Retry on Bardic Knowledge?

[Kara]

Howdy, all.

I have a player who failed a Bardic Knowledge check recently, and has just leveled up. She wants to know if she can try again. I can find nothing in the PHB that says a retry is forbidden, and I suppose one can argue that, since the character has gained a level, they have thus gained more knowledge. But I'm undecided.

Any opinions? Concrete answers? Help otherwise?

Thanks!

 

[Crothian]

i allow it after leveling up

 

[robberbaron]

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

[FireLance]

I'd allow it too. In fact, giving the bard character a bardic knowledge check every time she gains a bard level gives me a mechanism to slowly feed rumors, information and clues to the PCs.

 

[kpdezend]

2e

I think this was the rule from 2nd Edition, it sounds good to me too.

 

[Kara]

All right, here's a wrinkle...what if the PC in question multi-classed, and leveled-up in a class other than Bard? Would you still allow the check?

 

[lord_banus]

From an RP perspective I would only allow a re-roll on level up if they have had significant downtime. Then again if you have the downtime then I would be doing some research and not use bardic knowledge.

If the level up was for another class then I wouldn't allow the re-roll as they have been focusing their attention on the new class.

 

[FireLance]

All right, here's a wrinkle...what if the PC in question multi-classed, and leveled-up in a class other than Bard? Would you still allow the check?

Nope. I would assume that the character did not gain any additional bardic knowledge, unless he gains a level in a class such as Loremaster that adds to the bardic knowledge check.

 

[Kara]

Yeah, that was my ruling in the end--that if the level had been taken in Bard, I would have allowed it; since it was taken in another class, I didn't.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Pax]

Alternately, you could allow a new check every time the Bard's bonus goes up. For example, if the BArd gains access to a smallish library, which you decide would give a +2 circumstance bonus to bardic knowledge checks ... you could allow him or her to roll again, on the off-chance that the answer is right there in the library - or, failing that, that something there jogs the Bard's memory. ^_^