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<blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 6284173" data-attributes="member: 5143">Monster Knowledge checks could be an entire topic by themselves.&nbsp; I don't like them because they often become a replacement for roleplaying and feel artificial half the time.&nbsp; None of the editions have have very good rules for the kind of things you learn using monster knowledge checks.&nbsp; They also slow down combat because someone will inevitably ask for them even when they aren't necessary or add anything to the game.This is the average use of them at my table in 4e:DM: &quot;You see 3 creatures who are green scaled, lizard-like humanoids who are carrying spears.&quot;P1: &quot;I use knowledge.&nbsp; What are they.&nbsp; 25!&quot;DM: &quot;They are lizardfolk.&quot;P1: &quot;I rolled really high, what kind of powers and abilities do they have?&quot;DM: &quot;You know they live in swamps, they organize together in bands, they use basic weapons like spears and they are good swimmers.&quot;P1: &quot;Yeah, but what are their powers?&quot;DM: &quot;They attack with weapons, they don't have any powers.&quot;P1: &quot;The book clearly says I know all their powers.&nbsp; Also, I know their names.&nbsp; Are they all just Lizardfolk?&quot;DM: *sigh* No, one is a Lizardfolk Trapper, he uses a net to entangle people as his powers.&nbsp; These two are Lizardfolk Warriors and they use their Spears to knock people down and they fight well when beside each other.&quot;P1: &quot;He uses a net to entangle people?&nbsp; How does he do that?&nbsp; Does it target Reflex or AC?&nbsp; Is it ranged?&nbsp; How long is the range?&nbsp; Is it an AOE?&nbsp; The book says I get to know its powers.&quot;DM: &quot;I interpret that to mean that you know the general idea of how its powers work not that you get every number and the full details of every power.&quot;P1: &quot;What?&nbsp; It says I get to know its powers, that should mean I get to know everything about its powers.&quot;P2: &quot;Plus, you still haven't told us what their names are.&quot;DM: &quot;I'm not reading you the entire description of the creatures out of the monster manual.&nbsp; And I already told you their names.&nbsp; They are a Lizardfolk Trapper and Lizardfolk Warriors.&quot;P2: &quot;Their NAMES are Lizardfolk Warriors?&nbsp; Wow, their parents must have hated them.&nbsp; The book says you get to know their names if you roll high enough.&nbsp; Is it Joe or Bob or something?&nbsp; *laugh*&quot;DM: &quot;Can we get back to playing the game now?&quot;This process gets repeated at the beginning of every battle and takes longer the more enemies there are as everyone in the group rolls their own individual knowledge checks against each monster separately to get an idea of how much THEIR character knows about the monster and to try to roll better than everyone else.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Majoru Oakheart, post: 6284173, member: 5143"] Monster Knowledge checks could be an entire topic by themselves. I don't like them because they often become a replacement for roleplaying and feel artificial half the time. None of the editions have have very good rules for the kind of things you learn using monster knowledge checks. They also slow down combat because someone will inevitably ask for them even when they aren't necessary or add anything to the game. This is the average use of them at my table in 4e: DM: "You see 3 creatures who are green scaled, lizard-like humanoids who are carrying spears." P1: "I use knowledge. What are they. 25!" DM: "They are lizardfolk." P1: "I rolled really high, what kind of powers and abilities do they have?" DM: "You know they live in swamps, they organize together in bands, they use basic weapons like spears and they are good swimmers." P1: "Yeah, but what are their powers?" DM: "They attack with weapons, they don't have any powers." P1: "The book clearly says I know all their powers. Also, I know their names. Are they all just Lizardfolk?" DM: *sigh* No, one is a Lizardfolk Trapper, he uses a net to entangle people as his powers. These two are Lizardfolk Warriors and they use their Spears to knock people down and they fight well when beside each other." P1: "He uses a net to entangle people? How does he do that? Does it target Reflex or AC? Is it ranged? How long is the range? Is it an AOE? The book says I get to know its powers." DM: "I interpret that to mean that you know the general idea of how its powers work not that you get every number and the full details of every power." P1: "What? It says I get to know its powers, that should mean I get to know everything about its powers." P2: "Plus, you still haven't told us what their names are." DM: "I'm not reading you the entire description of the creatures out of the monster manual. And I already told you their names. They are a Lizardfolk Trapper and Lizardfolk Warriors." P2: "Their NAMES are Lizardfolk Warriors? Wow, their parents must have hated them. The book says you get to know their names if you roll high enough. Is it Joe or Bob or something? *laugh*" DM: "Can we get back to playing the game now?" This process gets repeated at the beginning of every battle and takes longer the more enemies there are as everyone in the group rolls their own individual knowledge checks against each monster separately to get an idea of how much THEIR character knows about the monster and to try to roll better than everyone else. [/QUOTE]

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