Guide to your Skill Checks

Hopefully this will help you. Sorry it's so long.
Strength
This Score helps with wielding Melee weapons. Checks determine if you can use your strength to move something heavy.
Climb
A sub-skill, Climb helps you figure out if you can climb something.
Jump
Another sub-skill, Jump let’s you jump over something. There are bonuses granted if you make a running start, and there is such a thing as jumping too high or too far, so take care not to overpower this skill.
Swim
Great for crossing rivers or swimming for some treasure (or something practical like saving someone’s life).
Constitution
Constitution determines how healthy you are. Checks for this vary, but are mainly used when non-arcane users teleport, or when one has too much to drink.
Endurance
A sub-score used commonly for extended, harsh conditions such as crossing a desert or surviving so long without food.
Ride
This is a score used when players take up mounts. It determines not only how well you can control your mount, but also how well you can hold onto it.
Dexterity
This is a skill that determines how good you can use your hands, as well as how you move. Use it for catching things, chasing things, holding things, stuff like that.
Balance
As the name suggests, it’s how good you are at balancing. Dungeons love having narrow beams as the only way to cross deep pits full of abyssal demons, and this skill comes in handy about then.
Tumble
This not only determines how well you can tuck-and-roll, but also how you can pull off any other acrobatic stunts. Sometimes, adding that extra flare in battle can impress people, such as rolling between one guy’s legs followed by a slash on the second and a back-flip over the third to avoid the attack.
Disarm Trap
This check determines how well you can prevent a trap from doing something traps often do: spring. After all you don’t want that needle stabbing yourself in the face in the middle of the night do you?
Pick Lock
This is a trick for opening doors someone doesn’t want you to open. This way is a bit more subtle than smashing the door in altogether.
Sleight of Hand
Used by rouges, street magicians, and casino dealers everywhere, this check is useful if you want to tuck something away without drawing attention. It’s used most often by thieves in the middle of pick-pocketing something.
Intelligence
This is a skill that can be used for many things. Use it to solve a problem by coming up with a solution. Use it to ask your DM what the hell you’re supposed to do next. Or use it to remember something from a long time ago. However, since our rp is in a forum where you guys can look back, back off and think on things, you won’t use it as often as you will other skills.
Scry
A skill only used by Arcane classes. If you are not a caster of some sort, you can’t scry. And Scry is used to locate someone or something who’s location is unknown.
Spellcraft
This is a skill used to determine how well you can cast a spell or sometimes make one up. Magic is an ever-flexible power, and if you can think up a spell, you can make it. However, deadly spells are often made by inexperienced casters, so research all the materials before making one.
Concentration
A skill now widely used by the Psionic class, it determines how well you can concentrate on a task. However on days when I want to be particularly mean, I can throw in a character so charismatic, it’s hard to concentrate on anything but that character. Pray for a high roll in those situations.
Use Magic Device
You don’t have to be a caster to use a magical item, and at least the first few times you use one you will need to make a check.
Find Trap
The trap I mentioned before, the needle stabbing you in the face…you have to find where it will launch from before you can disarm it.
Forgery
This skill is used to make a replica of something. It’s not only for documents; it can be used to make fake gems and things like that.
Decipher Script
This determines if you can read some ancient scroll, or some written form of a language you are not familiar with.
Knowledge [Nature]
Knowledge on the plants and the trees and the birds and the bees basically. Nature checks are used mostly by people out to hunt for food or look for resources in the wild.
Knowledge [Regional History]
This check tells you how much you know about the history of an area.
Knowledge [Arcana]
This check tells you what spell was just fired, what sort of magic is on an object, things like that.
Knowledge [Religion]
This check tells you what you know about a religion.
Knowledge [Dungeoneering]
This check tells you where traps are likely to be, what unnatural monster stands (or oozes) before you.
Knowledge [The Planes]
This check tells you information about other Planes of existence, such as the Abyss, the Hells, and the Astral Plane.
Knowledge [Geography]
This check tells you about the landscape, and what sort of weather patterns can be expected from an area.
Knowledge [Folklore]
Often used for mythology, this is a check that tells you about the stories of heroes, villains, gods and devils of old.
Wisdom
This is a basic skill that tells you how well you know people and life in general. It is often interchangeable with an Intelligence check, so if you fail one you can try with the other.
Spot
This is a skill to look for something. You sometimes get bonuses if it’s something that would stand out in its environment, but you can also get penalties for things that would blend in. [See Hidden Penalties & Bonuses]
Listen
Used for listening to or for things, it is useful for eavesdropping a conversation or listening for a call that marks a signal.
Search
Used for looking for things in a room or location. Spot is used for simply looking around; however, search must be used if objects must be moved in order to locate the missing object.
Heal
This is useful for healing either yourself or your friends. Healing in my campaigns do not always involve magic; sometimes it means breaking out the needle & thread to stitch up a wound.
Insight
This is used if you want to figure out what someone is saying when you don’t speak their language (or at least get a general idea of what they’re saying), if someone would like something or not, and generally how someone is feeling or the basics of what they are thinking.
Charisma
This is a skill that basically determines how well you can turn heads and sway hearts. People with high Charisma often become centers of attention.
Bluff
Basically, how well can you lie? Can you make someone believe that you weren’t at a murder you had so meticulously planned for weeks?
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is used to sway someone’s stance, and is especially useful for haggling. If you need to convince someone that what you want is better, this is the skill for it.
Intimidate
Used often by thugs and bullies, this is not an entirely bad skill. It is also useful for scaring off people that just aren’t worth the effort to kill, or are too insignificant for such things.
Streetwise
This one comes in handy if you are looking around an unfamiliar town for something or somewhere. Use it to find where the best inn is, or where a good swordsmith is.
Stealth
A simple check, this determines how well you can hide from things. It is especially useful for ranged weapon users, where they can use it to snipe off enemies at a distance.
Seduce
A check that is useful for the sexy people. A seduce check can get someone in bed, or at least to spill the info you need before you run out the door screaming rape. (I’ve done that in a different campaign. Guy ended up dying.)
Perform [Instrument]
If you have a flute or harp or some other instrument on hand, you can attempt to play it. However, if you have no points, don’t expect it to be nice.
Perform [Sing]
Simple: How well can you sing a ballad to stir the hearts of the masses?
Perform [Dance]
Again, simple: Can you do a jig to impress your date?
Perform [Oratory]
This is a skill most often used by bards and leaders of groups. It’s basically a check for making a speech.
Variable Mods
These are skills that, depending on what you choose for your character, will have different mods based on that skill choice.
Craft
Basically, what can you make? It could be spells, glass, jewelry, just about whatever you can think of.
Profession
Basically, what would your player have as a job?

Hidden Penalties & Bonuses
Depending on your check, the DM may place a penalty or bonus that you the player don’t know about. Here are some examples of each:
Penalties:
• If something is hidden in an environment it matches.
• If the character is hindered by something (most often alcohol)
• If the character is at enemy stance with someone they’re trying to talk to
Bonuses:
• If something is hidden in an environment where it stands out.
• If something is helping the character, such as a blessing or a magical force
• If the character is friendly with someone they’re trying to talk to
Now you don’t have to simply just roll and take what you get. You can ask for bonuses/penalties before you roll (it has to be before though) and get them.
Synchronized/Interchangeable Checks
Sometimes, skills just go so well together, that you can either use them together, or use the other if you fail one. Here’s a list of each:

Synchronized Checks
These are checks that can be used together to achieve an even greater effect:
Strength + Climb or Dexterity + Climb
Use these together to improve a Climb Check
Dexterity + Jump
Use these to improve your running start on your jump, or how well you tuck yourself to squeeze a little more distance.
Swim + Endurance
This combo will let you swim longer
Ride + Balance
This helps you stay on the mount longer.
Ride + Nature
And this check helps the mount remain calm.
Tumble + Jump or Tumble + Dexterity
Makes your tumbling just a little more acrobatic
Sleight of Hand + Bluff
Helps make the jewels vanish faster
Arcana + Scry or Arcana + Spellcraft or Arcana + Magic Device
Good to make sure you know what you’re doing before you cast that spell.
Find Trap + Search or Find Trap + Spot
Use these skills to look for that needle that is supposed to stab you in the face while you sleep.
Insight + Decipher Script
Both skills can be used with languages you don’t understand, so why not combine them?
Knowledge [Folklore] + Knowledge [History]
Pair what everyone says happened with what really happened to look for similarities
Diplomacy + Seduce
Convince that person to sleep with you!
Any of the Perform Skills
Cause everyone loves a good story accompanied by a song, or a song with an instrument, or an instrument with a dance, or a dance with a story….
And these are just what I came up with in a moment. You can justify it, run it by your DM, and chances are you can use it.

Interchangeable Skills
Intelligence/Wisdom
Charisma/Attractiveness
Knowledge [Nature]/Knowledge [Dungeoneering]

Again, just a few that I came up with. Justify, Run By, and see what you get.