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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 6458400" data-attributes="member: 1210">Obviously, different groups will handle this differently, but here's my take on monster knowledge.The short version: Nope. Probably.The long version: Perhaps I've missed it, but where exactly in 5e do you find rules for monster knowledge checks?The closest is making, for instance, an Intelligence (Religion) check to recall a piece of lore about religion, history, arcana or nature. If you have not encountered anything that would give that lore to you in the first place, I see no reason to let you ID a monster with a roll. Now, say that the monster was a Sacred Jackal or something tied to your faith- then, sure, you have a strong argument that you might know something about it. But if it was an ashworm, you weren't from the desert, and it's not tied to anything on your character sheet? Nope, no check.Frankly, I think the 3e/4e paradigm of &quot;pcs can just know about monsters with a roll&quot; only serves to reduce the mystery and wonder of a given monster. I've always been very restrictive with monster knowledge checks, but in 5e? I'm not allowing them at all, unless the pc in question has some reason for having the lore in question.So, at first level, the pc saw a frost salamander rampaging through a village of arctic dwarves, and then, at level 10, they encounter another frost salamander- I'll allow an Int check (perhaps with proficiency bonus) to recall the details they saw if the players forgot them. &quot;Oh yeah, that thing can climb icy surfaces and has a cold aura around it!&quot; But if they've never met one, aren't from an area that they are native to and don't have some other sort of tie to the monster- nope, learn by experience.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 6458400, member: 1210"] Obviously, different groups will handle this differently, but here's my take on monster knowledge. The short version: Nope. Probably. The long version: Perhaps I've missed it, but where exactly in 5e do you find rules for monster knowledge checks? The closest is making, for instance, an Intelligence (Religion) check [b]to recall a piece of lore[/b] about religion, history, arcana or nature. If you have not encountered anything that would give that lore to you in the first place, I see no reason to let you ID a monster with a roll. Now, say that the monster was a Sacred Jackal or something tied to your faith- then, sure, you have a strong argument that you might know something about it. But if it was an ashworm, you weren't from the desert, and it's not tied to anything on your character sheet? Nope, no check. Frankly, I think the 3e/4e paradigm of "pcs can just know about monsters with a roll" only serves to reduce the mystery and wonder of a given monster. I've always been very restrictive with monster knowledge checks, but in 5e? I'm not allowing them at all, unless the pc in question has some reason for having the lore in question. So, at first level, the pc saw a frost salamander rampaging through a village of arctic dwarves, and then, at level 10, they encounter another frost salamander- I'll allow an Int check (perhaps with proficiency bonus) to recall the details they saw if the players forgot them. "Oh yeah, that thing can climb icy surfaces and has a cold aura around it!" But if they've never met one, aren't from an area that they are native to and don't have some other sort of tie to the monster- nope, learn by experience. [/QUOTE]

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