Headband of Ponderous Recollection - how does it operate in game?

[Stephen Ede]

One of my players managed to purchase the Headband and the 1st session it was used there turned out to be a significant difference in opinion on how it worked.

The thorn is the following ability -

As a swift action three times per day, the wearer can call upon the headband to reveal the abilities and weaknesses of a creature within line of sight. The headband fills the wearer’s mind with information as though the wearer had made a Knowledge check with a natural roll of a 5, adding her bonuses to the check as normal. At the start of her next turn, the wearer receives additional information as though she had made the check with a natural roll of 10. At the start of her turn after that, the wearer receives a final piece of information, treating her natural roll as 15.
(note this is costed as 1100 gp in addition to it's other abilities)

The player saw what looked like a lantern in the forest at night. He then went "ping" identify and tell me if it's a Will-o-wisp.

The following discussion and events pointed out several other problematical disputes over how it worked.

If a Vampire is successfully disguised as a Elf will the headband tell you it is in fact a Vampire - with the following weaknesses and abilities.

Does it identify the general weaknesses and abilities of the creature type or does it tell you any additional abilities from Classes and Template that the specific creature has.

If you see a speck in the sky you use the headband on it and instantly identify what it is (provided your knowledge ck is high enough) despite only seeing it as a dot in the sky.

My ruling was that it only gives you a knowledge check as you make normally when you look at a creature and try and work out what it is and what it can do. Namely you have to see it clearly enough to ve able to make a knowledge check and then you get to know the abilities as per the monster manual entry for the creature - not any special templates or Class abilities that might be unique to the creature.

Thanks

[Saethori]

Stephen Ede wrote:

If a Vampire is successfully disguised as a Elf will the headband tell you it is in fact a Vampire - with the following weaknesses and abilities.

Make a Perception check. No, really.

What you would make a knowledge check on actually does depend on what it is you perceive. If what you see is an elf, you make Knowledge checks on elves.
You generally have to beat the vampire's Disguise check (plus whatever bonuses he gets to appear as not a vampire) before you can see him for what he is.

Stephen Ede wrote:

Does it identify the general weaknesses and abilities of the creature type or does it tell you any additional abilities from Classes and Template that the specific creature has.

Knowledge checks almost uniformly give you the creature type's general values on the minimum Knowledge result. Higher results give more information.

Stephen Ede wrote:

If you see a speck in the sky you use the headband on it and instantly identify what it is (provided your knowledge ck is high enough) despite only seeing it as a dot in the sky.

Still definitely need a Perception check to even see it as anything more than a dot in the sky. For starters, why is your character even scrutinizing a dot in the sky?

Stephen Ede wrote:

My ruling was that it only gives you a knowledge check as you make normally when you look at a creature and try and work out what it is and what it can do. Namely you have to see it clearly enough to ve able to make a knowledge check and then you get to know the abilities as per the monster manual entry for the creature - not any special templates or Class abilities that might be unique to the creature.

That's how I see it as well. Though regarding templates or class abilities, it doesn't seem strange if, on higher Knowledge results, you might get facets like "this vampire seems stronger/weaker/more limber than average vampires".

Knowledge is a very subjective skill, and it all depends on how well your GM is willing to work with you.