Timeline for Do you have to have thieves' tools in order to pick a lock?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
23 events
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| Dec 7, 2020 at 21:36 | comment | added | Ettina Kitten | Could it be that the answer to whether you need proficiency to attempt to use thieves' tools depends on the specific task? It sounds like most references to picking a lock tend to imply you need proficiency, whereas disarming traps can be done without proficiency. | |
| Dec 7, 2020 at 20:36 | comment | added | V2Blast | @ActiveNick: Crawford's tweets are no longer official rulings as of a month after your comment, but it's still potentially a useful reference. | |
| Dec 14, 2018 at 19:04 | comment | added | ActiveNick | And here is an OFFICIAL answer from Jeremy Crafword in a tweet where I asked him directly: he confirms that proficiency isn't required to use a tool. twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/1073653310681362432 | |
| Dec 14, 2018 at 0:50 | comment | added | ActiveNick | Jeremy Crawford clarified the specific "lock" mentioned in PHB p.152 in this tweet here: twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/700131015449128960. This confirms that tool proficiency is not required to use a tool, unless the item specifically mentions it. | |
| Jun 6, 2018 at 5:06 | comment | added | Paul | Yeah, interestingly the blurb on locks and manacles you posted state you need proficiency but don’t say you need the tools... | |
| Jun 5, 2018 at 13:00 | comment | added | KorvinStarmast | We don't generally signal our edits in the answers, so I removed your two updates. Love how thorough this answer is. :) | |
| Jun 5, 2018 at 12:59 | history | edited | KorvinStarmast | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
deleted 804 characters in body
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| Jan 16, 2015 at 5:10 | comment | added | sadaqah | FYI, Mearls stated that Crawford was the "official rules expert" in his reddit AMA. Great research on the answer! | |
| Jan 16, 2015 at 0:33 | comment | added | Tommy | @JasonK Finally managed to add yet more to my ridiculously long answer. I think the reference on p.103 is throwaway enough to be arguable. Hopefully that should cover every relevant reference to Thieves' Tools and give you a good basis for your own houserules/house decision. I have also just Tweeted Jason Crawford to see if he can clarify (as WaxEagle did with Mike Mearls). Should be interesting to see if they agree. I think I need to lie down now, the word "proficiency" doesn't look like a real word to me any more... | |
| Jan 16, 2015 at 0:27 | history | edited | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Final quote (maybe)
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| Jan 16, 2015 at 0:11 | history | edited | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Added more info from the DMG
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| Jan 15, 2015 at 20:50 | comment | added | Jason K | Does the DMG contradict you? p239 Prof:Tools doesn't, many trap descriptions say you need TT, but don't mention prof (and use disadv if you don't have TT). Oh, wait, p103 does say that for picking locks. Again, a single throwaway line in a section not even talking about tools! | |
| Jan 15, 2015 at 18:02 | comment | added | Tommy | @JasonK Also, I completely agree - it would be great to see these kind of specific but vague rules demo'd or shown working by the development team. | |
| Jan 15, 2015 at 18:00 | comment | added | Tommy | @JasonK Haha yeah I did go a bit overboard... Unfortunately it was all wasted as well! The DMG disagrees with me so, as much as I appreciate being the accepted answer, I'll actually be changing my answer later today when I can grab my DMG. It turns out you do normally need proficiency to use Thieves' Tools. Personally I would still advocate the points I've made in my conclusion - there really is nothing stopping someone "having a go". Though this would be a houserule and probably give disadvantage + no proficiency bonus. Mind waiting for my final edit lol? | |
| Jan 15, 2015 at 17:51 | comment | added | Jason K | Wow, a lot of research! Boogles my mind that something so critical to DnD, usually having SPECIFIC skills dealing with it, got so glossed over in the PHB (and DMG). Really need a few "examples of play" from the design team to clear these kinds of things up. | |
| Jan 15, 2015 at 17:49 | vote | accept | Jason K | ||
| Nov 20, 2014 at 16:19 | history | edited | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
grammar & spelling edits
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| Nov 20, 2014 at 15:34 | history | edited | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
ADD ALL THE DETAILS
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| Nov 14, 2014 at 15:03 | history | edited | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Update to reflect further discussion and clarification of answer
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| Nov 14, 2014 at 13:01 | comment | added | Tommy | @BraddSzonye You're absolutely right; Jason K and WaxEagle also both pointed out a few additional points that imply or state this in the PHB. However, IMO this could be an error due to changes in rules as 5e was being developed. WaxEagle's answer has Mike Mearles stance on it (via Twitter) and personally I think it makes the most sense this way, especially based on other tool use. Until the DMG comes out though, we're relying on conflicting interpretations of the PHB/Basic rules. Ultimately, using a consistent houserule is probably more important at this stage. | |
| Nov 14, 2014 at 1:12 | comment | added | B. Szonye | The general rules for tools don’t require proficiency to use a tool, but the specific rules for locks do explicitly require proficiency with thieves’ tools. See the basic rules p. 49, for example. | |
| Nov 14, 2014 at 0:50 | history | edited | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 1 character in body
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| Nov 14, 2014 at 0:39 | history | answered | Tommy | CC BY-SA 3.0 |