Knowledge Skills Advice (multiple rolls on monsters, info breakdown, info distribution methods)

[Turelus]

A few questions regarding knowledge and how others handle it.

I've read other threads and got bits of information here and there but figured starting a thread to get some feedback on my specifics would be beneficial.

Question 1
When two characters with the same knowledge roll on the same monster for known information, how much knowledge do you give the group?

Example.

Rakshasa DC10+CR(10) for a DC 20 Knowledge Planes check.
PC 1: rolls a 32 (three bits of information)
PC 2: rolls a 26 (two bits of information)

Does the group get five bits of separate knowledge or would PC1 and PC2 have some cross overs in what they know?

I've previously been giving out separate information (so five as per above example) but have noticed recently that now my group is basically walking into encounters and knowing everything about a given monster.

For the Rakshasa in the example above they would know:-
Name and type (I give these for hitting the DC)
DR Type, but not value (PC 1's 20)
Has SR, but not value (PC 1's 25)
Has SLA's (PC 1's 30)
Has Detect Thoughts at will (PC 2's 20)
Common SLA is Lightning Bolt (PC 2's 25)

So this is pretty much everything special about a Rakshasa, leaving little mystery about such a creature. Now it's not that I want my players to be clueless and get killed or not have fun, but it feels like nothing is new and exciting (even ToH stuff) because the group will just know everything.

In searching I've seen some people talk about lower rolls counting as assists (to represent shared knowledge) and speaking with my group about this limiting it to not one per success was seen as a nerf to their characters.

Question 2
When giving out information what's the best breakdown?

Should "defences" be lumped together or should each defence be a separate bit of useful information?

Example something has Immune: Fire; Resist: Cold 10, Acid 10.
Should that be one bit of information (all), two bits (immune and resists) or three bits (all separate)?

Question 3
How is best to give out information?

Currently my group does rolls, counts up number of pieces of useful information then says what areas they want to know "defences, attacks, special abilities" etc.
Now to me this still feels a little outside of immersive RP. I would rather give the players information totally the number they earned but am not sure how best to give that information.

If they've got three bits of information and a creature has DR, SR, Immunities & Special attacks which one gets left out.
If I don't give the DR information the martial classes are going to get annoyed, if I don't give the SR/Immunities the casters will get annoyed, if I don't give a special ability and then slap them with it they'll wonder WTF just happened.
This is why I have been in favour of them choosing the information as then it doesn't create that feeling the GM did it to mess with them.

[Saldiven]

1. There is nothing in the rules that address this. It's up to the GM to determine how to handle this. There is no inherent reason that two people who do a knowledge check on the same creature will each know totally different things about the creature; it is reasonable for there to be some overlap, if you choose to handle it that way.

2. Again, there is nothing in the rules to explain this, and the GM has to work with the players to decide how they wish to handle this. As an example, in our play group, I'm currently taking a break from GM and acting as a player in two different concurrent campaigns. One character is an Enchantment sorcerer. I have made it clear to the GM that the character's "studies" into creatures are primarily focused on whether or not a given creature is susceptible to mind affecting spells. When studying about creatures (in downtime, something one has to assume is being done to explain how characters constantly seem to know something about such a wide variety of even rare monsters), he doesn't pay much attention to damage resistances, special attacks, etc. So, the first bit of information he gets on a successful role is whether or not mind affecting spells will work on the monster. This is not based on any rule, but was from a negotiation between player and GM.

3. Depends on how the group wants to handle it and how you enjoy it. I've been in groups that prefer rule-based information given ("Immune to electricity, and it has DR5/magic"), and I've been in other groups that prefer it to be told in a more colorful manner ("The creature is known for being incredibly resistant to lightning attacks, and non-magical weapons are known for being less effective in damaging them"). Unfortunately, this is again a situation where the group as a whole has to determine what works for them and provides the greatest level of fun. That might be totally different from what any other group does.