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Monster Knowledge Skills

The idea behind the following skills is that a character could possibly have at least some knowledge of new monsters they encounter due to stories they might have heard, training they have received, their faith, or other circumstances. It also helps in situations where a player has knowledge of various monsters, and to make them able to share that knowledge "in game", they could put points into these skills. A player can then have their character share some of that knowledge with their party members while still staying in character (please see special ruling, player knowledge section for more info).

Following is a list of the monster related knowledged skills with the associated monster types (all monster knowledge skills are INT based):

Skill Name Monster types covered Considered Class Skill for... (*)
Knowledge (bestiary) Animal, Beast, Giant, Humanoid (all sizes), Plant, Vermin Ranger, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Rogue
Knowledge (monstronomicon) Dragon, Fey, Magical Beast, Shapechanger Wizard, Sorcerer
Knowledge (outsiders) Aberration, Elemental, Outsider Cleric, Paladin, Wizard, Sorcerer
Knowledge (unnatural) Construct, Ooze, Undead Bard, Rogue, Cleric, Paladin, Monk
(*) All classes can pick any monster knowledge skill as a cross-class skill
At least one rank is required in order to perform any check (these are not everyman skills)

Synergy bonuses - a +2 synergy bonus applies to a skill roll with the following combinations, when each relevant skill has at minimum 5 ranks. If a class is listed instead of a skill, the character must have at least 2 levels in that class:

Effects - when meeting a new monster, a player with the appropriate skill can attempt a skill check. The base DC is modified based on the monster's challenge rating:

CR<2 - no change to DC
CR2-4 - DC+1
CR5-8 - DC+2
CR9-12 - DC+3
CR13-16 - DC+4
CR17+ - DC+5

The single skill check will determine the amount of knowledge known. Only one check is allowed per new monster. The base DC's are:

DC10 - name of monster
DC15 - type of monster
DC20 - occurrence/organization (i.e. is the monster supposed to be here, and should we expect more of it to pop out?)
DC22-24 - general idea of a random special ability or quality (such as "able to paralyze" or "has spell resistance"); one per DC over 21 (so beating a DC of 24 will reveal a total of three)
DC25 - answer any one specific question about monster

Any successful roll includes all information up to and including that roll. For example, when passing a DC25 check, the character will get the name and type of monster, as well as whether it is supposed to be encountered there, a general idea of three special abilities and/or qualities, and the answer to one specific question about the monster.

Using concentration - a character can choose to concentrate on the monster for one round, foregoing their action in that round, and make the skill check at the end of the round. Doing so would allow adding their concentration bonus (up to a maximum of 4) to the skill roll.

Example - a character encounters a new monster, a Grick. They try a skill check. The character has invested 2 ranks in knowledge(outsiders), and their INT is 16 (+3). Therefore, they have a total of 5 ranks in knowledge(outsiders). The Grick is a CR3 monster, so the DC is increased by 1 (without the player's knowledge).

The player rolls 11. This is enough to beat a DC16, which is exactly enough for finding both the name and type of monster. The character learns that this creature is called a Grick and is an Aberration.

If they had rolled a 16 (beating a DC21), they would have also known that gricks tend to be underground, and sometimes appears in clusters of up to 4. Since the DC for the next level is 23 (22 +1 from the Grick's CR), they would not find anything else.

If they had chosen to concentrate first, and had a concentration of +5, they would have had an additional +4 (maximum concentration bonus is +4) for their check. Then a roll of 17 (+3 INT, +2 knowledge(outsiders) ranks, +4 concentration, total 26) would have provided a general description of three random special qualities and/or abilities, as well as the answer to any one specific question about the Grick. For example, the character might learn that the Grick has high damage reduction (without knowing the actual amount), that it has an uncanny sense of smell, that it has no special abilities, and the DM would then answer one additional query.

Special Ruling, Player Knowledge - A player with specific knowledge of a monster may use a skill check to be allowed to tell the rest of the party what they know. The DC's and allowed information are as follows:

DC 20 - name, type, and organization
DC 25 - full knowledge

These DC's are fixed. A concentration bonus is not allowed, and the synergy bonus is not applied to this roll. A player must choose whether they will roll normally or in an attempt to share knowledge in advance. A failed "player knowledge" roll requires that they do not disclose any information to the party until the encounter is over; at that point, information may be shared freely.