Knowledge (arcana)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Clerics, Monks, Sorcerers, Wizards
Know about Arcana Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Ancient Mysteries, Magical Traditions, Arcane Symbols, and Cryptic Phrases.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Know about Constructs, Dragons, or Magical Beasts (PH p78)
DC = 10 + creature HD. One piece of useful info per 5 points the check exceeded the DC.
Deducing a Command Word (DMG p213)
It is possible to deduce the Command Word for some magic items based on their decorations, creator, region, etc. This equates to a check vs. DC 30.
If this check fails, a second check vs. DC 25 may be attempted to provide a clue to the command word.
Knowledge (architecture & engineering)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Wizards
Know about Architecture and Engineering (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Buildings, Aqueducts, Bridges, and Fortifications.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Find Weaknesses in a Stronghold (CWar p122)
Find weaknesses in an observed stronghold (+5 Circumstance bonus with an accurate map) — one “strategic tip” for DC 20, two for DC 25, etc.
Design & Build a Ship (Storm p85)
Design & supervise the construction of a ship.
Ship - DC - Yard - Size - Build Time
Longship (Storm p101) - 10 - Small 2 months
Cog (Storm p098) - 12 - Small - 3 months
Junk (Storm p100) - 12 - Small - 3 months
Caravel (Storm p098) - 15 - Small - 3 months
Dhow (Storm p099) - 15 - Small - 3 months
Galley (Storm p100) - 15 - Medium - 4 months
Trireme (Storm p102) - 18 - Medium - 8 months
Dromond (Storm p099) - 20 - Medium - 6 months
Greatship (Storm p100) - 22 - Large - 15 months
Elven Wingship (Storm p100) - 22 - Medium - 8 months
Ironclad (Storm p100) - 25 - Large - 18 months
Theurgeme (Storm p102) -25 - Medium - 8 months
Modifiers DC
Poor Work Force +2
Terrible Work Force +5
Poor Materials +5
Rush Job (per month) +5
Minor Magical Assistance –5
Major Magical Assistance
(4th lvl spells or higher) –10
Knowledge (dungeoneering)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Rangers, Wizards
Know about Dungeoneering (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Caverns and Spelunking.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Know about Aberrations or Oozes (PH p78)
DC = 10 + creature HD. One piece of useful info per 5 points the check exceeded the DC.
Knowledge (geography)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Rangers, Wizards
Know about Geography (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Lands, Terrain, Climate, and Peoples.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Setting a Course (Storm p87)
Make a plan to get from a start point to a destination.
Destination DC
Close & Very Familiar - 5
Distance & Very Familiar - 10
Close & Studied Carefully - 10
Distant & Studied Carefully - 15
Close & Seen Once - 20
Distant & Seen Once - 25
Close but Uncertain - 25
Distant but Uncertain - 30
Mythic or Legendary - 35
DC Modifiers DC
Start point well known +0
Start point uncertain +5
Start point only guessed at +10
Start point unknown +20
Check Modifiers DC
Excellent Chart –2
Typical Chart +0
Poor Chart +2
Extremely Poor Chart +5
False Chart +10
Result Close Destination Distant Destination
Success Arrive at destination Arrive at destination
Failure by up to 5 Arrive within 5d10 miles of destination Arrive within 5d100 miles of destination
Failure by 6 or more Arrive within 10d10 miles of destination Arrive within 10d100 miles of destination
Piloting (Storm p87)
Follow a course.
Method for Determining Position - DC
Very familiar coast in sight -5
Coast studied carefully in sight - 8
Unknown coast in sight - 13
Open ocean, Clear weather - 17
Open ocean, Poor visibility - 25
Open ocean, Stormy weather - 30
Open ocean, Gale or Hurricane - 40
Modifiers DC
One previous missed check +2
Two previous missed checks +5
Once three consecutive Piloting checks have failed, you are lost. See DMG p86.
Knowledge (history)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Clerics, Wizards
Know about History (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Wars, Colonies, Migrations, Founding of Cities, etc.
Obscurity DC
Common Knowledge -10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Deducing a Command Word (DMG p213)
It is possible to deduce the Command Word for some magic items based on their decorations, creator, region, etc. This equates to a check vs. DC 30.
If this check fails, a second check vs. DC 25 may be attempted to provide a clue to the command word.
Knowledge (local)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Rogues, Wizards
Must be bought for each area, such as Knowledge (local – Waterdeep), Knowledge (local – Cormyr), etc.
Know about the Nearby Area (PH p78)
Know about Legends, Personalities, Inhabitants, Laws, Customs, Traditions, etc.
Obscurity -DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Know about Local Humanoids (PH p78)
DC = 10 + creature HD. One piece of useful info per 5 points the check exceeded the DC.
Interpret Tribal Tattoos (DR340 p93)
DC = 15 to understand what honors & punishments are indicated by a creature’s tattoos, scarification, and/or piercings.
Find Your Way around the Underworld (DR336 p106)
Know enough about who is in favor, who has the actual power, etc., to function more efficiently in the local criminal organizations.
Obscurity - DC - Example
Common Knowledge - 10 - You know the stories that are passed around about famous (and usually dead) criminals
Basic Questions - 15 - Recognize important (and openly known) underworld figures
Difficult - 20 - Know the basic structure of the major criminal organizations & how they interact
Hard - 25 - Know the important figures of the major criminal cartels & how their organizations are structured
Very Hard - 30 - You are privy to many dangerous people’s secrets
Knowledge (nature)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check: No
Synergy bonus: +2 bonus if you have 5+ ranks in Survival.
In Class For: Bards, Druids, Rangers, Wizards
Know about Nature (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Season and Cycles, Weather, etc.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Know about Animals, Fey, Giants, Monstrous Humanoids, Plants & Vermin (PH p78)
DC = 10 + creature HD. One piece of useful info per 5 points the check exceeded the DC.
Finding Resources (DR333 p91)
Find materials of interest in a given area
Obscurity - DC - Examples
Common Knowledge - 10 - Able to identify useful goods to harvest, such as valuable furs or prized wood
Basic Questions - 15 - Able to identify useful goods to harvest, such as valuable furs or prized wood
Difficult - 20 - Know the facts about valuable resources inherent in the area, including mineral likely to be near the surface
Hard - 25 - Recognize the inherent (including magical) value of any animal or plant you encounter, know what minerals will be near the surface and what minerals are likely to be deeper underground
Very Hard - 30 - Have a good guess about what species may live within the area with a simple survey, know what minerals are deep under the surface, etc.
Determine Time until Spoilage (DR349 p87)
DC = 12. Success indicates an understanding of how long a perishable material will remain usable.
This is one step in the process of making poison. See Craft (poisonmaking) (page 15) for more details.
Knowledge (nobility & royalty)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Paladins, Wizards
Know about Nobility and Royalty (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Lineages, Heraldry, Family Trees, Mottoes, Personalities, etc.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Find Your Way around Court (RoD p148)
Know enough about who is in favor, who has the actual power, etc., to function more efficiently in court, the bureaucracy, etc.
Size of Organization - DC
Minor Noble House - 15
Average Noble House - 20
Major Noble House - 25
Entire Kingdom - 30
You are a member of the target Noble House –5
Success: +2 Circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, & Gather Information check in relation to the target organization for 1 week.
Failure by 4 or less: No effect.
Failure by 5 or more: –2 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, & Gather Information check in relation to the target organization for 1 week due to your bad assessment.
Knowledge (religion)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Clerics, Monks, Paladins, Wizards
Note: If you have 5+ ranks in Knowledge (religion), you gain a +2 bonus on Turn / Rebuke checks against Undead.
Know about Religion (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about Deities, Mythic History, Ecclesiast Tradition, Holy Symbols, etc.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Know about Undead (PH p78)
DC = 10 + creature HD. One piece of useful info per 5 points the check exceeded the DC.
Find Your Way around Church (RoD p149) Time: Immediate. Retry: Once per Week. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know enough about who is in favor, who has the actual power, etc., to function more efficiently with regards to a church and its hierarchy.
Size of Organization - DC
Single Parish - 15
Town-sized Territory - 20
City-sized Territory - 25
Metropolis-sized Territory - 30
Chaotic Religion +5
Lawful Religion –5
You are a member of the
Religion –5
Success: +2 Circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, & Gather Information check in relation to the target organization for 1 week.
Failure by 4 or less: No effect.
Failure by 5 or more: –2 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, & Gather Information check in relation to the target organization for 1 week due to your bad assessment.
Identifying Martial Arts Style (DR332 p89)
Ability to recognize the fighting style of a Monk.
Obscurity - DC - Examples
Common Knowledge - 10 - Recognize a Monk vs. a Fighter in unarmed combat
Basic Questions - 15 - Know the general region that a martial arts style is taught in
Difficult - 20 - Determine the monastery of a martial artist when viewed in combat
Hard - 25 - Recognize a martial artist’s style from a description; know the minor differences in a style upon viewing
Very Hard - 30 - Likely to know a martial artist’s teacher (at least by reputation) and who that teacher’s other students were
Knowledge (the planes)
Base Ability: Intelligence
Must be Trained: No – up to DC 10. Yes – DC 11 or above
Armor Check?: No
Synergy bonus: —
In Class For: Bards, Clerics, Wizards
Know about the Planes (PH p78) Time: Immediate. Retry: No. Take 10: Yes. Take 20: No.
Know about the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, Magic related to the Planes, etc.
Obscurity - DC
Common Knowledge - 10
Basic Questions - 15
Difficult - 20
Hard - 25
Very Hard - 30
Know about Elementals & Outsiders (PH p78)
DC = 10 + creature HD. One piece of useful info per 5 points the check exceeded the DC.
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Subject: List of Knowledges 
Mon 15 Mar 2010, 23:56
