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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="airwalkrr" data-source="post: 3323423" data-attributes="member: 12460">I typically give out "useful" information based on what is most iconic about a monster, whether or not the player already knows it. After all, the purpose of the skill is to remind you of things as much as it is to give you new information. A good example is the medusa.1st Piece of Information: Medusas can turn you to stone with a glance.2nd: Medusas have snakes on their head with poisonous bites.3rd: Medusas are charismatic and often try to entrap their enemies with disguises or honeyed words.4th: Medusas are agile and many are accomplished archers.I have occassionally known DMs who give out very specific information, such as the exact DR of a monster, but I tend to such things on how iconic it is for that monster. Here is an example of a fairly iconic D&D monster with DR and how I would give out useful information.1st: Lycanthropes can take the form of humanoids, animals, or a powerful hybrid of the two.2nd: Lycanthropes can only be wounded with silvered weapons.3rd: Lycanthrope bites are infectious, causing a kind of acquired lycanthropy in bite victims. The bites can only be cured with belladona, a weed that is itself poisonous.4th: Lycanthropes have pretenatural animal-like senses and feral will that make them difficult to surprise and control.Remember, just because a piece of information is useful does not mean that the player does not already know it about the monster already. For example, most players already know a thing or two about trolls (use fire!), but a player who only gets a DC 18 Knowledge (nature) check to identify a troll isn't entitled to anything more than that. Always describe the most iconic or well-known abilities of the creature in question first. And always use general descriptions, rather than exact game mechanics. Tell the player that the creature is incredibly resistant to fire rather than saying it has fire resistance 10. Say the monster is very cunning and alert rather than saying it has +17 to Bluff and +10 to Spot. Say the monster is lumbering and slow-moving rather than saying it has a Dexterity score of 4.</blockquote>

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