#source-PlayerHandbook Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force. #### Strength Checks A Strength check can model any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force your body through a space, or to otherwise apply brute force to a situation. The [Athletics](https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/using-ability-scores#Athletics) skill reflects aptitude in certain kinds of Strength checks. ![[Athletics]] ##### Other Strength Checks The DM might also call for a Strength check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following: - Force open a stuck, locked, or barred door - Break free of bonds - Push through a tunnel that is too small - Hang on to a wagon while being dragged behind it - Tip over a statue - Keep a boulder from rolling #### Attack Rolls and Damage You add your Strength modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon such as a mace, a battleaxe, or a javelin. You use melee weapons to make melee attacks in hand-to-hand combat, and some of them can be thrown to make a ranged attack. #### Variant: Encumbrance The rules for lifting and carrying are intentionally simple. Here is a variant if you are looking for more detailed rules for determining how a character is hindered by the weight of equipment. When you use this variant, ignore the Strength column of the [Armor table](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/phb/equipment#Armor) in [chapter 5](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/phb/equipment). If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are **encumbered**, which means your [speed](https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/adventuring#Speed) drops by 10 feet. If you carry weight in excess of 10 times your Strength score, up to your maximum carrying capacity, you are instead **heavily encumbered**, which means your [speed](https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/adventuring#Speed) drops by 20 feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.