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<blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 7296327" data-attributes="member: 6779196"><p>Yeah, that’s a great example. So personally, I don’t like “roll to see how much you know about the thing” checks. What I would do is include in my notes for the session what information the PCs have a chance of knowing or not knowing, and I set a DC for that information, as well as anything that might qualify a character to know the information without a check. So, in your example, I might jot down some brief notes about the appearance of the creatures, including that they’re wearing a “strange symbol”. Then, I would jot down a few more esoteric details and note that with an Intelligence (Nature) check of... let’s say 12, a PC recognizes these creatures as russet molds and vegepygmies, and that a Druid recieves this information with no check. Similarly, I would include a note about the “strange symbol” being recognizable as the symbol of Zuggtmoy with an Intelligence (Religion or Planes) check DC... let’s say 15, along with a few details about Zuggtmoy.</p><p></p><p>When I frame the scene, I’ll first mention anything not locked behind a check. Then I’ll check passive Intelligence and skill scores, and give the players any additional information they qualify for, being sure to point out that they know this because of that ability or skill. “Thanks to your training in Nature, you also know...” Or, “as a Druid, you’re very familiar with these creatures, and...” Or “You’re not trained in religion, but in your studies, you found...”</p><p></p><p>If the players miss information that is behind a passive check like this, I’ll still allow them to discover it with an active check, but that’s up to them to prompt with action. “Phew, that was a tough fight. Now, I want to vivisection one of these little bastards and see what makes it tick.” “Ok, make a (whatever) check.” ... “You discover (blah).” Similarly to how you might mention a hidden detail in a space immediately upon the PCs entering if anyone’s passive Perception is high enough, but if they miss it with their passive check they’ll have to go looking and making rolled checks.</p><p></p><p>It’s worth noting that the DC scale for passive checks like this is a little wonky. A DC10 passive check is automatically passed by anyone who doesn’t have both a negative modifier in the relevant ability and no training in any relevant skills or tools. The Angry GM handles this by setting passive scores as 8 + Modifier + a potential Proficiency bonus, but I don’t like it to look like I’m loweringbplayers’ stats from the baseline, so I leave passive scores as 10 + Mod + Prof. and bump up the DC on all passive checks by 2. So an Easy task is 12, moderate is 17, Hard is 22, etc.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charlaquin, post: 7296327, member: 6779196"] Yeah, that’s a great example. So personally, I don’t like “roll to see how much you know about the thing” checks. What I would do is include in my notes for the session what information the PCs have a chance of knowing or not knowing, and I set a DC for that information, as well as anything that might qualify a character to know the information without a check. So, in your example, I might jot down some brief notes about the appearance of the creatures, including that they’re wearing a “strange symbol”. Then, I would jot down a few more esoteric details and note that with an Intelligence (Nature) check of... let’s say 12, a PC recognizes these creatures as russet molds and vegepygmies, and that a Druid recieves this information with no check. Similarly, I would include a note about the “strange symbol” being recognizable as the symbol of Zuggtmoy with an Intelligence (Religion or Planes) check DC... let’s say 15, along with a few details about Zuggtmoy. When I frame the scene, I’ll first mention anything not locked behind a check. Then I’ll check passive Intelligence and skill scores, and give the players any additional information they qualify for, being sure to point out that they know this because of that ability or skill. “Thanks to your training in Nature, you also know...” Or, “as a Druid, you’re very familiar with these creatures, and...” Or “You’re not trained in religion, but in your studies, you found...” If the players miss information that is behind a passive check like this, I’ll still allow them to discover it with an active check, but that’s up to them to prompt with action. “Phew, that was a tough fight. Now, I want to vivisection one of these little bastards and see what makes it tick.” “Ok, make a (whatever) check.” ... “You discover (blah).” Similarly to how you might mention a hidden detail in a space immediately upon the PCs entering if anyone’s passive Perception is high enough, but if they miss it with their passive check they’ll have to go looking and making rolled checks. It’s worth noting that the DC scale for passive checks like this is a little wonky. A DC10 passive check is automatically passed by anyone who doesn’t have both a negative modifier in the relevant ability and no training in any relevant skills or tools. The Angry GM handles this by setting passive scores as 8 + Modifier + a potential Proficiency bonus, but I don’t like it to look like I’m loweringbplayers’ stats from the baseline, so I leave passive scores as 10 + Mod + Prof. and bump up the DC on all passive checks by 2. So an Easy task is 12, moderate is 17, Hard is 22, etc. [/QUOTE]
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