Should I be breaking Society up into different society skills like Society - Osirian or Does someone recalling knowledge about the History of a Society 5000miles away have the same chance as someone who lives there?
Its seems odd it doesn't work like Lore does; EG Lore:Engineering, Lore:Mining etc
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Society is meant to represent general knowledge of the world. So it's not incorrect to use it to determine if there is a town nearby, or what the Capitol of a country happens to be, or even their major exports.
If a player wants, they could take a Lore based on a specific place that would be able to provide better specifics on a location, perhaps with a circumstance bonus.
Generally, treat Society like Knowledge Local used to be used. At least that's how I run it.
mmmm it does seem society and lore are somewhat interchangable
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Lore DCs are supposed to be lower. Knowing all the major towns of Osirion is a hard Society check and a trivial Lore(Osirion) check.
Mostly it seems they wanted a more flexible catch all skill than having "knowledge Nobility and Local and etc..." which is kind of nice. Definitely helps with the Skill system and how increases work. There isn't really room for too many more skills for most characters.
Society (Int)
You understand the people and systems that make civilization run, and you know the historical events that make societies what they are today. Further, you can use that knowledge to navigate the complex physical, societal, and economic workings of settlements. Even if you’re untrained in Society, you can use it for the following general skill actions (page 234).
• Recall Knowledge about local history, important personalities, legal institutions, societal structure, and humanoid cultures. The GM might allow Society to apply to other creatures that are major elements of society in your region, such as the draconic nobility in a kingdom of humans ruled by dragons.
• Subsist in a settlement by finding shelter, scrounging, or begging for food.
Society does answer questions about the local social structure, even in a new town, but Paizo tried to phrase it as applying general knowledge. I would roleplay it as entering the town of Nottingham and immediately piecing together from local gossip the roles of Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Prince John, because you have read about historical events similar to that. You know the difference between a mayor, governor, baron, or regent as the local head of state, such as the mayor is a commoner worried about elections, but a governor might be sent over by the king to rule, a baron was born to the position, and a regent is a temporary stand-in for the baron, so you can piece together the government structure just from the word, "regent."
Lore (Int)
You have specialized information on a narrow topic. Lore features many subcategories. You might have Military Lore, Sailing Lore, Vampire Lore, or any similar
subcategory of the skill. Each subcategory counts as its own skill, so applying a skill increase to Planar Lore wouldn’t increase your proficiency with Sailing Lore, for example.
Lore doesn't have a particularly clear explanation, but given that Backgrounds always give a piece of lore, I treat it as knowledge earned by life experience. You were a leatherworker apprentice working for the guildmaster before you became a ranger, so your Artisan background gives you Guild Lore.
Thus, if a character trained in Society while growing up in Cheliax but then sailed to Osirion, he would have read up on world history and studied Cheliax's international relations with Osirion, so he would have a good idea how Osirion society functioned. On the other hand, a character who grew up in Osirion would gain Osirion Lore, and be able to readily (i.e. lower DC) navigate in Osiron society than someone trained in more general Society skill. Except that only the lore that came with the background is free, and most players don't want to spend their chacacter's training on a narrow lore skill, so characters who grew up in Osirion mysteriously lack Osirion Lore.
As noted by SuperBidi, PF2 skills seem to support more variance in skill DCs and definitely support more GM flexibility in assigning DCs.
I suspect more in depth guidelines for setting DCs might appear in the Gamemastery Guide or a future supplement.
The way I run skills like Society is that it is a much broader topic than a specific Lore skill. Being trained in a Lore skill nets a lower DC on a check to represent the more focused but in-depth knowledge.
I also apply modifiers based on distance or familiarity. So, if a party of PCs steps off a ship at the docks of a city & nation that they've never visited, the DCs for things like Society checks are going to get a +5 or +2 modifier until they've spent a few weeks in-region.
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I have players roll Society for most of these things, but if they have lore (Taldor), lore (history), lore (fashion) or lore (nobility) they get lower DCs.
Yes, I make lore (fashion) come up. Not a lot, but in some social encounters (and in certain infiltration events) it got highly relevant. Society is a general catchall, but specifics are very helpful. At least one player in my groups has each of those lores, and while it’s easier to rank up society and get a comparable chance on all, there’s been a bunch of things that had the clause ‘any player who can pass a DC x Society check, or is at least Trained in lore (Taldor), knows...’
Tbh the guidelines on Lore are way too vague, and it depends a lot on your GM. So while we can give some advice, ultimately it’s up to individual groups.
Society also isn't unique for this. Religion can tell you about the Osirian gods who aren't typically worshipped in other parts of the world, and nature can tell you about creatures you would never find where you're from.
An NPC from Osiria would probably just have the appropriate Lore skills. If you have two PCs, one from Osiria and one who isn't, if neither has the appropriate Lore skill, you could just lower the DC or provide a circumstance bonus to the Society check of the local.
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I would roleplay it as entering the town of Nottingham and immediately piecing together from local gossip the roles of Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Prince John, because you have read about historical events similar to that. You know the difference between a mayor, governor, baron, or regent as the local head of state, such as the mayor is a commoner worried about elections, but a governor might be sent over by the king to rule, a baron was born to the position, and a regent is a temporary stand-in for the baron, so you can piece together the government structure just from the word, "regent."
I moved from a town where I had been involved in local government and politics for many years to a town where I knew no one.
In the new town, I was often able to get access to resources and information by thinking "In town X, I would have asked the (civic role) to find that out. I wonder what the equivalent 'civic role' is here."
And it worked.
Even though I was a newcomer and didn't have years of friendship with this new group of people, I was often able to get things done because I knew the common US organization of civic power systems. It even worked once in a foreign country.
So no matter whether the people who manage the water system are called "Water Department" or "Public Utilities", my Society knowledge gave me an advantage.
Stuff like this seems also tied to gather info, while you are into a new environement ( even if you know the basics ).
That would have been a gather info with the society skill to me ( there is a feat which does the work ). Not a granted one ( I mean in order to achieve a high success by combining social skills and gathered info ) through a society check only.
This because I think it could br different given the environement in thè game, compared to real life.
HumbleGamer's Gather Information notion is sound. The introduction to Recall Knowledge on pages 238-239 of the PF2 Core Rulebook says, "You might even need to spend time investigating first. For instance, to use Medicine to learn the cause of death, you might need to conduct a forensic examination before attempting to Recall Knowledge."
When the party arrives in an unfamiliar town, they can canvass local markets, taverns, and gathering places for two hours, just like a Gather Information activity, but no Diplomacy check required. Instead, they learn enough to conduct a Recall Knowledge Society check concerning that town specifically. Without that reconnaissance, Recall Knowledge about that town's society will be more difficult (higher DC).
Stuff like this seems also tied to gather info, while you are into a new environement ( even if you know the basics ).
That would have been a gather info with the society skill to me ( there is a feat which does the work ). Not a granted one ( I mean in order to achieve a high success by combining social skills and gathered info ) through a society check only.
This because I think it could br different given the environement in thè game, compared to real life.
HumbleGamer's Gather Information notion is sound. The introduction to Recall Knowledge on pages 238-239 of the PF2 Core Rulebook says, "You might even need to spend time investigating first. For instance, to use Medicine to learn the cause of death, you might need to conduct a forensic examination before attempting to Recall Knowledge."
When the party arrives in an unfamiliar town, they can canvass local markets, taverns, and gathering places for two hours, just like a Gather Information activity, but no Diplomacy check required. Instead, they learn enough to conduct a Recall Knowledge Society check concerning that town specifically. Without that reconnaissance, Recall Knowledge about that town's society will be more difficult (higher DC).
Which is also relevant to identifying creatures-- you're going to have an easier time identifying a creature that you're observing than just looking at its paw prints.