Characters assessing the opposition

[Andezzar]

What options do the characters have to evaluate a threat?

Does an sufficiently high knowledge check give you the creature's CR or something like that or is it only species, strength 1, weakness 1, strength 2 weakness 2 etc. if you beat the DC by multiples of 5.

Are there ways to assess how dangerous creatures are that get most of their power from class levels?

[Aethir]

Well, there is the expanded use for Sense Motive on page 102 of CAdventurer, with high enough SM you can pretty accurately pin down what threat level a person is.

[Arc_knight25]

Combat Intuition feat gives you a +4 to your sense motive check for one of the variant skill checks in Complete Adventurer. Along with giving you a +1 on attacks on your next turn attacking the same opponent.

I'm sure there are spells that do much what your asking. Mind you I don't know any off hand.

[Karmea]

Yeah. Know Vulnerabilities (http://dndtools.eu/spells/spell-compendium--86/know-vulnerabilities--4333/), Know Protections (http://dndtools.eu/spells/magic-of-faerun--20/know-protections--1638/) and Know Opponent (http://dndtools.eu/spells/spell-compendium--86/know-opponent--4332/), to name a few.

[Andezzar]

Thanks, I was mostly looking for non-magic ways. Too bad that fighters do not get sense motive as a class skill.

[Karmea]

Well, you can get sense motive with a feat: Martial Study (setting sun), Apprentice (philosopher) or get the pact domain with Planar Touchstone (catalogues of enlightement).