Research Skill?

[irdeggman]

Try the DMG (3.5) pg 33 variant skills with different abilities. I think this will cover what you need. Gather Information using Intelligence is very appropriate for researching in a library.

 

[mattcolville]

It occured very rarely IMC, but I simply went with a (special use of a) Knowledge check in the appropriate field. It's kind of expensive to have a separate skill to learn, and usually IRL no one learns "to find information in books" separately from the subject.

Actually, in real life, doing research is a skill people must learn.

 

[Li Shenron]

Actually, in real life, doing research is a skill people must learn.

I meant that it is always learnt along with the subject. If you study medicine, you also learn to find the answer to medical questions in medicine books. I think it's best to have it tied to your medical knowledge than having separate. Otherwise I could use Profession(Librarian) as a general experience with books of any sort, and thus the skill to help people finding the topic they're looking for.

 

[Bigwilly]

I give a bonus for using a library

If the PC has access to a library with books on the subject being researched I will give a bonus to the appropriate knowledge check. So if my PCs raid a wizards library, I might outline the types of books available and then specify them at a later stage. For example, the list below is taken directly from one of my PCs equipment lists:

Books, reference
- assorted *93
- alchemy *2
- weird mosses of the underdark *3
- wondrous items *2

I won't give much more than a +2 on the roll (typical synergy modifier) unless they had a pile of books on the subject and spent a lot of time researching a subject. Usually I use the following off the cuff DCs:

10 - vague information only
15 - some hint of what they are looking for, but not all the details
20 - what they are looking for
25/30 - Everything you needed to know on the subject and more.

Bigwilly

 

[Sammael]

IMC, research checks are Int checks if the character does not have the appropriate Research feat (from Eberron), in which case he can use an appropriate Knowledge skill for reasearching.

 

[irdeggman]

I meant that it is always learnt along with the subject. If you study medicine, you also learn to find the answer to medical questions in medicine books. I think it's best to have it tied to your medical knowledge than having separate. Otherwise I could use Profession(Librarian) as a general experience with books of any sort, and thus the skill to help people finding the topic they're looking for.

True to a point. It only applies to finding information in the book you are studying from (or relevant notes). It does not automatically grant the ability to be able to use the filing system of a library in general - which is one of the main prerequisites for efficiently doing library based research.

 

[Li Shenron]

True to a point. It only applies to finding information in the book you are studying from (or relevant notes). It does not automatically grant the ability to be able to use the filing system of a library in general - which is one of the main prerequisites for efficiently doing library based research.

What libraries are you talking about? I was having in mind a generic fantasy settings... clearly nothing impies the library must be small or unorganized, but what filing system (even in a RL library) requires such extensive training to make it a skill? I've been using quite a number of libraries and I never needed any specific abilities beforehand, but if you know the subject you know where to look for more information.

For example, if one has to search for let's say some historical information about the battle of Pearl Harbour, doesn't know to look in WWII books and has to search through all the books available from prehistory to last year, it makes sense he has a smaller chance to find the info in the given time.

The topic of libraries is always controversial, because to find the answer (in theory) depends both an (1) the chance that the library HAS the answer at all and (2) the chance that you find the answer.

It's not easy to do this with a 3ed skill, for instance if you DO have the answer in the library it's only a possible matter of time for anyone to find it, so the DC doesn't make sense anymore if someone cannot find the answer; the only skill that would work with variable times is Craft, so perhaps another possibility would be to follow the rules for crafting an item to find out how long it takes instead to find the info.

 

[Wolf72]

LOL ... was just thinking there's a library then there's a MW Library, get +2 on any research check.

that's still not a bad large town/city bonus though ...

edit: I'd just make it a straight knowledge check, ... even without ranks in a specific category taking 10 would get you a result of 10+int ... then drop in some circumstantial bonuses (library, librarian, etc). With ranks in a specific subfield the overall check gets even better.