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<blockquote data-quote="Lonely Tylenol" data-source="post: 1918642" data-attributes="member: 18549">Well, Dragon magazine has taken a cue from Monsternomicon, and has been publishing Knowledge check results for the various monsters they cover in their Ecology articles.&nbsp; So if you can get hold of that (or Monsternomicon), you can get an idea of what a DC 5 knowledge check (what a commoner is likely to know) or a DC 10 knowledge check (what an educated commoner would know) might look like.&nbsp; The average person is likely to have heard something about practically every monster there is, barring subtypes.&nbsp; So while they will definitely know about demons and devils and might know the difference between the two, they're not likely to recognize the names of the various sorts.But think of how much trivia the average person has about the things going on in the modern world.&nbsp; It's quite vast, albeit full of urban legends and half-truths.&nbsp; But the average Joe has at least heard of most of what's out there.&nbsp; Likewise, Joe Commoner probably has heard of Behirs, even if he couldn't tell one from the Tarrasque.&nbsp; Also, given that most people have only mundane knowledge skills like Knowledge: Local, they're more likely to know about humanoids than anything else.Which brings us to adventurers.&nbsp; Adventurers are more likely to have been exposed to people who know about weird stuff.&nbsp; This is represented in the game mechanics by the vast array of knowledge skills and their correlation with various types of things.&nbsp; A druid with Knowledge: Nature is more likely to have heard of treants, while a wizard with Knowledge: The Planes is more likely to know what an arrowhawk looks like.&nbsp; So while Joe Commoner is unlikely to be able to tell an earth elemental from a hole in the ground, Ed the first level wizard has a chance at it.In other words, go with the Knowledge skills the party has.&nbsp; If they don't have any knowledge skills, treat them as rubes who probably have heard all sorts of superstitious blather and &quot;a friend of a friend once fought one of these, and he swears they're allergic to garlic.&quot;&nbsp; Maybe they'll think about picking up some knowledge skills down the line.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lonely Tylenol, post: 1918642, member: 18549"] Well, Dragon magazine has taken a cue from Monsternomicon, and has been publishing Knowledge check results for the various monsters they cover in their Ecology articles. So if you can get hold of that (or Monsternomicon), you can get an idea of what a DC 5 knowledge check (what a commoner is likely to know) or a DC 10 knowledge check (what an educated commoner would know) might look like. The average person is likely to have heard something about practically every monster there is, barring subtypes. So while they will definitely know about demons and devils and might know the difference between the two, they're not likely to recognize the names of the various sorts. But think of how much trivia the average person has about the things going on in the modern world. It's quite vast, albeit full of urban legends and half-truths. But the average Joe has at least heard of most of what's out there. Likewise, Joe Commoner probably has heard of Behirs, even if he couldn't tell one from the Tarrasque. Also, given that most people have only mundane knowledge skills like Knowledge: Local, they're more likely to know about humanoids than anything else. Which brings us to adventurers. Adventurers are more likely to have been exposed to people who know about weird stuff. This is represented in the game mechanics by the vast array of knowledge skills and their correlation with various types of things. A druid with Knowledge: Nature is more likely to have heard of treants, while a wizard with Knowledge: The Planes is more likely to know what an arrowhawk looks like. So while Joe Commoner is unlikely to be able to tell an earth elemental from a hole in the ground, Ed the first level wizard has a chance at it. In other words, go with the Knowledge skills the party has. If they don't have any knowledge skills, treat them as rubes who probably have heard all sorts of superstitious blather and "a friend of a friend once fought one of these, and he swears they're allergic to garlic." Maybe they'll think about picking up some knowledge skills down the line. [/QUOTE]

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