A follow up to the above is a clarification on what the skills are and how they can help you in the game.
Acrobatics
Modifier Type: Dexterity
Situations of Use: Your Acrobatics skill encompasses your ability to stay on your feet in a tricky situation. The following are examples of when you might be asked to make an Acrobatics check:
Running across a sheet of ice
Balancing on a tightrope
Staying upright on a rocking ship’s deck
Performing acrobatic stunts, including dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips
Animal Handling
Modifier Type: Wisdom
Situations of Use: According to the PHB, Animal Handling only relates to making checks with domesticated animals. These checks might include:
Calming down your mount if they have been frightened
Determining if your mount could make a jump
Arcana
Modifier Type: Intelligence
Situations of Use: Your Arcana skill reflects your knowledge in the realm of spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions, the planes of existence, and the inhabitants of those planes.
Athletics
Modifier Type: Strength
Situations of Use: Athletics encompasses your ability to succeed in difficult situations you encounter while climbing, jumping, or swimming. Examples include the following activities:
Attempting to climb a cliff
Clinging to a surface while something is trying to knock you off
Jumping an unusually long distance or pulling off a stunt midjump
Struggling to swim or stay afloat in treacherous currents or something trying to pull you underwater or otherwise interfere with your swimming
Deception
Modifier Type: Charisma
Situations of Use: Your Deception skill encompasses your ability to convincingly hide the truth, either verbally or through your actions. This deception can encompass the following:
Trying to fast-talk a guard or con a merchant
Passing yourself off in a disguise
History
Modifier Type: Intelligence
Situations of Use: Your History skill measures knowledge about historical events, legendary people, ancient kingdoms, past disputes, recent wars, and lost civilizations.
Insight
Modifier Type: Wisdom
Situations of Use: Your Insight skill encompasses your ability to read the true intentions of a creature, such as when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s next move.
Intimidation
Modifier Type: Charisma
Situations of Use: When you attempt to influence someone through overt threats, hostile actions, and physical violence, the DM might ask you to make an Intimidation check.
Investigation
Modifier Type: Intelligence
Situations of Use: When you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Investigation check. Examples would include:
Deducing the location of a hidden object
Discerning from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it
Determining the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse
Medicine
Modifier Type: Wisdom
Situations of use: Your Medicine skill encompasses your ability to stabilize a dying companion or diagnose an illness.
Nature
Modifier Type: Intelligence
Situations of use: Your Nature skill measures your knowledge about terrain, plants and animals, the weather, and natural cycles.
Perception
Modifier Type: Wisdom
Situations of use: Your Perception skill measures your ability to spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something. It measures your general awareness of your surroundings and the keenness of your senses. Examples of this would include:
Trying to hear a conversation through a closed door, eavesdropping under an open window, or hearing monsters moving stealthily in the forest
Spotting things that are obscured or easy to miss, such as whether there are orcs lying in ambush on a road, thugs hiding in the shadows of an alley, or candlelight under a closed secret door
Performance
Modifier Type: Charisma
Situations of use: Your Performance skill determines how well you can delight an audience with music, dance, acting, storytelling, or some other form of entertainment.
Persuasion
Modifier Type: Charisma
Situations of use: When you attempt to influence someone or a group of people with tact, social graces, or good nature, the DM might ask you to make a Persuasion check. Persuasion typically comes up over Deception when you are acting in good faith, fostering friendships, making cordial requests, or exhibiting proper etiquette.
Religion
Modifier Type: Intelligence
Situations of use: Your Religion skill measures your knowledge about deities, rites and prayers, religious hierarchies, holy symbols, and the practices of secret cults.
Sleight of Hand
Modifier Type: Dexterity
Situations of use: Sleight of Hand determines your ability to plant something on someone else without them knowing or to conceal an object on your person. The DM might also call for a Sleight of Hand check to determine whether you can lift a coin purse off another person or slip something out of another person’s pocket.
Stealth
Modifier Type: Dexterity
Situations of use: Your Stealth skill measures your ability to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past guards, slip away without being noticed, or sneak up on someone without being seen or heard.
Survival
Modifier Type: Wisdom
Situations of use: Your Survival skill encompasses your ability to survive in the treacherous wilderness. This could include:
Following tracks of game or a monster that you are hunting
Guiding your group through frozen wastelands
Avoiding quicksand and other natural hazards
