[3.5] Identifying (Skeletal) Remains

[Thurbane]

Q 638

Not sure if this is covered by RAW, but anyway: if the party comes across the skeleton of a creature, and wants to identify what creature the skeleton belonged to, would this fall under a Knowledge check relevant to the creature type while it was alive, or some other kind of check - possibly Heal, Survival or something else?

I would imagine the skeletal remains of some Humanoids, Monstrous Humanoids, Fey and humanoid-shaped Outsiders would look pretty similar, but maybe I'm overthinking things...

A 638

I agree: I don't think RAW fully covers this. Intuitively, it sounds like it would be a Knowledge check using the creature's original type. I suspect there should also be some kind of circumstance penalty, by analogy with Spellcraft (where it's harder to identify a spell if you didn't see the casting actions).

So as not to clutter up the Simple RAW Thread, anyone else have any insight or ideas about this?

Are there any published adventures or supplements that delve into this kind of thing?

I had a quick look at the Investigate feat (ECS p.55), which arguably would allow you to use a Search for this kind of thing, but would be nice to know how to do it without feat investment.

Any other thoughts? Looking for as close to RAW as possible. A citation from a supplement or adventure would be ideal!

Cheers - T

[The Viscount]

CAdv page 101 provides ability for using Heal to evaluate cause of death, which is relevant, though maybe not exactly this.

Credit to daremetoidareyou for his Knowledge handbook (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?514547-The-Library-of-Knowledge-Getting-the-most-out-of-your-studies) for this one:
this web adventure (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/al/20040929a) has an instance of identifying humanoid bones using Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (local). Presumably the local is because they are humanoid, so another Knowledge skill as relevant could be used for other bodies.

[Thurbane]

CAdv page 101 provides ability for using Heal to evaluate cause of death, which is relevant, though maybe not exactly this.

Credit to daremetoidareyou for his Knowledge handbook (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?514547-The-Library-of-Knowledge-Getting-the-most-out-of-your-studies) for this one:
this web adventure (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/al/20040929a) has an instance of identifying humanoid bones using Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (local). Presumably the local is because they are humanoid, so another Knowledge skill as relevant could be used for other bodies.

Perfect! That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

Thank you kindly. :smallsmile:

[daremetoidareyo]

Perfect! That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.

Thank you kindly. :smallsmile:

I rendered the same advice for a similar question on a Facebook 3.5 group earlier today