Knowledge[Local] : How Local?

[RigaMortus]

I've always used it in the same manner I would use a Gather Info check.

 

[Meeki]

In my gaming circle we use knowledge local on a specific area, however it can be a small village, city, a country, or even a larger region. I listed those in the order from micro to macro scale and the knowledge that can be derived from the skill goes from obscure and specific to more general knowledge at the larger region scale. For current events gather information would suffice, however knowledge of a larger region may be able to produce information about current events in the region at a higher DC.

 

[RigaMortus]

What can Knowledge (Local) help you find out which Gather Info can not? What is the main difference between them? Just time?

I mean, Knowledge (Local) is stuff that your character would already know about the area, and Gather Info would be your character asking others (NPCs) about the area. The end result, after the die is cast, is the same either way (again, except Gather Info takes longer in-game).

A character which has both on their class list should just pick one and pump that up...

 

[Tonguez]

Here's how I'd differentiate them

Knowledge Local: Commisioner Gord is the governor of Gotham

Knowledge History: Commisioner Gords family have held power in Gotham for 123 years since the rise of Commisioner Baraba (Gords grandfather) following the Jokers War

Gather Info: Rumour is Gords been seen up on the tower talking with something that looks like a mansized bat

 

[likuidice]

change it to knowledge: material plane, after all, a character with ranks in knowledge: planes knows lots about every other plane of existence (including the things that local gives you, just for other planes).

 

[RigaMortus]

Here's how I'd differentiate them

Knowledge Local: Commisioner Gord is the governor of Gotham

Knowledge History: Commisioner Gords family have held power in Gotham for 123 years since the rise of Commisioner Baraba (Gords grandfather) following the Jokers War

Gather Info: Rumour is Gords been seen up on the tower talking with something that looks like a mansized bat

So you're saying that if a PC in your game walked into a new town, and wanted to know who the mayor was, Gather Info would not work for them?

 

[Tigerbunny]

The way I've always handled it is that the player can choose any scope he wants from K:Local(My Neighborhood) to K:Local(Lesser Magellanic Cloud). The difference is in the DCs. The character with K:L(LMC) is going to have an astronomical DC to know who the Commissioner is, while the character with K:L(Gotham First Precinct) will be looking at DC5, if that.

 

[Tonguez]

So you're saying that if a PC in your game walked into a new town, and wanted to know who the mayor was, Gather Info would not work for them?

If he wants to spend a night out on the town shouting drinks and getting freindly with the locals just to find out the Mayors name then sure he can - but why bother when he can look at the town and based on his local knowledge of towns like this one deduce that the guy at the Info center might have a useful pamphlet telling him all the basic info he will need

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

In our game, we allow a character to have a specific area for every rank spent on it. For other areas, the DC is raised by 5.

IIRC, the WotC website had an article on this very issue and gave some variant rules to cover it. I can't remember what the article was called.

 

[BigRedRod]

In our game, we allow a character to have a specific area for every rank spent on it. For other areas, the DC is raised by 5.

IIRC, the WotC website had an article on this very issue and gave some variant rules to cover it. I can't remember what the article was called.

I fial to see how it can give "variant" rules when they leave it undefined in the core. I'll go seek out the article though, cheers!