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So a long time ago I remembered an amazing thread on the Wizard's forums. In it was every monster covered in the Monster Manual with Knowledge DCs and information to give out to your players based on those DCs. We've always had the rules for this, but never before did we really have anything specific, we kind of had to guess at what to tell the players, pick and choose the various pieces of each monster.
Now that I have my new Pathfinder Archives, I was thinking on other things to add (and make me procrastinate more from starting on adding in all those spells... so many... ). I already plan to add in a section for my 3.5 -> PRPG Conversions, but was thinking on other things that would be useful. It came to me that another Lore style area would be very handy, especially as I never know what kind of info to give out on the spot for monsters. Even when I do, it just feels generic, uninteresting, bland.
As it is, I have a lot of work on my plate as it is, and while I'd love to have this kind of thing up on my site I doubt I could do it alone. Thus, I wanted to see who would be interested in contributing. I would just grab as much as I could from the old monster compendium, but I'm sure there is plenty that's changed with the Pathfinder RPG, not to mention that Knowledges are now based off CR instead of HD.
Even if all you want to do is supply information for one monster, that would be great. Here is the kind of format I'm looking at for various things (with each Knowledge being appropriate to the type):
DC 10 Knowledge (or equal to the basic information DC for the creature if lower than 10): Know what the type of creature is (aberration, undead, etc.) along with the basic information for that creature as given in the back of the Bestiary. +5 to the DC if the type is obscure.
DC 15 Knowledge (or equal to the intermediate information DC for the creature if lower than 15): Know what the subtype of creature is (devil, shapechanger, etc.) along with the basic information for that creature as given in the back of the Bestiary. +5 to the DC if the type is obscure.
(For the below, subtract 5 from the DC if the creature is very common and add 5 if it is very rare)
DC 10 + CR: Know basic information about the creature including its name, legends, and simple facts.
DC 15 + CR: Know more intermediate information about the creature, some special abilities, etc.
DC 20 + CR: Know expert information about the creature, weaknesses, rarely used abilities, detailed information.
DC 25 + CR: Know everything there is to know, spell-like abilities, very well hidden weaknesses, everything.
Here is an example:
Devil, Erinyes
DC 10 Knowledge (Planes): This check reveals that the creature is an Outsider, along with all the Outsider traits in the Bestiary.
DC 15 Knowledge (Planes): This check reveals that the creature is a Devil, along with all the Devil traits in the Bestiary.
DC 18 Knowledge (Planes): This creature is an erinyes, thought to be a fallen angel that now serve the lords of the Nine Hells as scouts, servants, and even concubines. Unlike most devils, erinyes are very comely.
DC 23 Knowledge (Planes): The erinyes is resistant to non-holy weapons and possess excellent spell resistance. They have amazing sight and can see past illusions and other tricks with true seeing at all times.
DC 28 Knowledge (Planes): Erinyes carry stout ropes that can entangle their opponents as if with animate rope. Their summon ability can be used to bring in a duo of bearded devil reinforcements.
DC 33 Knowledge (Planes): Besides having true seeing on at all times, the erinyes can use fear, greater teleport, minor image, and unholy blight at will.
Now, my example is pretty basic, I'm not the most creative individual. Ideally I'm trying to keep as much 'mechanical' chunks out as possible, instead using flavor to describe those same bits without just saying 'SR 22, DR 5/good' etc. If anyone is interested in helping out or porting over the old Monster Lore (making sure to fix any 3.5 - PRPG translations) then I'll be more than happy to add everything to my Archives for later DM use.
Thoughts? The old Monster Lore was great and I would love to have the same thing for the Pathfinder RPG. :)
Even if all you want to do is supply information for one monster, that would be great. Here is the kind of format I'm looking at for various things (with each Knowledge being appropriate to the type):
** spoiler omitted **...
I think this is a great idea. I wonder why no one picked it up? Or does it exist somewhere else?
The only other place I know of it is in the old 3.5 Monster Lore area on the WotC boards. Not sure if it exists anywhere else, I sure couldn't find it.
Sounds like what Privateer did for their Monsternomicon books.
I have to sayt I loved those little pieces of trivia. And my players loved them, too.
If I come across any (or make any up) I'll be sure to post. Great idea!
It looks like Paizo sells some GM Aids: Monster Knowledge cards for 3.5 OGL monsters that seem to fit this description. I think their created by 4 Winds Fantasy Role Playing. I wonder if they will be/or have been updated for the Pathfinder Bestiary.
I think that this is what you want. Link
Edit: I have this product by the way. It's pretty good. my only beef is that the DCs are the same for every creature. I felt like some of the more rare monsters should have had higher TNs.
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Just an FYI - We discovered that Wizards Community Monster Lore forum sometime ago and have been integrating as time permits.
You can see an example of what we have done here (and on many other pages).
We are adding them throughout the site as we get permission from the original creators.