Reffy's page

I like the rumors idea.
Usually I already prepared (almost) everything they might encounter in said forest. Depending on what knowledge check they roll, I can give some hints about what they could expect.

Thank you for all the replies, it helped a lot.

There's indeed some rules about monster knowledge checks and gathering information.

I'm still a bit stuck on when a player ask: "What do I know about this forest?"

Should I answer with a question like: "What would you like to know?"
Maybe he wants to know if there are any ruins in the forest, so a history check might be useful.

If the question is still too vague can I give him a vague answer as well?
"I rolled a 36 on knowledge nature. Are there any hazards in this forest? (Flesh eating plants, sinkholes, diseases etc."

The only answer I can think of is "maybe." Any forest could have those things. You have to find out.
I'm not really sure how to handle that. And yes, my players do ask these type of questions a lot. :p

(Please forgive the uninspiring topic title)

I have a few questions about knowledge skills.
In my group, there's always one character that has very high knowledge skills, all of them. They can easily roll 20+. I'm talking about bards, investigators and wizards. There could be more classes.

The problem I'm having as a GM is that I don't know what I should tell them when they roll knowledge skills. I feel like I'm telling them way too much. Which makes my story weaker, since I want them to discover mysteries etc. on their own. A bit like the Lovecraftian/Cthulhu franchise.
But I also don't want to punish them for putting ranks in the knowledge skills.

When they roll high on a knowledge check when encountering a monster, should I just give them the bestiary?

When they roll knowledge checks on a large forest they have to go through. Do I tell them every creature, disease, food and hazards they could encounter?

And the big problem I'm having with my current campaign is; When is this knowledge updated?
In example: The group enters the capital of a country. They roll knowledge checks about the government/kings and the like. They know that a queen is ruling this city.

Well, in my campaign that queen has been missing, for a day. So for them to figure this out, they have to "gather information." Which is in the diplomacy skill now?
What if the queen has been missing for a week? Or a month? When does it stop from being a gather information check, to being a knowledge check?

Thanks for the replies.

For simplicity's sake, if people are aware then I'll let everyone roll initiative.

If you want a surprise round, be sneaky. Use invisibility. Hide somewhere.
But you don't get a first attack just because you say you're going to attack.

That last part is especially problematic if I'm describing the scene or Roleplaying as an NPC, when a player shouts he's going to attack.
The GM could also take advantage of this problem. Rolling initiative instead, solves this problem.

Me and my group had a discussion about surprise rounds.
The situation was this:

The players are standing in front of a group of bandits on an open field. The tensions are high, but no one has drawn a weapon.
Suddenly, a player says: "I shoot an arrow on the bandit leader."

Some players claimed he should have gotten a surprise round.
I (the GM), disagreed.

The rules say: "When a combat starts, if you are not aware of your opponents and they are aware of you, you’re surprised."

The bandit leader was talking with his second in command, but he wasn't talking with his eyes closed. He was aware. And even if he wasn't, many of the other bandits were definitely aware.

I think some players assume that when they shout "attack" they get a free action.

Would like to hear some thoughts about this.