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<blockquote data-quote="Afrodyte" data-source="post: 7742083" data-attributes="member: 8713">For the sake of making it relevant, let's paint this scenario.A PC is keeping watch at camp. The DM calls for a Wisdom (Perception) check for the PC on guard duty to notice anything going on near the camp during the night. The PC rolls a total of 14. Meanwhile, a team of ninjas prepares to ambush the camp. The DC to notice them is 15 (10 + their Stealth bonus). With a roll that close, the DM decides that the PC on guard duty does hear a rustle in the leaves, but they don't have the right information they need to determine Here Be Ninjas and react accordingly.Now, to make this a clear-cut example, let's say that the PC on guard duty has a penalty to Wisdom and/or Intelligence, so connecting the dots on the spot may not be their strong suit. And, to make this abundantly clear, let's say that this character's major personality traits do not include jumpy, suspicious or paranoid, and the party has never been ambushed at camp thus far. So, this character has few in-character reasons to go from, &quot;You hear a rustle in the leaves&quot; to, &quot;It's bleeping ninjas.&quot;If the DM is flat-out forbidden from saying that this PC interprets the rustle in the leaves as raccoons or just the wind, what keeps the player from using their personal knowledge that it's probably ninjas as an in-game advantage in this situation (such as not being surprised when the ninjas strike) then claiming that it's what their character knew or thought all along?Outside of this particular scenario, how do you account for skills like Arcana, History and Investigation without being able, even in a limited fashion, to determine what a character can know, recall, intuit or reason?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Afrodyte, post: 7742083, member: 8713"] For the sake of making it relevant, let's paint this scenario. A PC is keeping watch at camp. The DM calls for a Wisdom (Perception) check for the PC on guard duty to notice anything going on near the camp during the night. The PC rolls a total of 14. Meanwhile, a team of ninjas prepares to ambush the camp. The DC to notice them is 15 (10 + their Stealth bonus). With a roll that close, the DM decides that the PC on guard duty does hear a rustle in the leaves, but they don't have the right information they need to determine Here Be Ninjas and react accordingly. Now, to make this a clear-cut example, let's say that the PC on guard duty has a penalty to Wisdom and/or Intelligence, so connecting the dots on the spot may not be their strong suit. And, to make this abundantly clear, let's say that this character's major personality traits do not include jumpy, suspicious or paranoid, and the party has never been ambushed at camp thus far. So, this character has few in-character reasons to go from, "You hear a rustle in the leaves" to, "It's bleeping ninjas." If the DM is flat-out forbidden from saying that this PC interprets the rustle in the leaves as raccoons or just the wind, what keeps the player from using their personal knowledge that it's probably ninjas as an in-game advantage in this situation (such as not being surprised when the ninjas strike) then claiming that it's what their character knew or thought all along? Outside of this particular scenario, how do you account for skills like Arcana, History and Investigation without being able, even in a limited fashion, to determine what a character can know, recall, intuit or reason? [/QUOTE]

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