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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 5877340" data-attributes="member: 807">For new/unique monsters, if I were the DM, I'd apply a circumstance modifier to the DC (+2 to +5 or something depending on the true uniqueness of the situation).  But even then, different creature types have things in common and using that as a baseline, somoene who knows information about the general type of monster can make educated guesses about a spcific monster that has similar traits."Look at the way it lumbers forward, much like a berserker orc""Look at the skin sack at it's throat, the bullwug have that too and it produces a noxious gas.  while it may not be exactly the same as the bullwug's, it may be some sort of gas or poison to be wary of""The way the shadows seem to cling to him, like other shadow-plane native creatures. perhaps it is vulnerable to radiant energy just like other shadow creatures"If your group is okay with it, just use passive checks at the start of the encounter to describe whatever anyone knows about the creature type.  This method also saves the DM some time in that he/she does not need to prep/think about knowledge that would be above the group's passive checks (i.e. if the DM knows everyone's passive knowledge results, and none of thme would beat "hard" then the DM doesn't have to worry about how he/she is going to describe powers or vulnerabilities in a narrative or game mechanical wayWhile the vulnerabilities might be more useful information, i disagree that it is more likely known than the powers of a creature.Using a lich as an example.  More people would have witnessed or experienced the lich's power. It is a smaller subset of people that would have been able to stand toe to toe with the lich (as opposed to fleeing or dieing) long enough to figure out its weaknessesI prefer the narrative description. But then, that's personal taste.  Your group's preference may vary depending on the tone and style of your table's game/atmosphere.Remembering to use the skill isn't the job of the DM, that's the job of the players.  Weaving it into the story/narrative, however is the DM's job.  So frankly, it just takes some improvisation. OR if you have encounters planned ahead of time, take a moment to read about them (if there is a blurb available) or figure something out and jot down a note or two.  It doesn't need to be anything fancy.</blockquote>

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