SirKazum
2015-02-12, 10:00 AM
From Gandalf researching the history of the One Ring to Harry Potter and his pals trying to figure out what a horcrux is, poring over old tomes to find arcane knowledge and shed light on obscure questions is a long-established tradition of fantasy. However, the Knowledge skill(s) as presented in D&D seems rather unsatisfying as a means to portray the search for answers to esoteric quandaries.
Under the existing rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/knowledge.htm), making a Knowledge check is "not an action" - you either know the answer, or you don't. Simple as that. You don't research it, you don't discuss it with friends, technically you don't even sit and ponder about the answer (although of course you could do that as a matter of roleplaying) - you just know what you know. While that's rather practical - whenever something comes up, you can react to it armed with the appropriate knowledge immediately - it's rather poor in roleplaying possibilities. Besides, the nature of the Knowledge check means you can't take 10 or 20 - since there's no action to be taken carefully, and you can't try again - and I don't see how you could "aid other" under common rules, since Knowledge checks are resolved before anyone has any chance to interfere. Nor could a character ever get a +2 circumstance bonus from having the appropriate equipment, since nothing but the character's brain is involved in a Knowledge check. You're pretty much stuck with a single roll of d20 + your regular skill bonus, there's nothing you can do to improve that if something important is on the line.
These extended rules are meant to provide opportunities to both improve one's chances to succeed at a Knowledge check (by taking 10, taking 20 and qualifying for bonuses), and bring the trope of researching obscure knowledge in ancient tomes into the game in a significant way that has practical effects. These rules are meant to supplement the existing rules on the Knowledge skill, not replace them; in other words, under these homebrew rules, everything the books say about this skill in 3.x D&D still applies, but there are also additional ways to use the skill.
Sharing Knowledge
The simplest measure one can take to improve one's chances at finding the answer to a particular question is discussing it with one's peers, and taking advantage of their input to help jog things that might lay forgotten in your mind. In practical terms, this means that, whenever a Knowledge check is called for, the character in question can choose to delay that check until after a short discussion of the subject matter has been held. This discussion takes 1 round for DC 10 checks, and one additional round for each 5 DC points above 10 (rounded up); however, since talking is a free action, characters do not need to expend actions to hold this discussion. They just need to be able to talk to one another. After the specified number of rounds have passed, on the turn of the character that's going to use the skill, each colleague involved in the discussion makes a DC 10 Knowledge check, as per Aid Another rules. If at least one such check is successful, the "main" Knowledge check gets a +2 circumstance bonus (bonuses are not cumulative for multiple aiding characters).
There is one restriction, though: as per Aid Another (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/usingSkills.htm#aidAnother) rules, "you can’t aid another to grant a bonus to a task that your character couldn’t achieve alone", which means characters without ranks in the relevant Knowledge skill can't aid in checks above DC 10.
Also, optionally, to avoid abuse of "Aid Another", when aiding characters with difficult checks (DC 20 and above), the DM may increase the DC of the check made by aiding characters - 10 less than the DC of the "main" check (minimum DC 10) is a reasonable rule.
Characters can also "Aid Another" with checks done through research (see below), but in this case, they must do research of their own using the same time and resource level as those employed in the main check. In most cases, this means simply accompanying the skill user to the same library and helping them by checking other books while they read.
The Library
The crux of the Knowledge research rules is the library. There are varying levels of resources that can be consulted during research, ranging from a single, superficial book to enormous libraries containing thousands and thousands of volumes. For the sake of simplicity, libraries are organized in categories corresponding to the Knowledge check DC they can aid in.
While you can research in a library of a higher category than that required by the check (gaining a circumstance bonus for it), researching in libraries whose category corresponds to a lower DC has no effect (the Knowledge check is made normally, as if there were no research). For DCs that are not multiples of 5, the immediately higher category should be used (for example, when consulting to answer a DC 22 question, a library appropriate to DC 25 checks is required).
DC 10: Such common knowledge is generally available in most tomes that deal with the question's subject matter. Therefore, a single book (worth 10-20 gp) on the general subject, usually corresponding to a Knowledge category (e.g. Arcana, History and so on), or also on some other subject that applies to the question (such as a given kingdom, race, occupation and so on), is sufficient. A library that suffices for DC 10 questions on all subjects is worth about 100-150 gp and fills a single shelf. Base research time: 1d4 x 5 minutes.
DC 15: This knowledge is a bit more specific, requiring more care in selecting one's research material. A single book on the specific topic of the question (e.g. the history of a given kingdom during a specific period, the myths of one given religion, a specific monster) should be enough - however, since it's rare to just have such a book on hand, the resources required usually correspond to a small stack of books (about a half dozen) on a more general subject, worth 50-100 gp. A library that can handle all DC 15 questions is worth about 600-800 gp and fills a bookcase or two. Base research time: 2d6 x 10 minutes.
DC 20: Delving into more obscure knowledge, one requires digging through a large number of tomes, some of which highly technical and specialized. A library that can answer DC 20 questions on a single subject (corresponding to one of the Knowledge categories, or a correspondingly broad subject such as a kingdom, race, occupation etc.) fills at least a couple bookcases and is worth 500-1000 gp; a comprehensive library of this level fills a large room and is worth 6,000-8,000 gp. Base research time: 2d6 hours.
DC 25: Such highly specialized knowledge requires vast resources indeed. A large room full of books (6,000-8,000 gp) is required for this level of knowledge on a single broad subject, and a library that fills at least a medium-sized building (50,000-80,000 gp in books alone) answers all DC 25 questions. Base research time: 1d6 days.
DC 30: This type of library holds even the most arcane and scarcely-remembered lore, and is the highest category of library generally available (higher-DC libraries should be quite exceptional, generally reserved for outer-planar locations and other such extraordinary circumstances). Libraries of this level fill large buildings, and are generally sought by scholars from distant lands in search of knowledge. 60,000-100,000 gp worth of books for a single broad subject, and many hundreds of thousands of GP (up to a million or more) for a fully comprehensive library, equivalent to the Library of Alexandria. Base research time: 2d6 days.
Conducting Research
In place of simply making a Knowledge check when a question comes up to see if they know the answer, characters may choose to research that answer in a book or library to improve their chances of success. Research involves getting a hold of the necessary resources (either by acquiring books or visiting a library) and studying them for the appropriate time, which of course involves reading the books (so literacy and proficiency in the language they're written in is required). Research also necessitates a certain amount of peace and quiet - basically, anything that would prevent a character from taking 10 in skills also prevents them from conducting research. When the research extends across multiple days (either due to the type of library researched or due to taking 20), characters can study for no more than 8 hours a day; extra study time is wasted, as the researcher's concentration falters. The Knowledge check is made at the end of the research period, when answers are revealed to the researcher.
The most common reason to research is taking 10 in a Knowledge skill. To do that, a character simply conducts research in a book or library appropriate to the skill check DC and to the question's subject matter, spending the listed base research time.
If a character does their research in a library of a higher category (for example, researching in a DC 20 library to answer a DC 15 question), the Knowledge check has a +2 circumstance bonus for using the best possible equipment. Regardless of how good the library is, though, the circumstance bonus from using a better library than required is never higher than +2. The base research time is tied to the category of library used (so, in the above example, the base time needed to research a DC 15 question in a DC 20 library is 2d6 hours). You can always use a library as if it were of a lower category (for example, using a DC 25 library as if it were of the DC 20 type) to save on research time, by simply focusing on the appropriate books or section.
Characters can also take 20 on Knowledge skill checks by spending 20 times the average base research time on an appropriate library.
As stated above on "Sharing Knowledge", fellow characters can use the Aid Another action to aid a research-based Knowledge check, by researching in a library of the same category (usually the same library) and communicating with the character who's doing the main check during the process.
Characters without ranks in the appropriate Knowledge skill can also benefit from books, but only for answering DC 10 questions. For such characters, the base research time is increased to that of the next category (so 2d6 x 10 minutes to research using DC 10 resources, or 2d6 hours to research with DC 15 resources for a +2 circumstance bonus).
Under the existing rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/knowledge.htm), making a Knowledge check is "not an action" - you either know the answer, or you don't. Simple as that. You don't research it, you don't discuss it with friends, technically you don't even sit and ponder about the answer (although of course you could do that as a matter of roleplaying) - you just know what you know. While that's rather practical - whenever something comes up, you can react to it armed with the appropriate knowledge immediately - it's rather poor in roleplaying possibilities. Besides, the nature of the Knowledge check means you can't take 10 or 20 - since there's no action to be taken carefully, and you can't try again - and I don't see how you could "aid other" under common rules, since Knowledge checks are resolved before anyone has any chance to interfere. Nor could a character ever get a +2 circumstance bonus from having the appropriate equipment, since nothing but the character's brain is involved in a Knowledge check. You're pretty much stuck with a single roll of d20 + your regular skill bonus, there's nothing you can do to improve that if something important is on the line.
These extended rules are meant to provide opportunities to both improve one's chances to succeed at a Knowledge check (by taking 10, taking 20 and qualifying for bonuses), and bring the trope of researching obscure knowledge in ancient tomes into the game in a significant way that has practical effects. These rules are meant to supplement the existing rules on the Knowledge skill, not replace them; in other words, under these homebrew rules, everything the books say about this skill in 3.x D&D still applies, but there are also additional ways to use the skill.
Sharing Knowledge
The simplest measure one can take to improve one's chances at finding the answer to a particular question is discussing it with one's peers, and taking advantage of their input to help jog things that might lay forgotten in your mind. In practical terms, this means that, whenever a Knowledge check is called for, the character in question can choose to delay that check until after a short discussion of the subject matter has been held. This discussion takes 1 round for DC 10 checks, and one additional round for each 5 DC points above 10 (rounded up); however, since talking is a free action, characters do not need to expend actions to hold this discussion. They just need to be able to talk to one another. After the specified number of rounds have passed, on the turn of the character that's going to use the skill, each colleague involved in the discussion makes a DC 10 Knowledge check, as per Aid Another rules. If at least one such check is successful, the "main" Knowledge check gets a +2 circumstance bonus (bonuses are not cumulative for multiple aiding characters).
There is one restriction, though: as per Aid Another (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/usingSkills.htm#aidAnother) rules, "you can’t aid another to grant a bonus to a task that your character couldn’t achieve alone", which means characters without ranks in the relevant Knowledge skill can't aid in checks above DC 10.
Also, optionally, to avoid abuse of "Aid Another", when aiding characters with difficult checks (DC 20 and above), the DM may increase the DC of the check made by aiding characters - 10 less than the DC of the "main" check (minimum DC 10) is a reasonable rule.
Characters can also "Aid Another" with checks done through research (see below), but in this case, they must do research of their own using the same time and resource level as those employed in the main check. In most cases, this means simply accompanying the skill user to the same library and helping them by checking other books while they read.
The Library
The crux of the Knowledge research rules is the library. There are varying levels of resources that can be consulted during research, ranging from a single, superficial book to enormous libraries containing thousands and thousands of volumes. For the sake of simplicity, libraries are organized in categories corresponding to the Knowledge check DC they can aid in.
While you can research in a library of a higher category than that required by the check (gaining a circumstance bonus for it), researching in libraries whose category corresponds to a lower DC has no effect (the Knowledge check is made normally, as if there were no research). For DCs that are not multiples of 5, the immediately higher category should be used (for example, when consulting to answer a DC 22 question, a library appropriate to DC 25 checks is required).
DC 10: Such common knowledge is generally available in most tomes that deal with the question's subject matter. Therefore, a single book (worth 10-20 gp) on the general subject, usually corresponding to a Knowledge category (e.g. Arcana, History and so on), or also on some other subject that applies to the question (such as a given kingdom, race, occupation and so on), is sufficient. A library that suffices for DC 10 questions on all subjects is worth about 100-150 gp and fills a single shelf. Base research time: 1d4 x 5 minutes.
DC 15: This knowledge is a bit more specific, requiring more care in selecting one's research material. A single book on the specific topic of the question (e.g. the history of a given kingdom during a specific period, the myths of one given religion, a specific monster) should be enough - however, since it's rare to just have such a book on hand, the resources required usually correspond to a small stack of books (about a half dozen) on a more general subject, worth 50-100 gp. A library that can handle all DC 15 questions is worth about 600-800 gp and fills a bookcase or two. Base research time: 2d6 x 10 minutes.
DC 20: Delving into more obscure knowledge, one requires digging through a large number of tomes, some of which highly technical and specialized. A library that can answer DC 20 questions on a single subject (corresponding to one of the Knowledge categories, or a correspondingly broad subject such as a kingdom, race, occupation etc.) fills at least a couple bookcases and is worth 500-1000 gp; a comprehensive library of this level fills a large room and is worth 6,000-8,000 gp. Base research time: 2d6 hours.
DC 25: Such highly specialized knowledge requires vast resources indeed. A large room full of books (6,000-8,000 gp) is required for this level of knowledge on a single broad subject, and a library that fills at least a medium-sized building (50,000-80,000 gp in books alone) answers all DC 25 questions. Base research time: 1d6 days.
DC 30: This type of library holds even the most arcane and scarcely-remembered lore, and is the highest category of library generally available (higher-DC libraries should be quite exceptional, generally reserved for outer-planar locations and other such extraordinary circumstances). Libraries of this level fill large buildings, and are generally sought by scholars from distant lands in search of knowledge. 60,000-100,000 gp worth of books for a single broad subject, and many hundreds of thousands of GP (up to a million or more) for a fully comprehensive library, equivalent to the Library of Alexandria. Base research time: 2d6 days.
Conducting Research
In place of simply making a Knowledge check when a question comes up to see if they know the answer, characters may choose to research that answer in a book or library to improve their chances of success. Research involves getting a hold of the necessary resources (either by acquiring books or visiting a library) and studying them for the appropriate time, which of course involves reading the books (so literacy and proficiency in the language they're written in is required). Research also necessitates a certain amount of peace and quiet - basically, anything that would prevent a character from taking 10 in skills also prevents them from conducting research. When the research extends across multiple days (either due to the type of library researched or due to taking 20), characters can study for no more than 8 hours a day; extra study time is wasted, as the researcher's concentration falters. The Knowledge check is made at the end of the research period, when answers are revealed to the researcher.
The most common reason to research is taking 10 in a Knowledge skill. To do that, a character simply conducts research in a book or library appropriate to the skill check DC and to the question's subject matter, spending the listed base research time.
If a character does their research in a library of a higher category (for example, researching in a DC 20 library to answer a DC 15 question), the Knowledge check has a +2 circumstance bonus for using the best possible equipment. Regardless of how good the library is, though, the circumstance bonus from using a better library than required is never higher than +2. The base research time is tied to the category of library used (so, in the above example, the base time needed to research a DC 15 question in a DC 20 library is 2d6 hours). You can always use a library as if it were of a lower category (for example, using a DC 25 library as if it were of the DC 20 type) to save on research time, by simply focusing on the appropriate books or section.
Characters can also take 20 on Knowledge skill checks by spending 20 times the average base research time on an appropriate library.
As stated above on "Sharing Knowledge", fellow characters can use the Aid Another action to aid a research-based Knowledge check, by researching in a library of the same category (usually the same library) and communicating with the character who's doing the main check during the process.
Characters without ranks in the appropriate Knowledge skill can also benefit from books, but only for answering DC 10 questions. For such characters, the base research time is increased to that of the next category (so 2d6 x 10 minutes to research using DC 10 resources, or 2d6 hours to research with DC 15 resources for a +2 circumstance bonus).