A "Remember" check.

[dascarletm]

So I'm wondering how you all would rule a check to see if a character remembers something. Wether it be an NPC he/she has met, or an important detail pertaining to the plot.

Normally I'd just make players remember themselves, but sometimes time between sessions is long. I also don't want to force them to frantically write down every detail as it happens in game since it detracts from the experience.

I'd think that a wis check or int check, but what do ya'll think?

[Forrestfire]

Knowledge is intelligence based, so I'd say it'd be an intelligence check.

[Flickerdart]

Autohypnosis (Wis, trained only) has a Memorize function, where a DC15 check allows you to perfectly commit up to a page of text or symbols to memory, and remember it with another such check. For something as simple as a face or plot point, a DC10 (for fairly unimportant things like a guy in the background) or DC5 (for fairly important things like one of the king's ten elite guardsmen) Wisdom check should suffice. For super important things like what the king looks like, give it to them for free; their characters would have definitely remembered such details.

Alternatively, you can ask for a retroactive skill check. If they notice a bird sitting on a tree outside the meeting room window, a Spot check (maybe with a circumstance penalty for remembering, -2 or so) against the DC for spotting the bird last time it was there would tell them that said bird was there last time, and is probably a polymorphed spy.

[Chaosvii7]

Knowledge is intelligence based, so I'd say it'd be an intelligence check.

A Wisdom check is more for learning things, especially things written between the lines or taking rational guesses. D&D expressed that with the "Insight" check, which was a check to help you internally discern things.

But for things your characters have already discovered and know, definitely an Intelligence check.

[Kazyan]

Our group has to deal with remembering stuff often. We make basic stuff automatic for high-Int characters and require an Int roll otherwise.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Wisdom is the "Where did I Put My Keys?" stat, so it works here.
(A High Intelligence, Low Wisdom Character is the archetypal "absent-minded professor", remember: Intelligence is NOT Memory)

For rolls outside of Dungeons and Dragons... a lot of systems have a statistic similar to Wisdom, so that would probably be the best one to use.

For WH40K roleplay, however, you should definitely use Intelligence.

Additionally, some systems (Shadowrun and nWoD in particular spring to mind), have a derived statistic specifically called "Memory" which is used for these very things.

If one of the PCs has in his character background and eidetic/photographic memory, however, it might be fine just to give it to them.

If all else fails, you can MAKE a derived stat for Memory on the spot by combining INT and WIS or your system-equivalent.

[Averis Vol]

Always been a wisdom check for my group. Perceptive people generally tend to remember things better is the only explanation I can give.

[tiercel]

Ideally, yes, the player would remember -- but sometimes RL gaps are a lot longer than in-game gaps, and most of us can't have Int/Wis scores worthy of the wizard/cleric we may be playing.

If we are talking about remembering a specific detail purely of the character's own experience AND something that you feel that the character certainly noticed at the time I would tend to say, straight Int check. If the detail has something to do with knowledge that others might have outside of that experience, I'd allow a Knowledge check.

If we are talking about remembering something that should be "common sense" (e.g. "the last time you saw THAT guy things didn't go so well"), or a check to see if the character even noticed it at the time, then I'd be more inclined to think Wisdom check. (If it's a "fine detail that the character might not have noticed at the time," you might even make it a retroactive Spot/Listen/Sense Motive check.)

Yes, the difference between these can be tricky: something like "where did I leave my keys" can be Wisdom because you could argue common-sense "where do I always leave them" or Intelligence when you can argue "I carefully hid my keys when I locked up my cottage to go away for a month."

When in doubt, try to make an argument based on the basic rules:

Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons. Wisdom describes a character’s willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition.

Keep in mind that the DC for a straight ability check should lower than a generic skill check if you want the player's character to have a reasonable chance of passing -- the number of ways there are to get a bonus on an ability check are fewer than the number of ways to get a bonus on a skill check.

If it's something that an Average Joe/Jane would have a reasonable chance of remembering, we are talking ~DC 10. (DC 20 would mean that an average commoner would have almost no chance to remember and even Smarty McWizardPants with an Int of 20 would have not quite 1 chance in 3 to remember.)

[Slipperychicken]

Knowledge is intelligence based, so I'd say it'd be an intelligence check.

I follow this logic. If Knowledge represents your ability to recall information, and is based on Int, it follows that Intelligence is the appropriate stat for memory.


Also, for some supporting evidence, Wizards spend every day memorizing and recalling the contents of their spellbooks, a task which is entirely Int-based. Additionally, the Spellcraft skill (also Int based) is at least partially remembering what each spell does and looks like.

[GoddessSune]

Normally I'd just make players remember themselves, but sometimes time between sessions is long. I also don't want to force them to frantically write down every detail as it happens in game since it detracts from the experience.


Well, I 'force' them to do this. In general, if you want to play the game with me as DM, you will remember things. After all as DM I remember almost everything and I keep extensive notes.

Taking notes is not that 'hard'. Even better taking notes keeps players 'doing something' and not just lounging in a chair until combat comes around.

Though I also provide handouts, e-mails and a wiki for all the information too.

[Slipperychicken]

I personally try to take campaign notes, which usually serve as a rough estimate of my character's "memory". As such, I might only record information my character would reasonably guess or have access to.

[StreamOfTheSky]

Intelligence is the ability that represents memory, so it would be an Int check.

[falloutimperial]

If it is something that almost everyone would remember, I wouldn't require a check. How often do you forget an important detail directly relating to your life?

[Karnith]

Intelligence is the key ability for memory, according to the SRD. Per the nonabilities section (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#nonabilities):
Intelligence
Any creature that can think, learn, or remember has at least 1 point of Intelligence. A creature with no Intelligence score is mindless, an automaton operating on simple instincts or programmed instructions. It has immunity to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) and automatically fails Intelligence checks.

Mindless creatures do not gain feats or skills, although they may have bonus feats or racial skill bonuses.
(Emphasis mine)

So an intelligence/knowledge check ought to be appropriate.

[Killer Angel]

Wisdom is the "Where did I Put My Keys?" stat, so it works here.
(A High Intelligence, Low Wisdom Character is the archetypal "absent-minded professor", remember: Intelligence is NOT Memory)

In that case, a low wisdom means that the professor was distracted when he l eft the keys on the desk.
But he remember very well the details of a particular scientific article.

[Squirrel_Dude]

I'll also throw my support behind the idea that it would be an intelligence and not a wisdom check to remember. As evidence I point to the fact that all knowledge checks are really just memory checks on a specific topic.