Re: Re: How much do PCs know about monsters?
Quite likely, I would say. I think of 4th level characters as relative veterans. They've been around and they've fought enough monsters (or talked with enough people who've fought monsters) to have at least a fair chance of distinguishing an ogre from a troll. A 1st level warrior might be a better example of a complete neophye who knows what orcs are, but nothing else.
I second SableWyvern's suggestion about letting the players use all their MM knowledge, but changing the details slightly for important monster races.
Another possible rule of thumb might be that the characters know at least gross details about monsters up to their level in CR, but no higher. To do that, you need to go looking for the information in-game.
Hypersmurf said:
Definitely not
They may have heard stories. They have quite possibly heard that trolls are all but impossible to kill without fire. But in a society without cameras and televisions, how certain is it that a fourth level character (for example) will know what a troll looks like?
Quite likely, I would say. I think of 4th level characters as relative veterans. They've been around and they've fought enough monsters (or talked with enough people who've fought monsters) to have at least a fair chance of distinguishing an ogre from a troll. A 1st level warrior might be a better example of a complete neophye who knows what orcs are, but nothing else.
I second SableWyvern's suggestion about letting the players use all their MM knowledge, but changing the details slightly for important monster races.
Another possible rule of thumb might be that the characters know at least gross details about monsters up to their level in CR, but no higher. To do that, you need to go looking for the information in-game.