the requirement solely through your Ability Scores.

Maximum Bonus

A creature's Maximum Bonus caps the total Base Bonus they can add to a d20 Test after combining their Ability Modifier and Proficiency Ranks.
Base Bonus = Ability Modifier + Proficiency Bonus
If your Base Bonus would exceed your Maximum Bonus, reduce it to your Maximum Bonus instead. Bonuses from magic items, spells, or temporary effects are applied after this cap and may exceed it.
Your Maximum Bonus increases with your level, as described below.

Level		Max Bonus
1-3		+6
4-6		+7
7-9		+8
10-12		+9
12-15		+10
16-18		+11
19-21		+12
22-24		+13
25-27		+14
28-30		+15
31-34		+16
35-38		+17
39-42		+18
43-46		+19
47-50		+20

Skill Proficiencies

Most ability checks involve using a skill, which represents a category of things creatures try to do with an ability check. The descriptions of the actions you take (see “Actions” later in this chapter) specify which skill applies if you make an ability check for that action, and many other rules note when a skill is relevant.
If a creature has Proficiency Ranks in a skill, the creature applies its Proficiency Bonus to ability checks involving that skill. Without proficiency in a skill, a creature can still make ability checks involving that skill but doesn’t add any Proficiency Bonus. For example, if a character tries to climb a cliff, the GM might ask for a Strength (Athletics) check. If the character Proficiency Ranks in Athletics, the character adds their Proficiency Bonus to the Strength check. If the character lacks ranks in that proficiency, they make the check without adding their Proficiency Bonus.

Skill List

Skill	Ability	Actions
Acrobatics	Dexterity	Maintain balance, perform an acrobatic stunt, escape from a grapple or restraints.
Athletics	Strength	Jump farther than normal, stay afloat in rough water, or break something.
Deception	Charisma	Tell a convincing lie, or wear a disguise convincingly.
Engagement	Charisma	Command attention, befriend someone, act, tell a story, perform music, or dance.
Esoteric	Intelligence	Recall lore about spells, magic items, and the planes of existence.
Insight	Wisdom	Discern a person’s mood and intentions.
Intimidation	Charisma	Awe or threaten someone into doing what you want.
Investigation	Intelligence	Find obscure information in books, or deduce how something works.
Medicine	Wisdom	Diagnose an illness, or determine what killed the recently slain.
Nature	Intelligence	Recall lore about terrain, plants, animals, and weather.
Perception	Wisdom	Using a combination of senses, notice something that’s easy to miss.
Persuasion	Charisma	Honestly and graciously convince someone of something.
Religion	Intelligence	Recall lore about gods, religious rituals, and holy symbols.
Society	Intelligence	Recall lore about historical events, people and places, or modern traditions, culture and civilizations.
Stealth	Dexterity	Escape notice by moving quietly and hiding behind things.
Thievery	Dexterity	Pick a pocket, conceal a handheld object, or perform legerdemain.
Wilderness	Wisdom	Follow tracks, forage, calm or train an animal, or get an animal to behave in a certain way.

Saving Throw Proficiencies

Proficiency Ranks in a saving throw allows you to add the associated Proficiency Bonus to that type of Save. For example, 3 Ranks in Will saves lets you add a +3 bonus to Will Saves.
Protagonists typically gain Ranks in Saving Throws every other level. NPCs can have saving throw Proficiency Ranks as well, as detailed in their Stat Blocks.

Equipment Proficiencies

Characters can gain Proficiency Ranks with various equipment, allowing them to more effectively wield or use that equipment.

Equipment Type	Proficiency Type	Usage
Weapons	Primary	If you have Proficiency Ranks in a Weapon Category, you add your Proficiency Bonus to attack rolls you make with weapons in that category. You can still wield a weapon even if you lack any Ranks in its associated category, but your attack rolls won't gain the aforementioned bonus.
Armor	Secondary	You suffer penalties while wearing an armor for which you fail to meet the required Passive Rating (see Armor and Shields).
Shields	Secondary	You gain the Armor Class benefit of a shield only if you meet the required Passive Rating for it (see Armor and Shields).
Tools	Primary	If you have Proficiency Ranks in a tool, you add your Proficiency Bonus to any ability check you make that uses that tool. When using a tool with which you lack any Ranks, you make a normal ability check. If you meet certain a certain Passive Rating threshold with a tool, you can also bolster the application of a skill in very specific circumstances (see Tools).
Mounts and Vehicles	Secondary	You add your Proficiency Bonus to any ability check you make to maneuver or control the mount or vehicle, and you suffer penalties when you ride a mount or vehicle for which you fail to meet the required Passive Rating (see Mounts and Vehicles).

Magic Proficiencies

Your proficiency with a Magical Tradition determines how effectively you cast spells associated with it. You add your Proficiency Bonus from Proficiency Ranks with the tradition to spell attack rolls and use your Passive Ratings to set the DC for any saves associated with your spells from that tradition. For example, If you have a +2 Intelligence modifier and 4 Ranks in the Arcane tradition, your spell attack rolls when casting through the Arcane tradition are made with a +6 bonus, and the Save DC for your spells is 16.
If you can cast the same spell through more than one tradition, and you have Ranks in both traditions, use whichever bonus is higher when determining your spell attack roll or Save DC. The key ability for Magical Traditions varies depending on how your class obtains that tradition, for example, Wizards cast spells through the Arcane tradition using Intelligence, while Sorcerers cast through the Arcane tradition using Charisma.

Language Proficiencies

If your Passive Rating for a language meets the Speaking threshold, you are able to speak it. If your Passive Rating meets the Literacy threshold with the language, you are able to read and write in it. You cannot use tomes, Spellbooks, or Spell Scrolls written in a language that you are not literate in.