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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Brennen" data-source="post: 6406697" data-attributes="member: 553">Yeah, I'm also a fan of Monster Knowledge skill checks, but don't always necessarily give actual mechanical info for successes. Recently, my player's PCs encountered signs of minotaurs, and were wondering about their social habits (especially were they likely to encounter a group) rather than special abilities or tactics. A successful History check (using the History = Humanoid, along the lines of reason mentioned upthread), I gave them some of the 5E fluff about yeah, usually they're solitary, but sometimes groups of minotaur cultists may be found, dedicated to the demon lord Baphomet.Now, note the "usually" and "sometimes" giving the DM some wiggle room. The minotaurs - from a published adventure - didn't have much motivation to be in the dungeon other than treasure looting, but after reading the cultist stuff, I was already making notes to possibly retcon for adventure hooks down the road.So, when players ask a general "what do I know about monster X?" - check the fluff first for cool stuff! Even when I do give answers about mechanics, I try to dress it up as in-game descriptions (forex, I'd never mention the zombie's only being reduced to 1 hp that way, but rather they're almost impossible to completely put down without some sort of divine damage.)Note if you have the Monsternomicon from Privateer Press (a 3.0 D&D monster book), they had a separate skill for Monster Knowledge, and every monster entry had a short list of what a check about the monster would give a player, well written as in-world, character knowledge instead of player knowledge. The list had info gained from various levels of success... DC 15, 20 and 25, typically. Adding monster rarity to the equation can be a little tricky, I think. Some monsters can be rarely seen but legends about their abilities can be commonly told tales at the local tavern. It may not be a common creature, but many people might have sought it out because it's so unusual/challenging/tasty, thus creating a fair body of information regarding it. Of course, a lot of mis-information about popular, little-seen but much feared monsters can abound, too. A Knowledge check might give a good deal of info, but a higher success might be needed to separate fact from fiction. Conversely, a rare beastie might be the subject of some esoteric treatise in a remote monastery, but the mention of its name will just draw blank stares from common folk.All stuff to consider when the players ask for that check.P.S.: Count me in as also really like the idea of having a language tie into knowledge checks. Yoinked for my game.</blockquote>

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