Complete Guide to the Sleight of Hand Skill in D&D 5e
Used for stealing, lockpicking, misdirection and even stage magic, Sleight of Hand is one of those skills that comes up exactly as often as the player wants it to come up. No spells or abilities force you to make this check, and it will likely never be the decider in a do-or-die situation. This doesn’t mean the skill is useless like Performance however, choosing to use this skill can have amazing results. Let’s dive in.
Why exactly one person should be good at this:
You only need one party member to be trained in this skill to get the most out of it. Someone like a Rogue or Monk with high Dexterity should probably grab this and become the dedicated user of it in the party, as you will rarely find yourself in a situation where a certain party member is forced to use this unless you split the party (which you should never do).
Combining Sleight of Hand and Thief’s Tools:
Xanathar’s expanded rules for tools includes a rule that grants advantage on a check if a character has both a tool and skill proficiency who apply to the check. This means that a character who is trying to unlock a door with both proficiency in this skill and Thief’s Tool should have advantage on the check. I like this rule, as a character that spends so much of their starting proficiencies to be good at something should be rewarded for their investment. I highly recommend that all tables adopt this rule and additionally seek out other areas and tools that this may apply to.
Synergies with Sleight of Hand:
While no feature calls out Sleight of Hand to specifically buff it or use it in a unique way, special consideration should be given to the Arcane Trickster Rogue. The 3rd level feature of that subclass grants an invisible Mage Hand which can be used to make Sleight of Hand checks. The biggest danger of pickpocketing is obviously getting caught, which would be the logical result of a failed check. However, if you’re standing 30ft away and the invisible hand fumbles, it would be much more difficult to determine that you were the culprit. Attempt the theft in a crowded marketplace for extra anonymity, and spend a whole day swiping gold pieces off of passerby. This makes the Arcane Trickster easily the best user of this skill, and likely the best pickpocketer in the game.
Alternate Uses for Sleight of Hand:
Obviously pickpocketing and opening locks are the main uses for this skill, but I’d like to mention a few others. One option I’ve seen is to use this skill to hide the process of spellcasting, particularly spells that require somatic and/or material components. The idea is that spellcasting in D&D isn’t subtle, it requires hand gestures and strange chants. This makes spells hard to use in certain social situations. For example, trying to cast Charm Person on the king in his throne room would likely lead to an immediate arrest at best, and at worst, a chest suddenly filled with arrows. This is why the Sorcerer’s Subtle Spell metamagic is so popular, it opens up spellcasting in situations like those. The idea that this skill could replicate Subtle Spell metamagic feels like it’s undermining some of what makes the Sorcerer special, so I’m not in favor of this being allowed. If you do allow it, I would set the DC for the check to be relatively high, so as to discourage players from abusing this and only using it in desperate situations.
One option I do love is to use Sleight of Hand to cheat in card games and the like. You may find that some adventure modules provide simple table games to be played in taverns as a way for the players to gamble and potentially make some coin. A few of these games even have rules for cheating, often requiring something like a Sleight of Hand or Deception check. I love this and recommend that DMs steal these games wholesale from these modules to incorporate into their games. You’d be surprised just how much players love to gamble, and giving them a way to tip the balance in their favor because they invested in a skill that would be useful in that situation is fantastic.
In Summary:
This is a skill that exactly on person in the party should take, the Arcane Trickster is the best user of it, and it’s great for gambling as well as its more obvious uses. Any Dexterity based character can make great use of this, especially if your character has a loose sense of morality about thievery.
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