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jackYour character sheet has a lot of numbers, skills and weapon attack bonuses, that are a small number (-1 or +2 or +4 or something) that you add on to a d20 roll when appropriate, that are all equal to "your ability score modifiers in the relevant ability", or to your "ability score modifier in the relevant ability, plus your proficiency bonus".
These are just a shortcut, just repeatedly copying the ability scores to the relevant sections, and a bit less than half the time, adding your proficiency bonus as well. There is an awful lot of information here and it can be hard to remember what's what, but when you understand that, it's a lot easier to keep straight.
In particular, a lot of the most important ones will hopefully be your proficiency modifier (+2 at low levels) plus your best ability score modifier (usually +3 if you invested heavily in it, +2 if you spread more evenly). That means your best attacks, and your best skills are usually all the same, +4 or +5 depending how specialised you are. So when you roll a d20 and add that, it will make a noticeable difference.
And your worst ones, when you don't WANT to roll, but the GM makes you, will usually be untrained (so no proficiency bonus) and your worst ability score modifier (usually +0 or -1), so your rolls will really be about the same as someone untrained, the same as rolling a d20 and not adding anything -- you'll be "bad for an adventurer", but you're not usually actually much worse compared to average people, except that it's often funny to play it that way.
And then there's a lot in between, where it's impossible to keep straight, where you end up with a +1 or something and don't really remember what. And a few classes have uber-skills which are higher than this (*cough* rogues *cough*).
Example
P1: I swing on the chandelier!
GM: OK, make an acrobatics check.
P1: I forgot how.
GM: Roll a d20.
P1: OK. I got a 7.
GM: What's your acrobatics skill?
P1: I forgot to fill those in.
GM: OK, what's your dexterity?
P1: Uh, I'm a bit clumsy fighter. So -1. I mean, my ability score modifier is -1, that's what you want, right? My actual ability score is 8.
GM: Yes, that's right. So add -1.
P1: Ok. Uh, that gives 6.
GM: Are you proficiency in that skill?
P1: How do I know?
GM: Did you choose it when you created your character? You usually colour in the little circle next to it on your character sheet.
P1: Oh. Then no.
GM: Ok, so what's your final total?
P1: Uh... 6.
GM: And what's the total you added?
P1: I added, um, -1.
GM: OK, write "-1" next to the skill.
P1: Did I succeed?
GM: *compares 6 to the target score, in this case a DC of 15*
GM: No. You grab the chandelier and swing uncrontrollably. Your weight rips it out of the ceiling. A pile of gold from the vault above cascades through the ballroom ceiling, clattering to the floor about you.
P1: Score!
Weapon and spell attack bonus
But your best attack, the one you want to use by default is usually "Proficiency bonus" plus "ability score modifier", like everything else you're good at. And like everything else is usually "roll a d20 and add +4 or +5" at first level.
That's usually strength, for traditional weapon attacks, dexterity for ranged attacks, and a mental ability for spell attacks from magic users, intelligence for wizards, wisdom for clerics, etc. But there'll be another post about different sorts of weapons and calculating damage.
Most classes stick to weapons they're proficient with and have a good ability score for, but you don't have to, there are times when a weapon you're not that good with is the sensible choice, you just add smaller bonus to succeed on the attack.
Skills
Likewise, there's a long list of skills, but they're all tied to an ability score, and in character creation you choose some you're trained in -- those ones also get the proficiency bonus.
So if you're a fighter with a +3 strength modifier, but whose best other ability score modifier is +1. And who's trained in all the strength-based skills, and none of the other ones. Then your skills will be a big list with +5 next to all the skills you like, and a -1, +0 or a +1 in everything else.
These are just a shortcut, just repeatedly copying the ability scores to the relevant sections, and a bit less than half the time, adding your proficiency bonus as well. There is an awful lot of information here and it can be hard to remember what's what, but when you understand that, it's a lot easier to keep straight.
In particular, a lot of the most important ones will hopefully be your proficiency modifier (+2 at low levels) plus your best ability score modifier (usually +3 if you invested heavily in it, +2 if you spread more evenly). That means your best attacks, and your best skills are usually all the same, +4 or +5 depending how specialised you are. So when you roll a d20 and add that, it will make a noticeable difference.
And your worst ones, when you don't WANT to roll, but the GM makes you, will usually be untrained (so no proficiency bonus) and your worst ability score modifier (usually +0 or -1), so your rolls will really be about the same as someone untrained, the same as rolling a d20 and not adding anything -- you'll be "bad for an adventurer", but you're not usually actually much worse compared to average people, except that it's often funny to play it that way.
And then there's a lot in between, where it's impossible to keep straight, where you end up with a +1 or something and don't really remember what. And a few classes have uber-skills which are higher than this (*cough* rogues *cough*).
Example
P1: I swing on the chandelier!
GM: OK, make an acrobatics check.
P1: I forgot how.
GM: Roll a d20.
P1: OK. I got a 7.
GM: What's your acrobatics skill?
P1: I forgot to fill those in.
GM: OK, what's your dexterity?
P1: Uh, I'm a bit clumsy fighter. So -1. I mean, my ability score modifier is -1, that's what you want, right? My actual ability score is 8.
GM: Yes, that's right. So add -1.
P1: Ok. Uh, that gives 6.
GM: Are you proficiency in that skill?
P1: How do I know?
GM: Did you choose it when you created your character? You usually colour in the little circle next to it on your character sheet.
P1: Oh. Then no.
GM: Ok, so what's your final total?
P1: Uh... 6.
GM: And what's the total you added?
P1: I added, um, -1.
GM: OK, write "-1" next to the skill.
P1: Did I succeed?
GM: *compares 6 to the target score, in this case a DC of 15*
GM: No. You grab the chandelier and swing uncrontrollably. Your weight rips it out of the ceiling. A pile of gold from the vault above cascades through the ballroom ceiling, clattering to the floor about you.
P1: Score!
Weapon and spell attack bonus
But your best attack, the one you want to use by default is usually "Proficiency bonus" plus "ability score modifier", like everything else you're good at. And like everything else is usually "roll a d20 and add +4 or +5" at first level.
That's usually strength, for traditional weapon attacks, dexterity for ranged attacks, and a mental ability for spell attacks from magic users, intelligence for wizards, wisdom for clerics, etc. But there'll be another post about different sorts of weapons and calculating damage.
Most classes stick to weapons they're proficient with and have a good ability score for, but you don't have to, there are times when a weapon you're not that good with is the sensible choice, you just add smaller bonus to succeed on the attack.
Skills
Likewise, there's a long list of skills, but they're all tied to an ability score, and in character creation you choose some you're trained in -- those ones also get the proficiency bonus.
So if you're a fighter with a +3 strength modifier, but whose best other ability score modifier is +1. And who's trained in all the strength-based skills, and none of the other ones. Then your skills will be a big list with +5 next to all the skills you like, and a -1, +0 or a +1 in everything else.