Knowledge (Local)

[Water Bob]

I've seen two basic ways to play the skill Knowledge (Local). The first is to allow a character a single Knowledge (Local) skill to represent the character's knowledge about any particular place--where the GM adjusts difficulty of the task based on how likely it is the character will know the information.


For example, if checking to see if a character knows something about his home village, the check might be DC 5. If the character travels to a far off town, then the Knowledge (Local) check for the same type of information might be DC 10 or DC 15 because the character isn't that familiar with the new area. If the character is in a far-off foreign land where he doesn't understand the customs and is not of the predominate race, then the check might be made at a DC 30 or more.






The second way I've seen Knowledge (Local) used is to have the skill tied to a particular place or region, and the character has to purchase different Knowledge (Local) skills for different places and regions as he travels.




Which method do you think is intended by the default 3.5 d20 rules?


Which method do you think is best to use in a game?

 

[Morrus]

I've always used the second method. Only useful for campaigns largely set in one place though - those with a lot of travel make it a wasted skill.

 

[a-d]

How would the Jack of all Trades Feat, which allows you to treat every skill as though you were trained in it affect either method?

"Where the hell am I now!" Knowledge Local: Unknown Place

 

[Piston Honda]

I usually go with the first option. Anything a character might know about the area he could have picked up in the nearest town or perhaps word of something has spread far/is known well/is complete dumb luck trivial knowledge on the individual's part. If somebody is putting their skill points in Knowledge (Local) they shouldn't be limited when most other skills aren't, they simply take the time to learn about areas they go to is how I see it.

 

[Dandu]

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't Knowledge: the Planes covers every single plane?

 

[Vegepygmy]

Which method do you think is intended by the default 3.5 d20 rules?

Neither. The default 3.5 d20 rules do not assume Knowledge (local) is tied to any particular place or region.

Which method do you think is best to use in a game?

Although tying the skill to particular places and/or regions has a certain appeal, in practice it devalues the skill because you have to remain in that area or lose the benefit of having trained that skill. And since you often don't know whether your character is destined to remain in a particular place or not, that makes investing in the skill a riskier proposition, and simply increases the likelihood that players will choose to train other skills instead.

So in the end I think the default is best: Knowledge (local) works the same everywhere/anywhere you happen to be.

 

[Celebrim]

I never could work out any sphere of knowledge for Knowledge (Local) that made any sort of sense, so I removed it from my house rules.

My current knowledge list looks like the following:

 Arcana – magic, the physical world, obscure lore, and the supernatural
 Architecture and Engineering – buildings, construction, machinery, and technology
 Arts and Literature – artists, criticism, folk lore, poetry, and romance
 Computation and Ledgers – accounting, finance, logistics, and mathematics
 Customs and Heraldry – culture, etiquette, manners, nobility and royalty
 Geology and Mining – excavation, geology, hydrology, and minerals
 History and Geography – events, people, and places
 Law – legal theory and practice
 Nature – animals, plants, meteorology, and oceanology
 The Planes – realms beyond our own
 Religion and Philosophy – cults, deities, myths, organized religion, and theology
 Riddles and Enigmas – games and puzzles

It's intended to cover the full breadth of knowledge available.

 

[darjr]

I always thought Knowledge (local) was a skill about how to find out local information. A trained ability to figure out that kind of information, not actually an investment in having learned those facts. So that way the skill would work most places.

 

[Dandu]

I always thought Knowledge (local) was a skill about how to find out local information. A trained ability to figure out that kind of information, not actually an investment in having learned those facts. So that way the skill would work most places.

I thought that would be Gather Information?

 

[Li Shenron]

The second way I've seen Knowledge (Local) used is to have the skill tied to a particular place or region, and the character has to purchase different Knowledge (Local) skills for different places and regions as he travels.


Which method do you think is intended by the default 3.5 d20 rules?


Which method do you think is best to use in a game?

The second method, for both questions.