Questions tagged [knowledge-check]
For questions about knowledge checks. A knowledge check is typically a skill check to determine whether a character knows something, or how much they know.
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What are all the ways to combine Recall Knowledge with another action?
Consider the hypothetical: A prospective GM told us the campaign will feature many, many strange monsters that will absolutely murder us if we don't play into their puzzle-like nature. However, we ...
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How to limit sequential knowledge skill checks?
I had this issue with a knowledge check in our last session. Such checks do not require proficiency, everyone can try them. The paladin wanted to know if he could recall anything about a god the group ...
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What sort of questions can I ask/answer with an Underworld Lore roll?
been a while since I've been here last, but this question is a tad important.
I started playing in a Pathfinder 2e campaign a couple months ago with my character having the Criminal background. As ...
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Are you able to apply your tool proficiency bonus when there is an overlap with a skill but you are not proficient in that skill?
So for DnD 5e, XGtE expanded/clarified the use of Tool Proficiencies and very specifically talks about when skill and tool proficiencies overlap and what to do in those situations (advantage or added ...
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Should players know the name of monsters when they are encountered? [duplicate]
This is a question that I frequently ask myself as a DM. I usually play a (home made) rule that you must first succeed on an intelligence check with a DC that varies depending on the knowledge of the ...
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How much information is conveyed when a spell is identified?
Xanathar's Guide to Everything "expands on the spellcasting rules presented in the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, providing...new options", including the ability to identify ...
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How can a creature's maximum hp be determined?
Is it possible to determine a creature's maximum hit points through a Knowledge skill check or another means?
Related: What check to use for finding out current hit points?
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DC of Knowledge arcana/religion for information about spell mechanics
What's the DC on knowledge arcana/religion checks to know the mechanics of a higher level spell?
In my current campaign, the players try to find a scroll of true resurrection to revive a dead party ...
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Who decides which check to make on a recall knowledge action?
In Pathfinder 2, a character can attempt a Recall Knowledge check to get some information about a monster. There are several skills that can be used for such checks, but only some of them work for any ...
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Was there a published adventure that dooms the party if they fail a knowledge check?
I've recently seen a very strong claim made about knowledge skills:
If someone didn't take Knowledge: Nobility and Royalty and they can't identify heraldry, then you can wind up getting ****ed. This ...
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How can I specialize in only Monster Lore?
I am playing a Transmuter Specialist wizard. For many of my shapechanging shenanigans my DM has asked me to roll skill checks to determine if I know enough about a monster to be able to change into ...
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What skills in 5e give trap knowledge (i.e. the equivalent of Dungeoneering in 4e)?
4e had a skill called Dungeoneering which was used for recognizing hazards and knowledge of some monsters. This skill doesn't exist in 5e. Clearly Perception and Investigation can be used to find ...
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Can you put ranks into knowledge skills that aren't class skills?
Can you put ranks into knowledge skills that aren't class skills?
As a sorcerer, Knowledge Engineering isn't a class skill, can I still put ranks into it so I can do Engineering checks after I level?
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How do I best decide who knows what at the beginning of a game? [closed]
Adventure Paths (APs) come with a freely downloadable player's guide that details a lot of things about the setting of the AP, including mechanical suggestions such as which prestige classes or class ...
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Does the spell Know the Enemy allow knowledge rechecks?
There is a low level spell called Know the Enemy which grants +10 bonus to knowledge checks against a creature you encountered in the last day. Does casting this allow you to make a new knowledge ...
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Is knowledge about monster types inherent?
Does my character inherently know what the traits of each monster type are (such as vermin or undead being immune to mind-affecting spells) or do I need to make a knowledge roll for that?
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How often can one do a Knowledge check to identify a creature?
The SRD section on Knowledge says:
Try Again
No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a
second time doesn’t let you know something that you never learned in
the first place.
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How much info to reveal on a successful knowledge check?
My wizard is trying to use Knowledge (Planes) to determine Monster Lore of a Nabasu Demon. The DC is 10 + the challenge rating, so 18.
On a success, I "remember a bit of useful information about ...
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Can you use a "History" check to remind players of events from previous sessions or their backstory?
My players and I are starting a new campaign soon, with brand new characters set in the same world and after all of our previous campaigns. In the first session, I plan on having them run into some ...
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What's the appropriate skill for knowledge about contemporary celebrities?
I miss the specific knowledge checks from 3.5 in the 5th edition.
In my campaign, it is often important to know something about minor and major celebrities of the time (queens, kings, dukes, ...
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Is there a safe way to determine how powerful an opponent is?
I'm playing with a DM that usually makes us encounter strong enemies in the middle of nowhere. That's fine since we can choose to fight or not, but the real challenge is determining how strong the ...
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Cyber/Bioware to enhance Knowledge Skills
Last session, when I was bored and looking to burn some hard earned money for my character, I browsed through our books and found a nice little piece that when implanted would give +3 dice on all ...
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How much information should be given on monster vulnerabilities on a successful knowledge check?
The rules for knowledge checks state:
Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).
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What can I use if I don't know if my PCs remember an urban route?
In our current adventures my PCs are in a specific very large City. By searching, they found a specific black market shop, the route leading to which was a bit complicated.
Can they roll an ...
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Which Pathfinder classes and archetypes provide benefits for successfully identifying creatures with the Knowledge skill?
I'm looking to make a character who knows everything about everything. To make such a character function, I'd want to truly benefit from the knowledge he has. Which class/archetypes benefit the most ...
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Does Bardic Knowledge Encompass all other knowledge skills?
If not,what Knowledge's would bardic Knowledge cover?
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How does a temporary Knowledge bonus effect existing knowledge rolls?
Lets say I encounter a marauding Owlbear. As it is a magical beast and I know a few things about the arcane I make a knowledge arcana check. I get a final result of 23 giving me two pieces of useful ...
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How do PC's learn about usable items [closed]
Running a game using the beginner box, The cleric/wizard can use Spellcraft once per day to examine a magic item. And although not part of the beginner box rules, Appraise can be used to determine the ...
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How should the DM manage the discrepancy between the player's memory and their PC's memory?
It may happen that, during a session, players don't remember the name of a NPC that they met (or, more generally, information about something that happened) during the previous session. Obviously, ...
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Does getting information about a monster in combat take an action?
When the heroes enter a combat and want to know information about their enemies (keywords, strengths, weaknesses etc) would the ability check require an action or is this a free action?
I have read ...
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What knowledge check is it when something from another plane tries to find out what a human is?
If you go to another plane and one of the native creatures tries to identify a material plane PC (assuming human for simplicity), what kind of knowledge check is it?
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Skill and Knowledge Based System [closed]
I am planning a steampunk play-by-post game. Although I started by homebrewing Pathfinder, I've found that the skills (and especially knowledge/profession) aren't robust enough to handle my needs.
I'...
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Have I missed how to calculate the DC for knowing Monster characteristics?
My players often want to see if they know something about a monster or not, specially stuff like weaknesses and resistances. I have this idea that there should be somewhere in the MM or DMG explaining ...
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How do you make loremaster characters more than just a GM mouthpiece?
You know, like how the Mouth of Sauron is just a mouthpiece and nothing more. Even his name was forgotten.
Many a time, I have see this type of exchange when dealing with a lore master character ...
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What Should I Roll to See if a Character Remembers a Face?
Motivation
I'm planning an adventure where a character runs into someone he's seen once. Because of the nature of the encounter, the NPC will remember the PC, but the PC might not remember the NPC.
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Does D&D 5e have a rule for character knowledge about monsters?
In the 3rd and 4th editions of D&D, there were explicit rules for determining if a character knew anything about a monster before them. In 3rd edition, for example, use of the Knowledge skill ...
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What should be the DC to identify monster vulnerabilities?
What should be the DCs for checks revealing monster vulnerabilities, damage reductions, and other qualities of the like? Knowing such facts about a monster can dramatically change the dynamic of a ...
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How to handle player knowledge when they fumble a knowledge roll [duplicate]
I'm a new DM of D&D 4e and I'm looking for some advice for handling failed and fumbled information rolls.
I am using a house-rule that allows for misinformation when a 1 is rolled on the ...
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Handling "relevant knowledge" in Savage Worlds
As a GM, how should I handle cases of "relevant knowledge" among my player-characters? For example, if someone is playing a Doctor (with Healing at a d10, say), surely they don't have to take "...
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Is Knowledge (Local) Tied to a Specific Region?
For a long time, one of the DMs in my usual group has claimed that Knowledge (Local) has to be tied to a specific region. For example, you could take Knowledge (Restov). So, we've always just played ...
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What is the correct way to calculate the Knowledge DC to identify a creature?
Something that has always confused me about the Knowledge skill in D&D 3.5 is that identifying a monster with advancement is more difficult only because the HD increase. The DC of the knowledge ...
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How do players learn about traits and auras with monster knowledge rolls?
The PHB establishes the following DCs for monster knowledge rolls:
15 - Name, type and keywords
20 - Powers
25 - Resistances and vulnerabilities
Where do you list auras and traits? Do you treat them ...
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Is the information gained from a knowledge check fallible? [closed]
I got into a big argument on another forum about the fallibility of knowledge checks. I was under the impression that they represented things a character had learned by virtue of living life in the ...
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How much should I reveal on a successful creature Knowledge check?
I am a very new GM, with new players as well, and I am wondering how much information on a creature I should reveal if they make a successful nature/arcana/religion/whatever check. My players want to ...
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What type of action is a knowledge check?
Based on a recent question about knowledge checks, I started wondering what kind of action Knowledge Checks were. The compendium doesn't seem to state it for monster knowledge checks (but, e.g. detect ...
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Can a knowledge check be used to identify the powers of a unique named enemy?
In Encounter 29: Arena of Kord in Madness at Gardmore Abbey the players face an enemy leader called:
Leralix, Minotaur Magus (L) Level 9 Controller (Leader)
...
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Does a monster knowledge check allow the character to learn everything about a monster's powers?
A monster knowledge check, if successful grants:
The character identifies the monster and knows its origin, type, typical temperament, and keywords.
If the character meets of exceeds the hard DC for ...
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Which skills can be used for a Monster Knowledge Check when multiple keywords are involved?
When PCs make a Monster Knowledge Check they see what skill corresponds to the main keyword of the monster. But what about monsters that have multiple keywords?
For example, a Skeleton has both the ...
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How can I make monster knowledge checks fun?
By now most players know, or should know, that a monster knowledge check can make all the difference when you’re fighting a monster for the very first time. But how can we make them both fun and not ...
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What alternative system best handles the mundane skills and knowledge that were removed from the D&D 4e's skill list?
I decided that my urban campaign setting for 4E would be better off if characters had some "mundane skills and knowledge."
One solution is adding the Knowledge, Craft, and Profession skills back in ...
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