Ability Checks: Two Contentious House Rules
Here are two house rules for ability checks that will significantly improve your game.
All ability checks are DC 10 unless the task is really hard, in which case they are DC 15.
The DM can only ask for an ability check if they have devised something interesting that will happen on a failure.
What does "interesting" mean in this context? It means something that has a meaningful impact on the game. If you fail an Athletics check, perhaps you trip over and twist your ankle, halving your movement until you take a short rest. If you fail a Perception check, perhaps you took so long searching that a monster wandered by. If you fail a Religion check, perhaps you offend the god by sharing some blasphemous information about it. The point is to avoid filling your game with meaningless ability checks.
This may feel too punishing, but you always have the option of not calling for a roll. If someone asks if they know anything about the god Gahrion, you can say "Sure, you know he is the god of the Sun." You will have fewer ability checks, but they will affect the game meaningfully when they happen.