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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6037075" data-attributes="member: 996">Well, then, the issue of conveying to your players that a given critter is 'out of their league' is still something you'd want to deal with in some more traditional way.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  Unfortunately, the usual d20 handling of knowledge checks (higher level subjects have higher DCs) is little help. (Beyond the metagame, "hm, I failed my knowledge check on a natural 19, better bug out," I suppose).Yep, it's an issue with d20's DC-target approach, in general.  A fair compromise, I think, would be to have the high DCs be for knowing obscure weaknesses that might help in defeating the monster, and/or (mechanical) details of it's abilities.  The DC for identifying the general level/power of a monster, OTOH, should go /down/ for the higher level monsters, as they're likely to be notorious and/or radiate sheer badassness.  Similarly, for items, identifying that the powerful item /is/ magic should be easy, easier than determining that a minor item with a 'faint aura' is genuinely magical (as opposed to a Nystul's Magic Aura type sham), while identifying how to use a powerful item (safely?) could carry the higher DC.  The same could go for all manner of knowledge and other skill checks.  Famous things, general knowledge, etc, should be easy, even if it involves something 'high level,'  Mordenkainen should be a household name, anyone seeing a Prismatic Sphere shouldn't doubt what it is.  Being able to do anything about it should be a whole 'nuther DC.  Having 'tiers' of knowledge about a thing isn't something you're prevented from doing with DCs in d20, it's just not pushed much in the presentation.  For instance, knowing that an architectural feature of a castle is a 'bartizan' isn't a big deal, knowing how to build one, demolish one, or man one effectively in a battle is a very different question.</blockquote>

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