Top 10 Best Tool Proficiencies in DnD 5e

Tool proficiencies let your character craft and create items that can be really useful. They’re usually something you’ll use during downtime, which makes them a crucial part of your character’s identity as well, and they can actually be great tools for combat at lower levels. If you want to make the most out of your character, it’s pretty important to understand how tool proficiencies work, and what you can do with them.

Video edited/setup by BV
Written by: Zephyr

├ The List
Intro: (0:00)
10: Brewer’s Supplies: (0:20)
9: Leatherworker’s Tools: (1:44)
8: Carpenter’s Tools: (3:00)
7: Cartographer’s Tools/Navigator’s Tools: (4:39)
6: Forgery Kit: (5:51)
5: Herbalism Kit: (7:05)
4: Alchemist’s supplies: (8:29)
3: Poisoner’s Kit: (10:02)
2: Disguise Kit: (11:24)
1: Thieves’ Tools: (12:23)

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[Temeluchas]

Leatherworker's tools are indeed very "DM dependent" but (with the right DM) are not limited to just crafting things from leather. Our group used them as "poor man surgeon tools" once - since there are scissors, needles, and threads in the kit, it seemed appropriate. And trying to patch a heavily wounded party member in the remains of a freshly razed village was a great scene. Healing spells weren't available since, well, our druid was the only healer in the party and he was the unfortunate patient\victim of the "surgery".

[Dream-Reaver]

Smith’s tools are pretty good because they’re so many things made of metal like swords and armor. I was able to make plate armor with my armorer artificer at level 4 at half the price.

[MaskedMike]

Disguise Self is a 1st level spell. ALTER Self is 2nd level.
Nice to see some of the lesser known tools get mentioned. I frequently take proficiency in Thieves' Tools or Herbalism Kit, but I've also made good use of Forgery Kit and Smith's Tools with some of my characters

[mentalrebllion]

One of the proficiencies I took was weaver tools. My dm thought I was crazy but allowed it. Asked me what I was doing out of game and I told him I had been thinking about the spell druidcraft. I was thinking about how this very spell might feel offensive to a winter goddess (who we were fighting) but she still had the power to kill off such a plant. Well, what other way can you still be defiant to a winter goddess? Then I hit on fabric flowers. You can make some very really looking fabric flowers if you are skilled. What’s more, you can use it to add small details that give a lively feel. That’s what all lead to this. I took up that skill and now every place of worship of this winter goddess, my character leaves snow drop fabric flowers everywhere, using his extra down time at night (as an elf among a party of those who need a longer sleep) to make them. This has amused my dm greatly. And snowdrops are important symbolically as they are very well known traditionally as one of the first flowers to bloom for spring, often blooming while snow still covers the ground. So this is what my ranger is doing. It’s been very hilarious. Not sure what the dm will have the goddess do about it but my character is now on notice from her partly because of this.

Oh! And I had my character sew up a bag of holding with the help of the wizard so dm allowed that too but made us pay properly for it. We desperately needed it for the extra rations as we would spend a LOT of time in the wilderness where there was very little food. So very necessary.

[jettblade]

So many neat things you can do with tool proficiencies. Surprised smithing and tinkerer's tools weren't mentioned though crafting in DnD isn't the best, particularly with smithing weapon's and armor. Tinkerer's tools is really fun when you're creative. I was hoping to do a Tortle Artificer that was going to focus on using smithing, tinkerer's tools, leather working, and cobbler's tools(may even throw in carpentry if I can). For tinkerer's tools he was going to focus on clock making something that can be very valuable depending on the setting. Another thing that can be really valuable is Cobbler's tools, that is shoe making and repairing for those who don't know. It is actually really fun role play and can actually be used in heavy traveling campaigns to increase traveling distance and reduce exhaustion.

[BeaglzRok]

Honorable mention to the flavor you can get out of Cook's Utensils. I've got a character with Expertise in Medicine and Nature and proficiency in Cook's Utensils, Herbalism Kit, and Survival; she can basically make whatever the heck she wants as long as it's all-natural and/or it positively or negatively affects the body. Prepare a dragon's heart for human consumption? Yep. Prepare food from Create Food and Water with extra ingredients to actually be appetizing? You bet! Chop up some garlic into a chicken garnish to help with stomach ulcers? Absolutely. Slip some grapefruit juice to the mob boss so he overdoses on his heart pills? Uhh... she's a tribal medicine woman, and never had to take an oath, but it definitely wasn't her that did that, you can't prove it.
You can make delicious food, you can make terrible food that looks delicious, you can make mediocre food out of awful ingredients, you can literally cook a healing potion into the milkshakes and label it organic, you can identify toxic plants for future use, you can have a spice rack that doubles. YOU CAN BAKE ARTISINAL BREAD.

[zito]

Not to mention Disguise Kit can be used on other people, where as Disguise Self can only be cast on yourself. So in that way it's actually better. So you could combine them to disguise another party member with Disguise Kit and yourself with Disguise Self.

[normal]

One of my favorites is the Mason's Tools. Simply having proficiency in them lets you do double damage to brick walls, with the justification that you can spot weak points. And with a DC 15 check you can spot weak points in any stone wall, which means you can deal double damage to almost any wall in the game.

[John_Smith_Dumfugg]

The nice thing about Mason's tools is the ability to get double damage against stone walls and objects, making it potentially easier to bust out of prison, through a dungeon wall, etc. Plus the ability to spot trapdoors and secret doors in stone comes in very clutch when you're in a dungeon or cave. I always grab masons tools proficiency if I'm playing a character that uses a Warhammer for the specific reason of busting down castle, dungeon, and cave walls .

[Zack_Wester]

DnD really need to create a crafters book of crafting arts.
so that the DM can reference it for stuff like how much apple do the player need to make X amount of cider and how much will it sell for (at different quality levels).
how much hides/leather, meat and intestence does a player get from a boar so that the party knows how much sausage and steak they can make and if its enough leather to make a leather armor or what have you.

another feature whit the carpentry set is that you can make boats whit it if you have a axe (really useful if you got stranded or something) or make a building that said the time it will take will be a long time if only one person works on the projects but you dont need one tools set per person (usually).

[CitanulsPumpkin]

Brewer's supplies also let you turn salt water into fresh water by turning your still into a desalinator. A must have for any nautical campaign.

Aside from Backgrounds, tool proficiencies are the best new mechanic 5e brought to the game. The easiest way to change up the setting and tech level of your campaign world is to add new tool proficiencies to the list. There's already water and land vehicles. Adding Air and Space to the list is beyond simple. Need net running or hacking for Cyberpunk? Computer proficiency. Need to hijack a communications relay or a TV network? Broadcasting tools. Need to build any big machines, vehicles, or complex objects? Mechanic's or Engineer's tools.

An insane amount of world building work can be done by simply handing your players a custom list of new tool proficiencies and then telling them they get 2 bonus tool proficiencies at character creation.

[orelyosif]

Tool are great for non-casters. Being outside of combat can be very boring for non-casters, since most of the prep work goes to anyone who can cast spells, so being able to help the party and stay engaged is very important.

[rougheredge]

Another use I just thought up for the forgery kit, which is probably DM-dependent, is in theory you could use it to make suggestion more powerful.

Someone in another video was doing a build for The Penguin (said person specializes in that sort of thing) and included Suggestion but mentioned "It'd be pretty hard to make kidnapping children sound reasonable though" and then it occurred to me, you'd actually be shocked by what you could get people to do by impersonating an authority figure. Having forged documents identifying you as law enforcement or nobility I think could let you get away with Suggestion requests that wouldn't otherwise fly.

[Lavastaramus]

Woodcarver's tools can be really good if you play an archer, as it lets you craft arrows as part of a rest (5 on SH, 20 on LR).

[johnoman]

I think that the stone cutting tools were underrated on this list. The ability to do extra dammage to stone structures is big when you are attacking castle walls. Or statues or stone doors is huge.

[emeraldcityelicitor]

Fun Fact: Shoyu (Soy Sauce) is BREWED from soy beans. So that's another possible use for Brewer's Supplies.

Historically speaking salt demands a high price, and soy sauce is essentially used like a liquid salt in it's application.

It's just a good source of gold (if your DM agrees)

[baconator_x]

I'm building a Kenku Battle Smith Artificer (the kind that rides their defender). Using custom background at level 1 I got proficiency with Thieves, Tinkers, Smithing, Painters, and Forgery. With the Expert Duplication feature from Kenku and Keen Mind at level 4. I can likely look at any picture, writing, arguably map, or weapon and accurately recreate it later.

[nachschub]

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[calebshaffer]

Smithing tools+ Tinker tools+Alchemist kit proficiencies= Guns

[Evelyn-rbzj]

I will say that A) I'm pretty antitoxin is the herbalism kit too and B) I've found that a lot of DMs tend to allow you to use the herbalism kit to create plant based poisons as well (at least mine have on multiple characters with nature and herbalism proficiency because it's pretty easy to argue that a nature based character who is familiar with poisons and poisonous plants is probably going to be able to make at the very least a crude poison, these were mostly rangers, druids or rogues with high intelligence and nature proficiency but not enough tool proficiencies to get herbalism and poisoners kits and especially the rangers needed the herbalism kit because they were the only party member with any healing capabilities and no one else ever bothers to buy healing potions so the homebrew distilled goodberry juice became the primary source of healing for the party (the goodberry juice was basically two berries + some other ingredients to act as preservatives and it still gives one hp but lasts longer than the 24 hours and can be more easily given to downed allies, there was also a higher potency one that gave 3hp but took 5 berries, yeah I'm basically playing an Alchemist ranger but I will say that in some versions they also have alchemist supplies and cooks utensils as well as herbalism so the poisoners felt a little excessive but I don't make so many poisons that the DM wants it to be a requirement) another of my rangers is a half drow Gloomstalker who makes healing potions and basic poisons with the herbalism kit but I am definitely planning on actually getting her proficiency with the poisoners kit (and/or alchemist supplies) at some point so she can make better poisons) personally if a character was proficient with herbalism and had a poisoners kit but wasn't proficient I'd definitely allow them to have maybe half proficiency when making plant based poisons

D&D also needs better rules for brewing potions and crafting things in general