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<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 9459536" data-attributes="member: 50987">Anyone else use skill checks to give hints and info to the players?This happens at least once every battle in my home games.Me:&nbsp; &quot;The skeletons shamble closer toward you, and you notice they have runes carved into their bones.&nbsp; These runes begin to smolder with a dirty orange light.&nbsp; Doug, you have the initiative.&quot;Doug:&nbsp; &quot;Well that's creepy.&nbsp; Have we encountered this sort of creature before?&nbsp; This sounds familiar.&quot;Me:&nbsp; (knowing they haven't) &quot;Let's find out.&nbsp; Make an Intelligence (Religion) check.&quot;Doug:&nbsp; (rolls) &quot;Woot, 21!&quot;Me:&nbsp; (mentally calculating, 10 + the monster's CR = 13, that's a pass.&nbsp; I give them one free bit of info.)&nbsp; &quot;You haven't seen this kind of skeleton before, but it's definitely an undead monster.&nbsp; You recognize the runes from some of your spell scrolls--you suspect these skeletons can use magic.&quot;&nbsp; Doug:&nbsp; &quot;Oh great.&quot;Me:&nbsp; (doing more mental math.&nbsp; The check passed by 8, and 8 divided by 4 is 2.) &quot;With a roll of 21, I can tell you two more things about it.&nbsp; What would you like to know?&quot; Doug:&nbsp; &quot;Um, what spells can cast, and how many hit points does it have?&quot;Me:&nbsp; &quot;The skeleton closest to you can cast several spells, but the one you immediately recognize is Magic Missile.&nbsp; It has 22 hit points.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 9459536, member: 50987"] Anyone else use skill checks to give hints and info to the players? This happens at least once every battle in my home games. Me: "The skeletons shamble closer toward you, and you notice they have runes carved into their bones. These runes begin to smolder with a dirty orange light. Doug, you have the initiative." Doug: "Well that's creepy. Have we encountered this sort of creature before? This sounds familiar." Me: (knowing they haven't) "Let's find out. Make an Intelligence (Religion) check." Doug: (rolls) "Woot, 21!" Me: (mentally calculating, 10 + the monster's CR = 13, that's a pass. I give them one free bit of info.) "You haven't seen this kind of skeleton before, but it's definitely an undead monster. You recognize the runes from some of your spell scrolls--you suspect these skeletons can use magic." Doug: "Oh great." Me: (doing more mental math. The check passed by 8, and 8 divided by 4 is 2.) "With a roll of 21, I can tell you two more things about it. What would you like to know?" Doug: "Um, what spells can cast, and how many hit points does it have?" Me: "The skeleton closest to you can cast several spells, but the one you immediately recognize is Magic Missile. It has 22 hit points." [/QUOTE]

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