Gather Info is what skill check now?

[Monkplayer]

There really isn't an excellent choice for a gather info skill check?

Insight... sorta
Knowledge Local.. sorta
Persuasion.. sorta

[Mjolnirbear]

Investigation.

[Calimehter]

Finding good local sources of information is listed as one of the examples of a CHA ability check.

From there, which skill (Intimidate, Persuasion, Investigation, etc) comes into play to extract the information from the source depends on the DM-determined nature of the source, which can be anything from badly organized town hall records to the trope-tastic surly bartender.

[Addaran]

Yeah, i'd probably go with a investigation (cha) for the old kind of gather info where you check contacts/talks to everyone.

[Talamare]

Investigation is probably the default, but any Charisma skill would work

[Vogonjeltz]

Investigation is probably the default, but any Charisma skill would work

Investigation is about deduction and research, not interviewing or hobknobbing, which is what Gather Information was about in 3.5

It's just a straight up Charisma check. Depending on the style the player describes the character as using, I might allow Deception, Intimidate, or Persuade proficiency to apply.


There really isn't an excellent choice for a gather info skill check?

Insight... sorta
Knowledge Local.. sorta
Persuasion.. sorta

There are no skill checks, just ability checks. It's Charisma. If you want to try and apply proficiency, you only need to come up with a justification for it.

[Ninja_Prawn]

I'd agree that it's a Charisma-based concept, but 9 times out of 10, hobknobbing with locals, listening to rumours and gathering the scuttlebutt should not require a check. It's just something you do for a period of time. If there is a check, it'd surely be passive.

Interviewing people in a more specific sense would justify an encounter, in my opinion, in which insight, persuasion, deception and intimidation are likely to play a large part. Digging up / piecing together a specific piece of lore falls under investigation, but again it'd probably be passive.

[Citan]

There really isn't an excellent choice for a gather info skill check?

Insight... sorta
Knowledge Local.. sorta
Persuasion.. sorta
Hi!
I'd say there is no definite question here, it really depends on what method will be using players...
If going to a bar trying to get info from locals, it will be Charisma checks.
If going to a library to study old books on a manor they plan to sneak into, it will be Intelligence checks.
Or, maybe they just want to catch a diary protected by someone and it will be Dexterity.
Or sneak around a room and overhear conversations (Wisdom - Perception).
Or try to find a secret passage (Wisdom Perception or Intelligence Investigation).

Maybe a mix of any of those. :)
I'd say the rule of thumb for this kind of check is, when it's not a use-case explicitely quoted by the PHB, use the skill you think fits the best what the player wants to do. As long as it's fair to the group, it should be no problem, you're the DM.

[Tanarii]

IMO for the rumor-mill gathering, it's either not a check (automatic success) or a straight Cha check.

For trying to find out specific info, it's probably encounter situation with specific individuals, and would involve a variety of Cha checks. Most likely are Persuasion and Intimidation. But other possibles are Cha Investigation (cross-examining police or lawyer style), Cha Intuition (trying to talk them into revealing something hidden by mistake).