Max skills

[stewstew5]

What are the most skills you can be proficient in? At my current count it is 13

Feat var. human: + 4
(Skilled feat + racial skill)
Background: + 2
Lore bard : + 6
Prodigy feat: +1

[Vulsutyr]

Google it. Many long analyses of this question exist.

[LibraryOgre]

I had a recent thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?585078-Being-Fully-Proficient) asking about becoming proficient in all skills and saves. It's past revival date, but it might give you some answers.

[Great Dragon]

What are the most skills you can be proficient in? At my current count it is 13

Feat var. human: + 4
(Skilled feat + racial skill)
Background: + 2
Lore bard : + 6
Prodigy feat: +1

@Quietus: yep. Just double checked.

I believe there isn't a limit on how many times you can take the Skilled feat.

So, trade Prodigy for Skilled and get 2 extra skills (unless you're going for max "Expertise")
Total = 15 of 18 at 4th level.

Take Skilled again at 8th for everything.

I came up with
Half-Elf (2)
Background (2) plus up to 2 Tools.
Bard (3) + Lore (3)
Skilled at 4th (3)

Which matches your original 13 at 4th level.
8th level = Prodigy for +1.
14 total.

[Quietus]

I believe there isn't a limit on how many times you can take the Skilled feat.

So, trade Prodigy for Skilled and get 2 extra skills (unless you're going for max "Expertise")
Total = 15 of 18 at 4th level.

Take Skilled again at 8th for everything.

And then Prodigy three times!
(Not worried about Stat Increases)

I came up with
Half-Elf (2)
Background (2) plus up to 2 Tools.
Bard (3) + Lore (3)
Skilled at 4th (3)

Which matches your original 13.
So, would have to wait until 12th level to get everything. Only 2 Prodigy feats.

You can only take a feat more than once if it says you can, specifically. Skilled and prodigy do not.

[Willie the Duck]

Start with rogue3 (scout), switch to ranger1, Knowledge cleric1, warlock 2 (invocation which gives you persuasion and deception), and then go up as lore bard should give you as many class-based skills as possible. Feats and race should catch the rest.

[Great Dragon]

>Update<

Variant Human +3 from Skilled feat
Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimation

+1 from Race
Nature

+2 from Folk Hero Background
Animal Handling, Survival

+4 from 1st level Rogue
Investigation, Insight*, Perception*, Persuasion
(*Expertise)

+1 from 1st level Ranger
Stealth

+2 from Knowledge Cleric
Religion, Medicine

+4 from 3rd level Lore Bard
Arcana, Performance, History, Sleight of Hand

+1 from Prodigy feat (4th level Bard)
Deception

All 18 skills at 7th level.

*******
Half-Elf Urchin gets all 18 at 11th level.
*******
@Willie the Duck
Warlock is not really needed, but might be Alternate for Knowledge Cleric. But requires recalculation of all skills by class, and +1 to Level total.

[Naanomi]

Skilled Variant Human Scout 3/Lore Bard 3/Knowledge Cleric 2 gets them all the quickest (Without UA)

[Greywander]

+2: Half-elf
+2: Background
+4/+2e: Rogue 1
+2/+2e: Scout rogue 3
+2e: Rogue 6
+1: Bard 1
+3/+2e: Lore bard 3
+2e: Bard 10
+2/+2e: Knowledge cleric 1
+1: Ranger 1
+1/+1e: Prodigy feat

= 18 proficient, 13 expertise, 18 levels spent, 1 feat spent

Not sure I'd recommend this specific build, though. The deep dips into rogue and bard are just for expertise, so if you're willing to give up 4 expertise then you can get proficiency in all 18 skills as early as 8th level (9th, actually, to get a feat for Prodigy, as we need at least 4 levels in one class). You might also want to take rogue to 11 for Reliable Talent, but this would preclude bard 10 and the 2 expertise that comes with it.

Of course, there's more to a good utility character than just skills. I'd want to fit at least 3 levels of warlock in there for the Chain pact, and collecting an absurdly large number of cantrips would also be handy.