Knowledge Skills

These skills describe what a character knows about different subjects. Characters may vary greatly in their knowledge.

Common traits of Knowledge skills:
 * usually limited to the basics if you are not trained in an appropriate skill.
 * INT based.
 * Knowledge about a monster is usually based on its HD, but your GM (or supplement publisher) may provide information based on fixed DCs between 10 and 30 (in steps of 5).
 * Knowledge checks on a subject or person may not be rerolled during the same adventure without gaining a new level. Exceptions are noted below.

Describes your linguistic abilities.
 * Benefits:


 * Favored: Every 2 odd starting from 3rd level you learn an additional language.
 * Trained: Gain 2 additional languages and you may used Decipher Scripts.
 * Skill Focus: Gain 2 additional languages.

Decipher Script
You may try to decipher writings such as scrolls, spellbooks or ancient riddles or secret codes. The difficulty of such tasks may vary greatly, but it is never an easy job (DCs starting at 20).
 * Special: If a character does fail his/her roll you GM secretly rolls a DC 5 Wisdom Check. A success on this roll means that a character simply does not understand the message, a failure that (s)he came to a wrong conclusion.
 * Retry: If facts provide strong suggestion in terms of miss-interpretation the check may be redone
 * Time: Deciphering stuff takes time. Usually to be in minutes per page, but it may also be hours per page.

Your knowledge about: ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, cryptic phrases, constructs, dragons, magical beasts
 * Special: If you try to estimate the value or properties of a magical (usually arcane) item you may make a roll on this skill if your GM considers it appropriate

Your knowledge about: buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications

Your knowledge about: aberrations, caverns, oozes, spelunking

Your knowledge about: lands, terrain, climate, people

Your knowledge about: royalty, wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities

Your knowledge about: lineages, heraldry, family trees, mottoes, personalities
 * Special: If you try to find out who made what item this skill can be used to determine an items creator as in medieval societies guilds managed symbols (like runes) to prove the quality and legality to produce an item.

Your knowledge about: legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids
 * Special: If you try to estimate the value or properties of a magical (usually legendary) item you may make a roll on this skill if your GM considers it appropriate

Your knowledge about: animals, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasons and cycles, weather, vermin

Your knowledge about: the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, outsiders, elementals, magic related to the planes

Your knowledge about: gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition, holy symbols, undead
 * Special: If you try to estimate the value or properties of a magical (usually religious) item you may make a roll on this skill if your GM considers it appropriate

Spellcraft regards magical lore. It is not knowledge anybody can have, so it is not amongst the normal Knowledge spells. This skill has several uses determining details about magical effects that are currently cast or already in place.

Trained uses

 * Decipher a written spell: DC 15 + Spell level using Read Magic, DC 20 + Spell level without it. Read Magic allows you to read at normal speed.
 * Defensive Casting: To identify a spell being cast or to learn the school of a spell being cast: DC 15 + Spell Level.
 * Identify Potion: With a DC 25 check you can identify a potions traits. Takes 1 minute.
 * Prepare spell: To learn or prepare a written spell from a borrowed spellbook or scroll is: DC 15 + Spell level. Takes time. May be tried 1/day.
 * Study magical effect in place: DC 20 + Spell level. Should this be an unusual or unique magic effect the DC is raised by +5 or +10. Takes time.
 * Study magical effect that affected you: DC 25 + Spell level. Takes time.

Spell use

 * Dimensional Anchor: DC 20 to successfully draw a diagram to allow Dimensional Anchor to be cast on a magic circle spell. Takes 10 minutes.
 * Read Magic: When using the spell Read Magic to identify a glyph, greater glyph or symbol to identify it (DC 13, DC 16 or DC 10 through 19). See Read Magic for further details.