Sleight of Hand

Sleight of Hand is a Dexterity-based skill.

The higher a creature's Dexterity score, the more likely they are to succeed on Sleight of Hand ability checks to pick locks, pick pockets, and disarm traps.

“

Wield nimble fingers. Steal stuff.

„

— In-game skill description

Proficiency

Characters who are proficient in Sleight of Hand can add their proficiency bonus when making ability checks.

The following backgrounds grant proficiency in Sleight of Hand:

•  Charlatan
•  Urchin

The following classes can choose to select Sleight of Hand as a proficient skill at Level 1:

•  Bard
•  Rogue
•  Ranger - via the Natural Explorer option Urban Tracker

Uses

• Picking locks (requires  Thieves' Tools)
• Disarming Traps (requires  Trap Disarm Toolkit)
• Pickpocketing from NPCs
• Stealing items without being noticed (see also Stealth)

Pickpocketing and stealing tips

Picking pockets and stealing items in crowded areas can be difficult due to characters in the area having overlapping sight cones or moving around. A method around this is using a party member to start a conversation with the character making this task more difficult. Typically the character turns to face the party member they are in a conversation with, thus turning their sight cone away from the mark intended to pickpocketed or the item to be stolen. This can also be used to hold a character still while attempting to pickpocket them.

Another technique to pickpocket in crowded areas is by being  Invisible first. Invisible characters always succeed with  Stealth checks while this condition is active, making it possible to attempt pickpocketing even in a crowded room. However, invisibility drops immediately after a pickpocket attempt is made (unless using  Greater Invisibility, which has an increasing chance to fail, based on use). If quickly going invisible again, or going to camp, the player character can avoid being caught.

Note that Greater Invisibility breaks instantly if the pickpocket attempt fails, without the check normally made to maintain it.

An additional technique is firing an  Arrow of Darkness near a character, activating turn-based mode, hiding and then pickpocketing. In some scenarios, it is necessary to pass a Stealth check, but in most cases this allows easier pickpocketing in more crowded areas. This can also be achieved with the  Fog Cloud feature of the  Cloak of Cunning Brume, but the character to be pickpocketed must not be 'hit' with the fog or they become hostile.

To guarantee a minimum Sleight of Hand check of 30, one possible build is:

• A level 11 rogue with  Reliable Talent (guaranteeing a minimum of 10 on the d20 and bypassing critical failures) and
• +8 from  Expertise
• +6 from Dexterity, using any combination of feats,  The Graceful Cloth,  Nimblefinger Gloves,  Auntie Ethel's Hair, or the Mirror of Loss to reach 22 Dexterity
• +4 from the  Unlucky Thief's Gloves and  Smuggler's Ring
• +2d4 from  Guidance and  Shapeshifter's Boon Ring

Granting a minimum roll of 10 + 8 + 6 + 4 + 2 = 30.

If  Astarion is being used, then an additional +1 can be gotten from  Happy.

Pickpocketing DC

“

Caught red-handed. Hopefully, you are a better fighter than you are a pickpocket.

„

— Narrator, warning the player character of their impending battle after failing a sleight-of-hand check, attempting to steal

The DC of pickpocketing any item depends on its weight in kilograms, its price, and the target's Perception skill modifier through the following formula:

$\text{DC}=8+\text{Perception}+\frac{\text{Weight}}{5}+20\cdot \max (0,\min (1,\sqrt{\frac{\text{Price}}{1000}}))$

The result is rounded to the nearest integer. The maximum possible DC is 30, regardless of item weight or price. The table below shows the base DC of pickpocketing gold, not including the target's Perception modifier. For large gold stacks, weight continues to contribute to DC beyond the gold cap, until the maximum of 30 is reached.

Pickpocketing Gold DC

Amount of Gold	Sleight of Hand DC
1-5	9
6-15	10
16-30	11
31-50	12
51-75	13
76-104	14
105-139	15
140-179	16
180-223	17
224-272	18
273-326	19
327-385	20
386-449	21
450-518	22
519-591	23
592-669	24
670-752	25
753-840	26
841-932	27
933-2499	28
2500+	29-30†

†DC 29 vs 30 depends on the weight of the gold stack. DC cannot exceed 30.

Roll target

The number displayed in the Pickpocketing UI is not the DC of the check, but the number that must be rolled on the D20 to pass the check. This number may not include all bonuses and can therefore be misleading.

Ways to boost or penalize

Equipment and items

Name	Bonus or Penalty	Notes
Dark Displacement Gloves	+1
Elixir of Gnomish Ingenuity	Proficiency
Elixir of Halfling Luck	Advantage	All ability checks
Elixir of Human Versatility	Proficiency	All skills
Gloves of Power	+1
Gloves of Thievery	Advantage
Hedge Wanderer Armour	+1	All Dexterity ability checks
Hide Armour +1	+1	All Dexterity ability checks
Knock Knuckle Gloves	+1
Leather Armour +2	+1	All Dexterity ability checks
Nimblefinger Gloves	+1	All Dexterity ability checks, +2 DEX (Gnomes), +1 DEX (Halflings/Dwarves)
Resonance Stone	Advantage	All physical ability checks
Shapeshifter's Boon Ring	+1d4	All ability checks while shapeshifted/disguised
Smuggler's Ring	+2
The Graceful Cloth	Advantage	All Dexterity ability checks, +2 Dexterity
Unlucky Thief's Gloves	+2
Winkling Gloves	+1

Actions and spells

Name	Bonus or Penalty	Notes
Ascendant Bite	-1 (target) +1 (user)	All ability checks
Astral Knowledge: Dexterity	Proficiency	All Dexterity skills
Bardic Inspiration  Combat Inspiration	+1d6 +1d8 +1d10	Next ability check
Bend Luck: Ability Check Bonus	+1d4	All ability checks
Bend Luck: Ability Check Penalty	-1d4	All ability checks
Bestow Curse: Dexterity Disadvantage	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Bolstering Magic: Boon	+1d4	All ability checks
Cat's Grace	Advantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Contagion: Seizure	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Cosmic Omen: Ability Check	+1d6	All ability checks
Cutting Words	-1d6	All ability checks
Guidance	+1d4	All ability checks
Hex (Dexterity)	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Improved Bardic Inspiration	+1d12	Next ability check
Knowledge of the Ages: Dexterity	Proficiency	All Dexterity skills
Vampire Bite	-1 (target) +1 (user)	All ability checks

Other sources

Name	Bonus or Penalty	Notes
Aura of Possibility	+10	All ability checks
Bliss Spores	+1d6	All ability checks
Blood-draw Sickness	-1	All ability checks
Dark One's Own Luck	+1d10	All ability checks once per short rest
Drunk	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Jack of All Trades	Proficiency bonus/2	All skills not proficient in
Off Balance	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Remarkable Athlete: Proficiency	Proficiency bonus/2	All Strength/Dexterity/Constitution skills not proficient in
Shocked	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Slightly Drunk	Disadvantage	All Dexterity ability checks
Urban Tracker	Proficiency