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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vlos" data-source="post: 1866617" data-attributes="member: 15447">What are Books/Libraries worth in game...A library grants knowledge to specific things it contains, and possibly knowledge to related things in contains. So in game terms this would be a bonus to knowledge checks. The more organized, higher quality of books and the more focused the libraries topics are, the more information (or bonus to knowledge check) the characters will get.So the question is how do you do this without upsetting the game too much. I don't think it is an imbalance between classes, with the exception of the barbarian, as any character could find a book and create their own library or even visit a library. Though I would suspect casting types (mages, sorcerers, priests) would have a much easier time accessing a library owned by someone other then themselves.One thought would be to give each book a bonus value, from say 1-5 (max) with 4-5 being magical bonuses. This though could get out of control as one could easily find 4-5 books on a specific subject and get a large bonus, even at early levels. Also this would require that the GM define every book in a library before he knows the general library.So, first I will breakdown individual books (which the GM may hand out) and then discus libraries.Individual Book Ratings:I think for rating books a system maybe similar to the following where the book bonus would be based on the values rounded down as a player would never get the full quality out of a book written by someone else.Book Contents:General Discussion = +0.5 (Lower Planes)Focused Discussion = +1.0 (Demons of the Lower Planes)Specific Discussion = +1.5 (Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead)Book Quality:Poor = -0.5  (book is poorly written and actually contains misleading information)Normal = 0.5 (A standard book in a normal setting)Good = +1.0 (Well written book)Excellent = +1.5 (A book written by an expert on the field)So for an excellent book on Orcus would grant a +3.0 bonus when used in a knowledge check. This may also help with determining the value of the book as well in GP values (but beyond the current scope of this post).Library Ratings:So now the question comes to how do you determine what a library has for book contents and their qualities. Also how long does it take to find the relavent information the character is searching for.Ok, taking Orchin's view and modifying it a bit to make it not too powerful. You give a library a ranking of the quality of the library, this may include the organization as well as the quality of the material inside. Also some libraries, like books may be more focused in their content.Library Organization:Poor = +15Good = +10Excellent = +5Library Contents(Quality):Poor = +15Good = +10Excellent = +5 Library Contents(Topics):General = +15Focused = +10Specific = +5Also the amount to research basic information will effect how hard it is to find information related to what they are seeking, this will lower the DC of the library check. Lets say the base time spent searching is a day. So we will need some modifiers for how long someone spends searching in the library.Time Spent Researching:1 hour = +101 day = +02-6 days = -1 for each day1 week = -101 month = -201 year = -50So the bonus one gets from a library is the difference between their roll and the libraries DC check(Organization + Quality + Topic Focus) modified by the time spent searching.For example characters searching 1 week(-10) in, an Excellent Library(+5) with Excellent Quality(+5) books focused on a Specific topic(+5) would allow a novice (someone with no skill(-10) to get some information out) because a total DC of 15 (a bonus from anywhere from 0-5), based on a d20 roll with no skill (20 - DC 15 = 5 max bonus). Where as a higher level player would be able to get alot more information out of such a excellent specific library in a shorter amount of time. For example a character with 20 ranks in Knowledge(Demons) spent 1 day in an excellent library that is dedicated to Orcus, would get a bonus anywhere from a +6 to a +35 for specific questions related to Orcus.So those same players spending more time will get more information.The above will allow for some very high rolls, but again this is a bonus to knowledge checks about a topic. The GM can always rule that certain information is just not available in books or a knowledge check.</blockquote>

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