Knowledge (D&D skill)

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Unofficial rules compendium

This skill can be used to identify magic items.

New Fields of Knowledge

• Warfare (warriors, military culture, tactics, and supply)

New Uses

Know About Monsters

These are somewhat more specific rules for what you know about different kinds of monsters. The table shows which field of knowledge holds primary information about each creature type and which fields hold lesser or secondary knowledge. This is always subject to DM approval. A dragon who has terrorized a region for centuries will be well-known to students of history, perhaps even more so than to students of the arcane.

All creature types have Bardic Knowledge as a secondary field.

Creature Type	Primary field	Secondary fields
Aberration	Dungeoneering	Arcana, Planes
Animal	Nature	Local, Geography
Construct	Arcana	Architecture, History, Warfare
Dragon	Arcana	Dungeoneering, Nobility, Warfare
Elemental	Planes	Arcana, Dungeoneering
Fey	Nature	Arcana, Nobility
Giant	Nature	Dungeoneering, Local, History, Warfare
Humanoid	Local	History, Warfare
Magical Beast	Arcana	Nature, Planes
Monstrous Humanoid	Nature	Local, History, Warfare
Ooze	Dungeoneering	Geography, Nature
Outsider	Planes	Arcana, Religion
Plant	Nature	Dungeoneering, Geography
Undead (Deathless)	Religion	Arcana, Dungeoneering, Local, Planes
Vermin	Nature	Dungeoneering, Warfare

The following table gives guidelines on what information you can recall with different rolls in primary and secondary fields. In general, you get a Knowledge check at each of these occasions;

• When you first hear of the creature
• When finding spoor or remains of a victim
• When you first see it (as a free action)
• Upon spending a full-round action observing it
• For each day you do research on it

Primary field	Secondary fields	Information Gained	Example: Identifying a Vampire Spawn
10	10	Type	It is an undead
15	15	Subtype, general name, strengths and weaknesses	It is a vampire, vile undead that drain blood and dominate with its gaze
10+CR	10 + 2x CR	Specific name, details on behavior, background, organization and habitat	It is a vampire spawn, the lesser progeny of a true vampire. They hunt singly or in small packs and can be found anywhere.
15+CR	15+ 2x CR	Specific attacks and defenses	It is resistant to cold and electricity and all but silver weapons. It drains life energy by touch and constitution with its bite.
20+CR	20+ 2x CR	Specific special qualities	It has some turn resistance and can turn gaseous to escape. It has a bonus on many social and subterfuge skills.
30+CR	30+ 2x CR	Detailed abilities	Just show them the monster writeup.
Skill modifiers
-10		Only sketchy description or rumors
-5		Good eyewitness accounts
+10		Creatures of this type is common in area
+10		You have met this exact type of creature before