Books and Knowledge

[Kaodi]

Another Idea

I am not really sure what I would do if I were running a campaign, but here is a different idea I just thought of for books of knowledge:

Each book has a topic to which it applies to, and a number of hours it takes to complete the text, and a Knowledge DC for which it is rated. After finishing it, the reader can automatically succeed on any knowledge check with a DC of the books rating or less. The catch is, the higher the rating of the book, the more limited its content is. So, a beginner's manual for knowledge (nobility) might only have a rating of DC 10, but a book on the Early Reign of Queen Doppelopolis (sp?) : 2000-2002 might have a rating of DC 25 or some such. At least that illustrates the mechanic, hehehe... A higher quality book on the same subject may have a higher DC rating, and would likely be more expensive, or take more time to read.

Using the mechanic, you could even have single books divided up into sections, with each section having its own time and rating, and some that must be read in order. So Michael Morris' Complete Guide to Web Fiends: Typo'ri, Bootezu, Lagoloth may have 6 chapters, with a rating of 10 to 15 depending on how many of them you have read.

The one thing I have trouble defining is the amount of time these benefits are given for. This may be where the Intelligence check comes in, with the result determining how much time you remember the material without having to reference it again. If you spend twice as much time studying (being careful), you could take 10 on this check. If you spend quintuple the time studying (attempting to memorize), you could take 20, which would provide the benefit for quite a while.

Anyway, just a theory...

 

[gizmo33]

How about a "Scholar" feat that allows you to reserve X-skill points for knowledge skills based on your current reading interests. All knowledge skills become class based skills, and if I spend a week reading on a certain topic, I gain 1 rank in that skill. Later on, I can replace ranks with another week of study (or whatever).

 

[bakatare]

[bakatare - did the players have that knowledge forever or was it just regarding a certain encounter that the players were coming up against?

Just curious how that fleshed out.]

In the case of my campaign, they kept the knowledge forever. In retrospect, though, it was a competence bonus (not a circumstance bonus) that the PC's gained. I never thought of it before, and it never became an issue, but assigning the books a maximum skill level cap, such as that mentioned by Sir Brennen on his bit about Manuals, is a good idea. In the future I will use such a cap, whereby the book only grants a bonus to characters with x ranks or less in a particular area of knowledge. For example, if a character finds a comprehensive but broadly focused book on the history of Veluna, it would grant a +1 competence bonus to Knowledge (History) checks regarding the nation Veluna to characters with up to 10 ranks in Knowledge (History). Characters with more than 10 ranks are considered knowledgeable enough on the topic that the book is no longer useful (and thus grants no bonus).

It seems logical to me, though, that keeping a number of books rendered obsolete by their rank caps could still prove useful for references. Though I have my B.A. in Asian History, and have read scores (hundreds?) of books dealing with particular issues (the Boxer Rebellion, the Cultural Revolution, etc.) I still keep the most general and broad books on Asian (and world) history on my shelf, and re-read them now and again to refresh my memory on the basics. In D&D, perhaps, maintaining a library of books otherwise useless to an expert (i.e. with a great number of skill points in an area of Knowledge) on a subject could grant some sort of circumstance bonus if used as reference material... maybe a cumulative bonus of +1 per 5 books or so.

Just a thought, though, never been tested.

 

[Kaodi]

Gizmo33's Idea

If I were going to do something less complicated like your feat, Giz, I think I would give the feat 5 bonus ranks of its own for knowledge skills only, then allow them to be changed around for 8 hours of study per rank.

 

[Sravoff]

Why not make all skill ranks require a skill rank key?
so the characters must quest for books in order to increase their skils ranks.
No max ranks, but they have to spend gold on their skills. Maybe a small amount for free.
Or perhaps a exp cost, making it cheaper for rogues and more expensive for fighters.

This idea may have alrady been dismissed, but I'll post it any way.