What 5e skill gives you streetwise?

[werecorpse]

In other editions and games there is a skill called streetwise to use when -gathering rumours, -finding the likely location of the thieves guild,- tracking down someone who might be selling a desired item,- knowing the affiliation of some n'er do wells you bump into;or just finding a lost puppyI see from the PHB that it might be just a charisma check but that suggests that there is no learned element which seems wrong.What have you used?

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Backgrounds for this - eg criminal, urchin...rather than a skill

 

[werecorpse]

Backgrounds for this - eg criminal, urchin...rather than a skill

So what skill do you roll - if any ?

 

[Shiroiken]

There is no skill for it anymore. It's just a Charisma Check (PHB pg. 179).

 

[Horwath]

I would go for persuasion if you have the proficiency.

You could go for intimidate, but that could be one-shot-deal and could carry problems down the road.

So better to grease them with persuasion and a few gold.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I'd generally ask for a Charisma (Investigation) check.

 

[iserith]

This can also be done as a function of the Research downtime activity.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

So what skill do you roll - if any ?

Depends - if in a lace the PC conceivably would consider home or familiar turf, I'd generally allow him to 'know' a guy and set u a RP encounter.

If they just walked into town then probably be a question of asking around in which case, are they enquiring or are they, shall we say, pursuing a more vigorous mode of enquiry...in which case Persuasion or Intimidate.

I may give them advantage if they come up with a sound plan. Equally, if a thief wants to find the local guild, I'd probably make an Int check to see if they recognise any telltale signs of guild membership even though they are in a foreign place...little clues etc, which might let them spot a guild member and be able to follow her back to base...

I don't see it as a hard and fast rule, as it depends so much on the situation and the RP behind what they're doing.

 

[Jediking]

I'd decide if/what roll was needed based on how the PCs approach it. If they grab random people off the street, they might just spend time or get a random roll. If the Barbarian wants to outdrink a local mole at the pub, maybe it's Constitution (Persuasion). If the Rogue went to his underground contacts, I like [MENTION=6802951]Cap'n Kobold[/MENTION]'s idea of Charisma (Investigation). If the Bard wants to play on a corner and ask sycophants who walk by, maybe a Charisma (Performance) roll.

If getting the information isn't a whole encounter or skill challenge on it's own, then this seems like a nice way of letting the players choose how to get the info, with all the benefits and consequences of their decision (store damages, obsessed fan, betrayed friend, new patron, whathaveyou)

 

[Illithidbix]

Depends how the player wants to go around doing it.

Note that in the list of "Other Charisma Checks" on page 179 it does list.

Find the best person to talk to for news, rumors, and gossip.
Blend into a crowd to get the sense of key topics of conversation.

If a player described how they were using their proficient skill to aid this process, I'd let them add said proficiency bonus to roll.

Likewise a relevant background feature like Criminal Contact or Guild membership would get them some information.

Actually whilst DMing I tend to just tell the players if their characters try to do it with out bothering to roll, because it helps stuff actually happen in games.