Checking memories?


Advice


How does everyone deal with whether or not a character remembers something? Like what if it was years ago or if it was really brief?

I feel like there should be some kind of ruleset for it. I mean should I just make all my characters have eidetic memory if it's purely based on roleplaying?

It can make a big difference too in some cases like if you remember seeing an enemy somewhere or if you recognize an object.

Anyway I was contemplating having some kind of memory check in my next campaign just to clear it up, with taking 10 allowing someone to remember basic stuff you'd easily remember.

Thoughts?

Scarab Sages

It depends on what your are attempting to remember. Mostly these would be knowledge checks for the appropriate subject, or possibly a craft or profession check. If all else fails, it could be a simple intelligence check.


or, heres a thought, let the players make that check for themselves IRL (AKA: if they can remember the actual name of the baron from 7 sessions ago they can make use of that, if they cant? oh well.)


Hazrond wrote:
or, heres a thought, let the players make that check for themselves IRL (AKA: if they can remember the actual name of the baron from 7 sessions ago they can make use of that, if they cant? oh well.)

For sure their int 22 Wizard looks like a dumbass


Entryhazard wrote:
Hazrond wrote:
or, heres a thought, let the players make that check for themselves IRL (AKA: if they can remember the actual name of the baron from 7 sessions ago they can make use of that, if they cant? oh well.)
For sure their int 22 Wizard looks like a dumbass

i mean, why is that? INT isnt your ability to remember RANDOM details, its your ability to remember important stuff

Edit: Also, i would appreciate if you lowered the hostility a bit


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

When we play we usually use intelligence checks.


Intelligence checks over here as well.


Int checks to remember anything you want, with Wis and Cha being optional alternatives for certain things. Wis lets you remember important, obvious things (like the location of a trap you already encountered); Cha lets you remember social things (like names and stuff to avoid a faux pas).


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I work with some very intelligent people. Engineers and scientists and even the occasional very intelligent manager.

Some of them are extremely forgetful.

On the other hand, my grandfather who was of ordinary, nondescript intelligence could remember the most minute details of every place he'd ever been in 70 years. He could tell you about the rocks and trees along the road of a place he hadn't been to since he was a child.

So I'm not really sure that INT and memory are really linked at all. Then again, I wouldn't link memory with any of the other ability scores, so if I insisted on a roll I suppose INT would be the one I'd pick.

But I don't. If the players cannot remember the name of an NPC I described a month ago, I just tell them. After all, for their characters it was often just a few days and the character probably interacted with the NPC and cared about the NPC's identity far more than the players did.

In other situations I just don't tell them. No rolls. But never for the truly important stuff; just trivia. If the players didn't care enough to remember the trivia, it's probable that their PCs didn't either. When I don't tell them, I usually remind them of HOW they might figure out the thing they forgot - where they can look it up or who they might ask for the answer, etc.


Hazrond wrote:
Entryhazard wrote:
Hazrond wrote:
or, heres a thought, let the players make that check for themselves IRL (AKA: if they can remember the actual name of the baron from 7 sessions ago they can make use of that, if they cant? oh well.)
For sure their int 22 Wizard looks like a dumbass

i mean, why is that? INT isnt your ability to remember RANDOM details, its your ability to remember important stuff

Edit: Also, i would appreciate if you lowered the hostility a bit

Interesting...

What are you basing that statement on? I mean, what is more appropriate?

"Wisdom describes a character's willpower, common sense, awareness, and intuition."

"Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons."

I wouldn't use any other stat.

But hey, your game, your rules.

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