Along with Magic and Combat, Ability Checks are one of the three major actions a player can take on their turn. In a lot of ways, Ability Checks are the most fun; they are most closely related to role-playing type encounters. When the text calls for an Ability Check, it will always appear like this “...roll a DEXTERITY (Stealth) check of 13 or higher…” This is your cue to tell your player to make an Ability Check.

The Game Master calls out the Ability and Skill necessary and the Difficulty number to beat.

The player then rolls a 20-sided die and adds the ability bonus listed on their character sheet for the appropriate ability -  in this case, DEXTERITY. But, if the player has the appropriate skill (in this case Stealth), then have them add that bonus instead. The skill bonus will always be higher.

If the player’s total is equal to or higher than the Difficulty Number, the player’s Ability Check succeeds. If the roll is lower, the Ability Check fails. The text of the adventure will describe the effects of success or failure.

As a Game Master, feel free to have your players make Ability Checks as often as you’d like. Checks like WISDOM (Perception), INTELLIGENCE (Insight), or CHARISMA (Persuasion) are great ways to let the dice guide how much descriptive detail to give for an environment or how  an interaction with a NPC should go. Have fun with Ability Checks!