How Much Should Players Know?

[Tormsskull]

I've noticed that DMs approach this in a variety of ways. So I purpose a question: How much should players know? More specifically:

Prestige Classes

Should players know every prestige class that is available in the world at the beginning of play? If the DM homebrews prestige classes should he furnish the players with a list of them and their statistics?

Magic Items/Spells

If the DM homebrews new magic items or spells, should he tell the players up front of these new items/spells?

Combat

When a character is attacking a monster, do you as the DM tell them the AC of the opponent or just tell them hit/miss when they tell you their total attack roll? What about saves or skill checks?

I'm curious to see how other DMs handle these types of situations.

[PaleAngel]

Prestige Classes - I usually will tell people what's available, so that way someone doesn't try to build toward something only to be told after 5-7 levels of play that I didn't add that class to my game. Likewise, if there are custom classes that it would be accessable to the characters, I will usually make the players aware of them so they can decide if they're going to work toward it or not. They would obviously still need to meet any special or roleplay requirements, but I think it's good form to let the players see what they could work towards.

Magic Items and Spells - Spells, if they're something widely known within the campaign setting, yes I would let someone know about them. If I've invented a spell designed only by a single wizard who they happen to be facing, then no, they don't need to see the mechanics...that way the plot of the unknown magical device/spell/etc is actually about an unknown whatnot and the feeling of accomplishment if they manage to take/learn/etc said item or spell is more genuine and fulfilling.

Combat and skill checks/saves - I just tell people hit/miss, succeed/fail. always with some variety of description as well. Usually after the second or at latest third round of combat, enough dice have been rolled that the players start telling each other what the AC most likely is...they tend to be right about 85% of the time.

[Dervag]

They should know enough to be alarmed.

[hewhosaysfish]

The player's should know what source books are available to them to create their characters. It's probably best to be upfront about any homebrew material as well so that halfway through the campaign they don't think you're just making this stuff up.
This doesn't mean that the characters should know that Doohickian Wizards or Holy Servants of Whatchumabob exist.


On the subject of rolls, most DMs I've played with just say pass or fail on attack rolls - at least until someone who rolled 21 has missed and someone who rolled 23 has hit, then they just "Yeah, AC 22" and then we tell them if we pass or fail (saves them thinking). An exception to this is when someone gets a really good Knowledge(What the heck is that) check and gets to probe for information on AC, DR and stuff.

[BCOVertigo]

I think it should vary from case to case. Warshaper requires no training and is just a boost on existing skills but Mage of the Arcane Order would require you to find an existing group and learn from them. The DM should decide based on the fluff attached to the class (or what he creates) and inform the players.

[Green Bean]

For prestige classes, you should let your players know what prestige classes are available. However, depending on how rare the class is in your world, you might not let them take it until they've actually met someone in the class, or at least heard of it.

[Toliudar]

With my PnP group, I'm really laissez-faire about prestige classes, because none of them are particularly good at, or excited by, optimization. If a player finds a prestige class and I don't object to it (no one's come to me with any third-party or very wonky materials, so I haven't had to say no), we start to lay an IC groundwork in the game for that person to learn about, and join, that class. Surprising me with a "I'd like to take a level of THIS obscure Prestige Class now!" is not encouraged.

If you're homebrewing Prestige Classes that you'd like to have open to players, then yeah, I'd guess you'd have to circulate them in order to get someone interested.

New Items/Spells:
It really depends whether you WANT the players to immediately access them. Generally speaking, I'd try to give the players who might be interested in crafting/using them a level or two before they might access them to look at the materials, think about how they might work with the characters.

Of course, if you want to include a custom item in found treasure, you just plop it in and let them figure out how it works, using whatever mechanics for that amuse you (experimentation, Identify, etc).

Stats & results:
I never tell players the DC of a save, or the specific numbers relating to an opponent. Usually, over a battle of several rounds, though, they get a pretty good sense of how tough an AC or save is.

Skill checks I usually won't tell them either, unless there's a hint I need to lay into the process. Under some circumstances, I'll actually take some spot/listen/search checks out of their hands and roll myself, in order to conceal something that they REALLY don't know about (as opposed to having the players, but not the characters, know that someting is there, which will sometimes lead to metagame actions, despite the best of intentions). However, I try not to do that more than once a session or so.

[PinkysBrain]

Prestige Classes

Should players know every prestige class that is available in the world at the beginning of play? If the DM homebrews prestige classes should he furnish the players with a list of them and their statistics?
If you use the standard prerequisites then yes of course. You can roleplay ignorance in character, but using clairvoyance outside of the game to know the prerequisites you will need to meet is a bit harder.

If you use trial based qualification like suggested in UA then you could afford to be a lot more spontaneous ... but you have to be very careful not to unduly punish/reward certain players just because of the timing in discovering the prestige classes. You should probably introduce most PrCs before they are level 6.

[Thomas]

They should know enough to be alarmed.

That's definitely right for certain kinds of games...

In general:

It'd be impossible to even try to furnish my players with a list of everything that's explicitly available, since I own and use some ... let's count... over 30 D&D books. They'll come across items, maybe make them or whatever from the books. They can pick prestige classes to aspire to (some may specifically require organizational involvement, like the Justice of Weald and Woe or the Silverymoon Spellguard, but I'm hardly going to make it unnecessarily difficult to achieve that by the appropriate level).

Sometimes I give away the AC, sometimes I don't. When I don't, they figure it out soon enough anyway ("Well, my 33 missed and your 34 hit. I guess the AC is 34, huh?"). Hiding monster stats (and obscuring monsters) is only relevant in horror games, anyway. D&D players as experienced (and involved) as mine are going to know the stats of most monsters in the MM by heart, anyway (and the one that DMs knows the stats of most monsters from half of the other books).

[Rigeld2]

Prestige Classes

Should players know every prestige class that is available in the world at the beginning of play? If the DM homebrews prestige classes should he furnish the players with a list of them and their statistics?
As a DM, I dont bother homebrewing any PrCs unless the player has something s/he wants to do that isnt covered by a published one. And, any published one has to be run my be, preferably long before the player tries to qualify for it.


Magic Items/Spells

If the DM homebrews new magic items or spells, should he tell the players up front of these new items/spells?
No. No reason to.


Combat

When a character is attacking a monster, do you as the DM tell them the AC of the opponent or just tell them hit/miss when they tell you their total attack roll? What about saves or skill checks?
Hit/miss, fail/make the save/skill check. Sure, theyll figure out the AC or DC eventually, but they dont need to know it right off.

[Olethros]

On the subject of dice roll results, I have played the ultimate duex et machina DM before and done all the dice rolls for both myself and the players behind screen. Its very work intensive for the DM and it requiers trust from the players, but it really helps some people with role playing immersion, and some metagaming aspects as well.

If you're willing to be very intence with discriptions and spend alot of time rolling checks, it can be a fun way to run a game or two, but I don't recomend it for entire extended campains.

[akira72703]

I let the players in my game know that there are PrC's out there but the general rule that I follow is that the requirements are not adhered to. Joing a PrC is a function of roleplaying and actual in game time.

With spells and new items, I let them know up front.

The same for Homebrew rules etc.

As far as DC and AC for rolls, I keep these as confidential as possible but at times it can be unavoidable.

-E

[Diggorian]

If a player wants a certain PrC from a book I allow as a supplement, I'll let them know if it's allowed. I'll introduce them into the story near the time they qualify to give an in-game entrance, especially if the PrC entails an organization.

Magic items and new spells are encountered in game only. I detest the concept of Artifacts-R-Us shops. Magic items are found, bestowed by powerful churches, or granted by nobility or royalty as a reward or to be used in the service of a mission. Magic shops sell material components and books related to magic/lore.

House rules I try to type out for easy reference because players have a right to know to play their PCs effectively.

We use Modern's Action Pts. rules so DCs of all kinds arent for disclosure. In combat I describe the result of an attack descriptively only. I'll narrate a miss or ask for a damage roll, using the amount to accurately portray a hit. AC shifts from certain tactics but they can figure it eventually.

I'll ask for a Wisdom check if a player asks how hard something looks then determine the answer based on their skill modifier. Secret checks for certain skills like Spot, Listen, Search, and Will saves or illusions are common.

[Gamebird]

I've noticed that DMs approach this in a variety of ways. So I purpose a question: How much should players know?

They should know enough to play their characters, roll for things you want them to roll for, ask about things you want them to ask about. They should know all the basic information that a person of their social station and education would know about the game world. In my game, I've deliberately not made maps of the game world available, or detailed maps of anything but the extremely local area - as an example.


More specifically:

Prestige Classes

Should players know every prestige class that is available in the world at the beginning of play? If the DM homebrews prestige classes should he furnish the players with a list of them and their statistics?

Yes (every PrC that is available to the PCs), unless the DM plans to waive pre-reqs for all PrCs and role play admittance. PrCs that are too remote for the PCs to have access to them shouldn't be provided.


Magic Items/Spells

If the DM homebrews new magic items or spells, should he tell the players up front of these new items/spells?

If they might affect PC choices and are things the PCs would reasonably know about, yes. For example, in my game I told PCs that there were a range of low level spells for mundane applications: sorting things, seeding fields, divining fertile periods, causing infertility, determining parentage, cooking, aiding childbirth, etc. I didn't want it to be a surprise to PCs later on that these things existed (like, say, if they conceived a child with a woman and attempted to deny parentage).

The PCs don't need to know about exotic or exceedingly rare magic items or spells. On the other hand, I have a system for determining if PCs know about such items based off Knowledge: Arcana.


Combat

When a character is attacking a monster, do you as the DM tell them the AC of the opponent or just tell them hit/miss when they tell you their total attack roll? What about saves or skill checks?

I tell them if they hit or miss and I often describe something about the hit, especially if the creature has a resistance to their type of weapon damage, or damage reduction, or a lot more hit points (or a lot fewer) than they were expecting.


I'm curious to see how other DMs handle these types of situations.

I have gone to a lot of effort to elaborate on the Knowledge system, which gives me a mechanism to feed information to players about the game world. It also makes them feel like if they wanted to know the information, they could spend their skill ranks and know it - this seems to make it more "fair" when they don't know stuff.

Here's what's probably the most elaborate Knowledge, because it differs a lot from PC-expectations based on just reading the books:

KNOWLEDGE: RELIGION

What is known of religion by the ignorant:
Ø There are gods. They control the world. We worship them. The gods grant spells or magical ability to those people who please them, and curse those who displease them.

What is known of local knowledge by most well learned people who do not have ranks in Knowledge (Religion):
Ø The deity chart that lists all the local deities, their alignments, portfolios and patronage.
Ø You know the details of worship, holy items, practices, etc. for the deity your family primarily venerates.
Ø Humanoids usually worship evil gods.
Ø Undead are created by curses, spells, death by great trauma, or other undead. Undead are always evil.
Ø The fey or faerie creatures are nature spirits or some sort of nature elemental that is spawned directly by the earth and living things. Fey are always good aligned, though often dangerous and sometimes at odds with people.
Ø There are spells that can return people to something like life. Followers of Lord Deth claim these are undead. Some other faiths have different feelings, treating a returned person as normal.

Religion (1-4 ranks):
Ø You know the details of worship, holy items, practices, etc. for four of the accepted deities. One of these will be the one your family primarily venerates.
Ø You know many inner aspects of the liturgy and religious thought for the deity you primarily venerate.
Ø Worship of any deity other than those on the deity chart is illegal. “Worship”, however, is defined on a case-by-case basis and often includes propitiation, negotiation, summoning or simply speaking the name of the deity (even in condemnation).
Ø It is believed that deities are aware of their name being spoken and their symbol being shown. The gods are proscribed by their own laws, or the laws of the universe, from acting in every case where someone asks for their aid. They seem freer in acting to punish those who blaspheme them, or speak the name of an evil god foolishly (repeating the name of an evil god while instructing others on how to combat that god is really dumb).
Ø The primary evil god/goddess is called Hisji (portrayed as hermaphrodite – both sexes at once). Hisji is Neutral Evil. Hisji’s unholy symbol is a scrap of preserved flesh, a bone, or a skull. These are actual body parts – not stylized symbols.
Ø Humanoid tribes often worship demons or devils and are sometimes accompanied by such a creature. They more rarely worship evil fey. And yes, evil fey do exist. They’re just rare.
Ø You know how Animate Dead works and have a vague idea of how people turn themselves into liches. You have an idea of which undead create other undead.
Ø You know the major types of undead and the primary power of each. The major types are:
o Mindless undead (skeletons, zombies) – they have no special powers.
o Wights (general term for corporeal undead) – powers vary greatly, some can make others of their kind. Most are intelligent and make use of tools.
o Liches (general term for corporeal, spell casting undead) – spells may be divine or arcane. These are very difficult to face due to intelligence and a tendency to be well-entrenched. Some have the powers of various wights.
o Shades or haunts (general term for semi-mindless incorporeal undead) – easily confused with wraiths and distinguished by behavior alone. Shades are generally dumb. Some can sap life force with their touch like a wraith. These can spawn others of their kind.
o Wraiths (general term for intelligent incorporeal undead) – easily confused with shades, but wraiths are more intelligent and not limited to a location or anything else. They can nearly always sap life force with their touch. They can spawn others of their kind.
o Vampires (intelligent undead distinguished by their need to feed on and interact with living beings and their ability to use both incorporeal and corporeal forms) – these are the most feared and most difficult to track and kill of all undead. They can create others of their kind and they can enthrall humans or humanoids.
Ø The fey (or individual fey) are sometimes revered as deities, especially by those who worship Mielikki. (Note: Mielikki supports NE worshippers just as much as NG ones.)
Ø You know the major types of celestial or infernal creatures and the primary power of each.
Ø You know of the divine spells listed in the 3.5 Player’s Handbook. These are considered common spells. To identify a common spell as it is being cast, roll Spellcraft vs. DC 15+spell level. To identify a spell already in effect, DC 20+spell level. To identify a spell after making a save against it, DC 25+spell level. You may retry each time you gain additional ranks in Spellcraft, assuming you have a continuing interest in determining the nature of a spell.
Ø You are familiar with the standard spells that bring people back from the dead, as listed in the Player’s Handbook. Deities with the Death domain (Deth, Mielikki) greatly resist casting spells to return people to life. Followers of Lord Deth are particularly adamant about this, going so far as to treat any known raised person as an undead, destroying them by any means available. Deities with the Healing domain (Ilmatar, Nuada) are the most willing to return people to life. Other deities have differing views. In general, deities are far more willing to raise someone they are a patron of (humans for Aron, dwarves for Krom, etc.) than others. For any deity other than Ilmatar or Nuada, costs for spells that return a dead person to life are typically doubled, require justification, and subject to conditions (usually including a degree of secrecy). To be returned to life by Lord Deth or Mielikki is unheard of, in your experience.


Religion (5-9 ranks):
Ø You know the details of worship, holy items, practices, etc. for all of the accepted deities. One of these will be the one your family primarily venerates.
Ø You know many inner aspects of the liturgy and religious thought for the four accepted deities you selected at ranks 1-4.
Ø The primary god of liches is Tlagora (usually portrayed as female). She is Lawful Evil. The god of other undead, when they bother to revere one, is Arwan (usually portrayed as an androgynous male). He is Chaotic Evil. There is something of a culture or society among some undead.
Ø Hisji is the supreme deity of the Underdark and has the following domains: Destruction, Evil, Knowledge, Trickery. Hisji’s unholy symbol is a body part derived from the creature sacrificed during the dedication ceremony. It is preserved by magic similar to Gentle Repose.
Ø Hisji has a pantheon of devils and demons, Asmodeus (aka Lucifer, Satan) being the chief of the devils and there being no clear chief of the demons. These infernal forces are the primary focuses of worship for the humanoid tribes. Many of the infernal beings have a humanoid aspect. Worshippers will carry an unholy symbol of Hisji while worshipping a particular demon or devil in the guise of one of their race.
Ø You know some common elements of the psychology and practices of the major types of undead, as well as being able to reliably differentiate between subtypes.
o Skeletons and zombies are about as mindless as any automaton. This still means that they entirely understand at least one language, including some nuances and body language. At times, they can demonstrate a small degree of cunning and forethought (for example, understanding that if one of their fellows fell into a pit, then the rest will usually stop rather than fall in, unless ordered to the contrary). Skeletons and zombies will readily perform suicidal actions. They’re generally limited to a single IF/THEN/ELSE command, rather than the more complicated programming that golems are capable of.
o Burrow and stench wights are both surprisingly social creatures and will descend into insanity if isolated for long periods. They are pack hunters and accept a hierarchy of command easily. Both are identified by the distended muzzle of sharp teeth and noticeable claws on hands and feet. Stench wights are distinguished by their odor, though they are otherwise identical to burrow wights (who are called that due to their tendency to dig burrows and break into crypts, though this is a grossly exaggerated habit).
o You know how to intentionally make a corpse wight. It is believed that after a long enough time, a corpse wight will regain their senses and some elements of their personality. The usual process is for the target to arrange to have their killing and burial performed in a certain fashion, then get walled up permanently in the crypt. After a few years, or a few decades, they might be safe to let out. More often the living practitioners of such a ritual don’t bother to open the crypt to find out what happened. This can lead to a degree of insanity and a hatred of the living, though they seem irritated by the living even under the best of circumstances. Corpse wights have no uniform manner of identification – they all appear dead, but look no different than a well-preserved corpse (or a badly preserved one, if their manner of death was grisly).
o Rot wights are free willed, though often a bit dumb. They are able to use weapons, armor and tools if they think it prudent, as do most intelligent undead. They work well alone, though they are capable of tolerating groups so long as they are not crowded. Low level clerics more often choose the rot wight incarnation than that of the liche, though their intellect suffers a bit for it. Rot wights follow orders well and in a social grouping they will conform to the standard behavior without needing special training. Like corpse wights, rot wights have no distinguishing features other than their power to turn a victim into dust mere minutes after striking them bare-handed. Rot wights are also called liches, due to their predilection for casting divine spells.
o Standard wights make up the rest of the category. They have no distinguishing features, other than being a corporeal undead. They can usually drain life force with their touch.
o Liches and rot wights have no distinguishing features other than their ability to cast spells, a trait they occasionally share with other wights. Psychologically they are very stable, though both are given to obsession. The obsession varies with the individual and rarely is so extreme as to lead them to endanger themselves.
o Shades, haunts and wraiths range from being ill-formed, vaporous entities to being fully self-aware, detailed ethereal projections of their former form. Shades are usually ill formed and difficult to see, but they can exist in sunlight, though they dislike it. They also tend to be driven by a very basic desire for revenge or a curiosity/hunger towards the living. Wraiths are more detailed in appearance and more self aware. They can have complicated motivations like any intelligent creature, but these are often difficult to discern. White wraiths are often called lantern lights or will o’ wisps.
o Vampires – The abilities of vampires are fairly well known because a great deal of effort has been put forth by the good aligned temples to inform people of their nature and weaknesses. Vampires are the most social of the undead, preferring to set themselves up with a “herd” of adoring, or at least obedient, human, kindred or humanoid servants who provide the vampire with blood. Vampires do not strictly need this blood, but they gain great pleasure and satisfaction from getting it. They are the only type of undead that seems to have anything like a biological drive (though it is also postulated to be a version of the same anthropophagic habits of other undead). Consider yourself aware of the vampire traits in the Monster Manual.
Ø The Ogre Kingdom kills all divine spell casters from Mirram that they can.
Ø The fey are styled as descendents or creations of Mielikki and claim to be divine beings native to this plane of existence. Their power can sometimes seem to rival that of other gods. They can shape their immediate reality/environment to suit them and will often do the same to their fervent followers. Like humanoids, worshippers of an individual faerie creature will focus their worship using a symbol of Mielikki.
Ø Fey are usually restricted to a single natural feature or land area. During the Age of Heroes, worship of the fey was sharply persecuted. During the same period, being undead was itself not a crime.
Ø Names of tribal plainsmen gods, but not necessarily which tribe they connect to.
Ø You know the details of all common undead. When presented with a particular undead, you can roll to guess the abilities it has (level drain, stat drain, paralysis, rot or disease, damage reduction, weapon immunity, etc.) without needing to observe these powers in action.
Ø You know the individual categories of celestial or infernal creatures and the strengths/weaknesses they share.
Ø You know of many uncommon divine spells (DM’s discretion on which spells are uncommon). You must roll to see if you know of a specific uncommon spell. The roll is Spellcraft, vs. DC 15+spell level. You may retry each time you gain additional ranks in Spellcraft, assuming you have a continuing interest in determining the nature of a spell. As usual, people with Knowledge: Religion ranks 1-4 have a +5 DC for abilities listed on the 5-9 level. This +5 DC applies to the rolls to identify uncommon spells as they are cast, already in effect, or after saving against them. Correctly identifying a spell does not mean your deity will be willing or able to grant you this spell.
Ø You understand the theological reasoning behind the resistance many deities have to easy access to ‘return to life’ magics. They are related thusly:
o While you're on the prime material plane, you can choose who you worship and how and when. You can change your mind if you want. You have free will. You can also be killed and hurt and stunted and screwed up by other forces. The prime material plane is a dangerous place, but your experiences there contribute to how powerful you are in the spiritual realm later.
o Once you die, your soul travels off and becomes one with whichever god or goddess you were closest to in life. A lot of things can happen to interfere with that, ranging from becoming undead, being sacrificed to a different god, being killed in certain manners, the interference of ancestor spirits or spiritual creatures local to where you're killed, etc. But that's rare. Most souls go on to the afterlife they wished for in life (including those who worship evil gods - they are not tormented in their deity's realm after death - that's a fate reserved for those souls they managed to "stockpile" for themselves while serving on the prime material plane). So once your body is dead, you become a part of the spiritual essence of your god, "living" on the god's plane.
o There's some complex stuff about whether a soul remembers past lives and which souls get to play the roles of various outsiders, or if they do at all. It's beyond the standard Knowledge: Religion (and more importantly, I haven't laid out how it works for the game world).
o Trying to bring someone back to the prime material plane isn't just a matter of paging their soul with a high level spell. The god might be happy with the deceased right where they are and not see any need for them to go back. Was that person doing anything on the prime material to substantially advance the god's goals, or were they just hanging out, worshipping a deity whose ethos more-or-less matched their own? If they are sent back, will it benefit the deity any, or is it likely they might have a falling out with the god, convert to a different faith or be spiritually injured in the course of their life?
o Deities are more willing to send someone back to the prime material plane if it would serve the needs and goals of the deity, and if it looked like **overall**, from an afterlife point-of-view, that it would be good for the person in question. The deity looks at this from the point of view of a deity, not from that of a PC. There are some things that make the granting of a "return to life" spell more likely. They were things like others promising to convert to the deity's religion, donations of cash, service or tithing by others (or promise of such in return for having the person back), and so on. Also it helps a great deal if the person was actively advancing the deity's agenda before they died and that they plan to continue doing that after being brought back. Someone who pleads, from the grave, of their good intentions and desire to be a faithful worshipper will be listened to less than someone who was a staunch supporter all along.
o In a world with an established afterlife, being dead isn't all that awful, from a god's or soul's point of view.
Ø You are aware that Lord Deth and Mielikki do occasionally grant life-restoring magic. Mielikki favors Reincarnation, while Lord Deth favors obscure spells that return the target as a creature akin to an undead. You know this latter only because of historical practices regarding the guarding and warding of crypts, cemeteries and tombs. It is unclear if this continues to be a current practice.

[Indon]

Personally;

Prestige Classes - I tell my players what's availible. They don't know in-character, of course.

Spells/items - They know about things their characters would reasonably know about.

Stats/checks - I say pass/fail, but I generally flavor what I say with information that can be used to pinpoint what is needed.

For instance, if my player attacks something and hits its touch AC but misses its' total AC, I could tell that player, "Your attack glances off of your targets' armor." or something.

[Matthew]

Prestige Classes: Never really bothered with these; case by case.

Magic Items/Spells: Nothing specific, just generalities.

Skills: Mostly they don't need to know the DC, but sometimes it can build tension, depending on the situation.

Combat: As others have said, the Players will eventually figure things out, but I don't confirm their suspicions explicitly, if I can help it.

Saves: Sometimes telling the Player what the DC is can build tension, sometimes its necessary to keep such things secret.

[ssjKammak]

As a DM personally i prefer to let the PC's have complete control over there characters progression so long as they role play them accordingly to fit the prestidge class i would much rather them know who there character is and where he may go depending on the circumstances they find themselves in.

When it comes to special spells/items personally i think it adds more to the roleplay to have unknown spells cast and let players decide from there the mystery and pursuit.

When it comes to knowing DC's AC's, as many other have mentioned it depends alot on circumstances and i persnally like to play it by ear, sometimes it can make a puzzle much more analytical by letting the players know exactly the DC/AC they need to beat to accomplish something. Other times it can add to the mystery/intensity of the situation by having the players sweating when doing something completely uknown but having to role a good check.

[LotharBot]

PrC's: players should know most of the "public" PrC's that exist, and should be aware that it's possible they might find others (that are generally kept secret) depending on their character concepts. If someone just happens to play a character that would be interested in class X, and it's one I didn't tell them about at the start, I'll give them a way to find out about it.

Homebrew magic: if I'm going to homebrew magic, I want my players to know I do it, but they don't necessarily need to know every detail of every spell. Same with items. I'll generally give the players a hint as to what sort of items or spells we're talking about -- "the blackrock dwarves produce fine magical weapons of a sort you can't find anywhere else" or "the druids near Bruxy use magic to increase the harvests", for example.

Combat: I normally don't tell my players the exact number they're going for until they've had a couple rounds to figure it out themselves. I do include hints like "... glances off the armor" or "...barely shake off the effect." After a couple rounds, if they know it's either 22 or 23, I'll tell them which it is to speed up combat. And sometimes when something comes really, really close I'll make a comment ("20? Nope, you needed a 21.") This is true for AC, saves, spell resistance, and occasionally skill checks.

[Saph]

Prestige Classes: Case by case. If a player wants to take a PrC, he should ask me about it several levels before he takes it, and preferably before he even starts playing the character. If I think the PrC is silly, overpowered, or just annoying, I'll say no.

Magic Items/Spells: The PCs know whatever the players ask about. If they want to find out about homebrew/custom spells that do X, they should ask 'What does my character know about spells that do X?' I'm not going to hand them a list of every custom-researched spell ever created in the entire history of my game.

Combat: Hit/miss, succeed/fail. I might throw in a 'just' or an 'almost' as well, but I won't tell them the DC for anything until after they've been able to figure it out for themselves through elimination. Focusing too much on the numbers spoils immersion.

- Saph

[Fhaolan]

Unfortunately, this is one of those things that varies from player to player. In the gaming group that I am DMing right now, I can pretty much tell the players *anything* and they will divide between player knowledge and character knowledge without even realizing they're doing it. Same thing in the other group where I'm a player. I'm lucky that way, but both groups are composed of part-time actors, writers, and stunt people so they're used to dealing with that kind of dichonomy.

Now, I *don't* tell the group I'm DMing everything, because some of the players enjoy trying to puzzle things out. Most of the adventures I put them through are mystery-style things, so them figuring out that the crystal mask is actually an incredibly old cursed artifact and what exactly it can do is part of the fun of the game.

Telling them what AC they're trying to hit... Honestly, they tend to not care much about combat and just want to get those bits over with fast so they can get back to the mysteries. So, if telling them the AC speeds up the part of the game that they don't think is fun, I tell them the AC and we're all happy.