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Rasman
2010-01-21, 06:27 PM
Knowledge is power.

Knowing is half the battle.

Roll for Knowledge...

Troupes are true in D&D too. The more you know about something, the better you can prepare for it, but there are a lot of things in the D&D world to be knowledgeable about. What are the knowledge rolls you seem to have to roll the most?

Xzeno
2010-01-21, 06:42 PM
What are the knowledge rolls you seem to have to roll the most?

Bardic. Solves problems, that one.

After that, history and nobility. I can meta-game the rest.

Rasman
2010-01-21, 06:47 PM
Bardic. Solves problems, that one.

After that, history and nobility. I can meta-game the rest.

lol...Bards are Knowledge cheaters, they have "know it all" built in, pretty much, I'm mostly talking about what your DM/GM asks you to roll knowledge on the most

oxybe
2010-01-21, 06:48 PM
well, our current game is heavily featured in the planes, so Know(planes) is used from everything to name dropping, location dropping & monster information.

when it comes to monsters we've gotten to the point where we can get a rough idea on strengths and weaknesses of our enemies based on previous encounters simply by following some trends, but our GM does like to switch things up so being able to hit the high knowledge checks do help as a "just in case".

Pigkappa
2010-01-21, 06:51 PM
Mostly Arcane, sometimes Planes/Religion. Once Nature, IIRC (in years of gaming...).

Tinydwarfman
2010-01-21, 08:00 PM
Arcana, planes, and history are the big 3 in our games, followed by stuff like nature and religion. I can't recall ever rolling any other one, except maybe nobility on occasion...

Drakevarg
2010-01-21, 08:10 PM
For some reason, I have never rolled a single Knowledge check in my life. And yet, I keep putting ranks into it as fluff...

Fiery Diamond
2010-01-21, 08:25 PM
Nature is number one. This is because I, as DM, think Knowledge Nature fits with most animals, Magical Beasts, and Aberrations. Knowledge Dungeoneering fits for those categories for ones that are underground. Knowledge Arcana is for spells and items. Knowledge History and Knowledge Nobility exist for learning about setting, while Knowledge Religion and Knowledge Planes exist for setting and monsters. Knowledge Geography I kind of ignore, since my settings routinely ignore geographical rules because I'm lazy. Bardic Knowledge is more general, but doesn't usually net as specific a result.

That's how I play it.

Eldariel
2010-01-21, 08:29 PM
Hm, Nature, Arcane, Religion, The Planes, History, Geography, Dungeoneering, Local (renamed "Society"), Geography, Architecture and Engineering, Nobility & Royalty, in that order pretty much. I make sure to roll Knowledge on practically everything and practically all of my characters have some Int and at least half-rank in all Knowledges. Then I can benefit of the mises. And I love to maximize 5-6 Knowledges as a Wizard. Knowing it all is all good. And of course, the Knowledges used for creature identification tend to come up the most.

Alex Ashgrave
2010-01-22, 10:46 PM
As I play a Druid most, Nature.
When I play a Wizard or Duskblade, Arcana. The Planes and Religion are useful.
(Though I use religion to qualify for a feat.):smallsmile:

So, Nature and Arcana. Followed by the planes.

Dr.Epic
2010-01-22, 11:46 PM
Knowledge nature (that's the one to identify creatures right?)

reefwood
2010-01-23, 12:00 AM
Knowledge nature (that's the one to identify creatures right?)

Technically, it depends on the creature type. There are plenty of creatures in D&D that are not natural, and therefore, not covered under Nature. Magical Beasts are under Arcana and Undead are under Religion. I think just about every Knowledge has a creature typed tied into it (and some overlap), except Architecture, Geography, and Nobility (but that last one you can still use to maybe find out something important about some Lord or Queen).

Xzeno
2010-01-23, 12:43 AM
Nature is number one. This is because I, as DM, think Knowledge Nature fits with most animals, Magical Beasts, and Aberrations.

How does that work out? Magical beasts, sure, but aberrations?

EnnPeeCee
2010-01-23, 12:47 AM
I've got a bunch of new players in my campaign, and they roll knowledge checks for EVERYTHING. Sure, they actually have no idea what any of the classic d&d things are, but I've never seen so many knowledge checks before.

Narazil
2010-01-23, 12:48 AM
How does that work out? Magical beasts, sure, but aberrations?
Aren't Aberrations kinda unnatural? If so, it's the same shtick as with Religion and Undead, isn't it? Know Thy Opponent and stuff?


I've got a bunch of new players in my campaign, and they roll knowledge checks for EVERYTHING. Sure, they actually have no idea what any of the classic d&d things are, but I've never seen so many knowledge checks before.

I think more experienced players just kinda assume the know some things. Like a Sorcerer knows a Wizard has a spellbook, and so forth.

tyckspoon
2010-01-23, 12:49 AM
Aren't Aberrations kinda unnatural? If so, it's the same shtick as with Religion and Undead, isn't it? Know Thy Opponent and stuff?

Makes more sense than Dungeoneering.. well, almost anything would make more sense than Dungeoneering, since it's effectively a catch-all of "weird crap you only find when you go delving."

Xzeno
2010-01-23, 12:51 AM
Aren't Aberrations kinda unnatural? If so, it's the same shtick as with Religion and Undead, isn't it? Know Thy Opponent and stuff.

No, because Knowledge (nature) is knowledge of nature, not knowledge (druidism) or knowledge (unnatural stuff that could be seen as an enemy of nature). Religion has details about undead because undead are bad, yes, but nature is knowing about nature.

Emmerask
2010-01-23, 02:46 AM
in my current campaign military and local

Fitz10019
2010-01-23, 08:29 AM
Kn:Nature also covers basic humanoids, like knowing a gnome can prestitigitate 1/day or whatever it is they can do.

Kn:Local is tricky -- are you sure the campaign will stay in this area? I think the same info can be had with Gather Information, although Kn:Local would save the hours required for GaInf.

Penitent
2010-01-23, 08:40 AM
Planes, Nature, Arcana, Dungeoneering in that order.

Except when character has a reason to value one more:

IE Druid nature first.
Arcane Casters Arcana higher.

Lioness
2010-01-23, 08:46 AM
Nature, Dungeoneering, Arcana

Ormur
2010-01-23, 08:47 AM
I'm always letting my players roll nobility, local or history. Those are knowledge: plot. I also use them a lot as a player plus arcana since I'm playing a wizard. All those magical items and stuff. I let the divine casters take care of knowledge religion. I haven't used geography much but sometimes you'll have to figure out where to go. The planes and architecture/engineering is what I've almost never used.

Anonymouswizard
2010-01-23, 09:01 AM
Kn:Local is tricky -- are you sure the campaign will stay in this area? I think the same info can be had with Gather Information, although Kn:Local would save the hours required for GaInf.

I'd like a DM who let me have knowledge (local) instead of knowledge (the elven heartland), much more abusable.

AshDesert
2010-01-23, 09:03 AM
Anyways, when I play it's usually History, then Arcana, Religion, or Nature, depending on what I'm playing (I usually play casters, so Arcana for Arcane, Religion for Divine, and Nature for Druids), and then Dungeoneering. I've put points into Architecture and Engineering before, but it never really came up. I've always felt like Knowledge (Nobility & Royalty) and Knowledge (Local) was a bit redundant with Knowledge (History). You can just use History to get most of the information you want.

When I DM (i.e. most of the time) Arcana and History are probably the most useful, being (essentially) a free Identify for major magic items and Knowledge (Plot) respectively. Arcana can also be used to determine the age category of Dragons, so it can be helpful in knowing when to run and when to fight. After that, Nature can be used to identify what type of creature it is (as long as it's an Animal, Vermin, Magical Beast, or Humanoid) and give a rough idea of their physical stats on a high enough roll, along with abilities from the MM for non-Humanoids. Religion, of course, is useful for Undead, Outsiders, and miscellaneous stuff such as identifying what god the evil cultists are worshipping.

Optimystik
2010-01-23, 10:00 AM
Religion has details about undead because religion is the biggest source of creating them. There are few to no druidic spells that create aberrations.