Do caster out of combat options matter?

[stoutstien]

The dice are swingy as hell.

My barbarian, who is raging and has Advantage on his Athletics check, just failed to climb a tree at DC 13 with his +7 modifier.

Prime example of when not to roll if the outcome is going to lead to nonsense.

Only time I could see calling for a check for a barbarian here is if they were over encumbered or doing so with no hands.