|
So my players in this game I'm GMing want to use a Knowledge Roll to identify/gain info on an enemy they are fighting currently. But do I make them guess on which type of knowledge to roll, or can I tell them which one?
No guess, but you don't need to tell them.
"Roll me a D20, and let me know what knowledges you have, and what your modifier is for each one."
On a successful roll, they will be informed of what knowledge it was. In general, in order to reduce confusion all around, I, at least, typically just ask for a roll of X knowledge. Overall, that doesn't afford the players very much meta knowledge if the roll is bad, but it eases life on both sides of the screen.
Breakdown:
Arcana (constructs, dragons, magical beasts)
Dungeoneering (aberrations, oozes,)
Local (personalities, inhabitants, humanoids)
Nature (animals, fey, monstrous humanoids, plants, vermin)
Planes (outsiders)
Religion (undead)
Generally, only Planes and Religion have a single monster type associated with them, and those types tend to be fairly obvious on appearance alone, anyway.
The only real meta knowledge there is whether something is humanoid or monstrous humanoid.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Characters don't pick knowledge checks, knowledge checks pick them. No guessing involved.
I find it's just easier to announce which knowledge it is since there are usually 4-5 players each with an oddball spread of ranks (we don't usually have a single knowledge-monkey type). Sure, they *could* metagame, but the folks at my table make honest efforts not to and that is enough to make what metagaming does happen be an acceptable price for the time saved.
Then again, my table complains when the DM chuckles as he admits to making us do a perception check when nothing is there. "Awww, you're not supposed to tell us that!"