Athletics
Strength-based skill for climbing, jumping, swimming, and physical contests such as grappling and shoving.
Athletics covers feats of physical strength and endurance. It is governed by Strength.
When to roll: The DM calls for an Athletics check when a character attempts a physically demanding task involving raw power: climbing a sheer surface, swimming against a strong current, jumping across a wide gap, or wrestling with a foe.
Common uses:
- Climbing a cliff, rope, or wall without handholds
- Swimming in rough water, currents, or while wearing heavy armor
- Long jump or high jump beyond normal movement limits
- Maintaining footing on slippery or unstable ground
- Forcing open a stuck or barred door
- Grappling or shoving a creature in combat
Proficiency: Characters proficient in Athletics add their proficiency bonus to the roll. Classes that commonly have Athletics proficiency include Barbarian, Fighter, and Paladin.
In combat: Athletics is used for the Grapple and Shove special attacks. When you try to grapple a creature, make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.