Can You Learn A New Proficiency Is 5e

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is based on the proficiency system. Characters have different things that they know how to do, and thus add together their proficiency modifier to them. For skills, weapons, and saves, that all makes sense; your DM will tell you when to make them, and you merely gyre. Still, there's something else that you can exist skillful in, and it's tucked away near the bottom of your character sheet; Tools.

Tool Proficiencies 5e

Tools are 5e's way to ensure that characters can't option up a disguise kit and immediately know what to do. They are specialized kits whose proficiencies are locked behind grade features, races, and backgrounds. Becoming skilful with a fix of tools means unlocking all of the abilities that a tool kit might have. Each prepare of tools has their own set of features, and they can range from musical instruments to full blacksmith'southward kits. If yous're proficient in a tool, your grapheme sail has an entry under skill proficiencies where you tin can take annotation of them.

None of these tools are designed to be used strictly in combat. They're by and large for social events, residuum periods, or crafting downtime. However, if you lot're cunning with your proficiencies, you might be surprised!

List of Tools

There's a myriad of tools that whatever adventurer can select, based on their background or grade.

Alchemist'south Supplies: Abracadabra is non extremely strong in 5th edition. It'southward taken more of a background roll, especially for identifying magical potions or chemicals. You can still arts and crafts alchemical items, an unfortunately limited endeavor.

Brewer's Supplies: Anyone want a drink? This is actually a decent take hold of for a survivalist entrada, since you can create beverage water. Yous tin also supplant information technology with Persuasion proficiency… provided the person likes the beverage you shoved under their nose.

Calligrapher's Supplies: With the hilarious "Decipher Treasure Map" ability bated, Calligrapher's Supplies are mostly for background. You tin can apply them to forge, but the DC is incredibly high. Identifying the intent of the writer tin can be useful, but this is far from the best of the kits.

Carpenter's Tools: Ane of the about interestingly versatile tools, you lot tin utilise Carpenter's Tool proficiency on basically anything wooden; identifying hiding spots, helping with stealth, providing shelter, making barricades, building items. This is a legitimately skillful option for forestry campaigns.

Cartographer'southward Tools: The art of map creating gives yous some knowledge of nearby landmarks. Information technology also helps you sniff out oddities in false maps, or hidden paths in clever maps. Entirely map-centric, the cartographer'southward tools are a bit specialized.

Cobbler's Tools: You work with shoes, a apprehensive trade. For some reason, if you work on shoes, people can travel for another two hours. You tin can also tell where people take recently been past looking at shoes. You're also a prime pick for identifying magical shoes… and you tin can make a hidden shoe compartment. A humble cobbler? That'south basically magic!

Cook's Utensils: Chef's tools are a party member'southward best friend. Y'all can make medicine sense of taste improve, are a ameliorate survivalist, and help heal creatures that are resting. Honestly, not a bad option in general.

Disguise Kit: Ah, the crème de la crème of a social intrigue campaign! The disguise kit vastly changes your options for walking into a new situation, since you have and so many toys to piece of work with. You can supervene upon proficiency in Disguise Kits for… a lot of checks, honestly. Near charisma checks can use a Disguise kit instead. It's an honestly practiced option.

Forgery Kit: This is the better Calligrapher's kit. You can utilise this to create fake documents, examine documents for facilities, and combine this proficiency with others to make things like faux maps (calligrapher'due south kit). Groovy for campaigns where having your governor's signature is useful.

Gaming Set: You lot're incredibly good at playing a game. Whip this out during an interrogation, and y'all'll be better at reading their lies. And… that'southward about it. Yous could probably make money using this, if you ask.

Glassblower'south Tools: You're adept at making, and identifying, glass. You can even use your glass noesis to make up one's mind what a drinking glass object once had. Extraordinarily specific, but… glass is everywhere. It might not be awful to at to the lowest degree consider for urban campaigns.

Herbalism Kit: A non-magical healer's best friend. You can use this kit to heal diseases and wounds, forage for supplies, and identify plants or poison. If your party's cleric is e'er low on slots, this kit would non be amiss.

Jeweler'south Tools: You can identify and beautify gems. This… mostly just helps you identify magical gems. But, if you stole a precious stone, y'all can utilize this kit to modify it's appearance to help you sneak effectually with it. Fashion too specific; merely have a practiced Arcana cheque.

Land and Water Vehicles: Y'all're proficient at driving either land or water vehicles. If you're at sea, having ane beast expert at driving a gunkhole might exist a pretty expert idea, honestly. Land vehicles are weird, only they would be nice for fantasy heists or dramatic moments. On the other paw, riding an animal isn't that hard.

Leatherworker's Tools: You can identify magical leather items, study leather for imperfections, or know the source of leather or leathercrafting. Honestly, might be 1 of the least powerful kits. Ameliorate if you're constantly in light armor so you can ready it.

Mason's Tools: You're pretty good at stonework. Information technology'due south like the Carpenter'south Tools, but only for stone, and y'all tin can practise much less with it. Still, with the Demolition power, you can destroy brick walls with weapons twice as fast. That's… really pretty cool.

Instrument: Cute and charming. You lot know about the history of your instrument, and you can play and compose music. Can be adept for distracting.

Navigator's Tools: Forth with water vehicles, having someone who can navigate the world is essential for water campaigns. Spells tin can replicate this, but at to the lowest degree you salvage a spell slot. And information technology's hard to become lost, since you accept proficiency in these bad boys… but Survival might just practice the same matter.

Painter'southward Supplies: Ah, magnifique! Painters are skilful at looking at art and creating fine art. This kit allows you to paint subconscious messages or recreate a scene via painting. You'd have to be creative, merely this can exercise wonders in a vigilante or urban entrada.

Poisoner's Kit: Ah yep, the creation of poison. This kit allows y'all to create and apply poisons without poisoning yourself. You're also much better about treating toxicant, and knowing almost poisonous animals. Basically, if it says "poisonous substance," this kit can probably assistance. And so… non an awful catch, honestly.

Potter's Tools: Pottery is niche, simply there's a lot of bowls and pots secret. This can aid you empathise clues and reconstruct broken pots. A DM tin can legitimately make a plot point circle around your proficiency in pottery! Otherwise, ceramics are often forgotten. This is a pretty rough pick.

Smith's Tools: Existence able to set metal objects will make you the friend of every heavily armored character in your party. Other than repairing, yous don't actually do much (other than identifying) with this stuff.

Thieves' Tools: These are critical; every party needs 1 set of these. Yous tin use these to unlock or set traps, know nearly the history of trapped locals, and go ameliorate at finding traps. The ability to unlock doors or disarm traps without alerting the entire dungeon is just so of import.

Tinker'southward Tools: A fleck wonky, tinker's tools basically let y'all repair clockwork or traps. They're pretty generally useful and good at repairing basically annihilation mundane. Fun, and actually pretty useful.

Weaver's Tools: You're fantastic at fabric. Yous can place, repair, and investigate cloth. You can also make fancy clothes for creatures out of material. Practically useless, but a really fun groundwork – I tin can imagine an Orc Tailor correct now.

Woodcarver'south Tools: Like carpenter'south tools but for fixing items. Woodcarver'due south tools are mostly useful for making modest things, like arrows or repairing wooden tokens. They're actually but really significant for pointer-making, and archers want proficiency with these somewhere in their team.

Variant Rules: Tools and Skills Together

Tool kits are pretty fantastic, but a lot of them footstep on the toes of… bones skill checks. Arcana and Nature come up often, for instance, and they're likewise pretty good skills to have. Be certain to ask if your DM is using "Tools and Skills Together" from Xanathar'southward Guide to Everything . If they are, and then having both skills will either grant you advantage on the skill cheque, or requite you extra information that someone without tool proficiencies wouldn't become. That makes a lot of these tools, such as the navigator'southward tools, much more than useful, since Survival nigh always can practise the job.

See Too: Legendary Actions in 5E

Concluding Our Tool Proficiencies 5E Guide

Most tools are way besides specific to accept proficiency with them over proficiency with a skill. Skills are and so much more than useful in full general, and take many more things you can do with them. However, one should non completely discard their tool proficiency. There may be situations where the specific activities with a tool can salve your life; from apace painting the portrait of the perpetrator of a offense, to using your lute skills to fascinate a dragon. With enough creativity, this entire list can come in handy. But… brand sure you know what they tin do first. Or ask your DM what they can practice beyond what Wizards say they tin can do.