Knowledge (choose type): The character is an expert in one field of study such as the culture or geography of an area, history, legends, theology, etc. A character can usually make his living by teaching his skill or acting as an expert on the subject; with a successful roll, he can make expert commentary on information relating to his skill. The character taking this skill must specify what sort of knowledge he is acquiring. A character can select multiple Knowledge skills, using one for each different field of study.
📚 Racial Variants #
| Variant | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Elven | The Living Tapestry | (Nature/Legends) To an Elf, history is a single continuous song. They don’t view the past as “gone.” They can identify ancient legends by observing the current magical resonance of a location or the age-rings of a sacred grove. |
| Dwarven | Deep-Vein Lineage | (History/Genealogy) Dwarves record history in stone and blood. They don’t just know a king’s name; they know the quality of the ore in his crown and every feud his clan ever started. They gain a +4 bonus to identify ancient subterranean ruins. |
| Gnomish | Systematic Inquiry | (Science/Engineering) Gnomes categorize the world through experimentation. They don’t just “know” a fact; they know the mechanical principles behind it. They can use Intelligence to identify how a magical phenomenon might be “replicated” or “reversed.” |
| Halfling | The Hearth-Tale | (Folklore/Local Culture) Halflings are the masters of “informal” history. They know the gossip, the recipes, and the family trees of every village they’ve visited. Their knowledge is incredibly useful for navigating social taboos and finding “the right person to talk to.” |
🌍 Regional Variants #
- The High-Library Archivist (Metropolitan/Urban)
Trained in the sprawling scriptoriums of the capital.
- Specialty: Cross-Referencing. They are experts at finding “the missing link.” If they have access to a library or collection of scrolls, they can roll their Knowledge check with Advantage (or a +4 bonus) by spending 1d4 hours in research.
- The Frontier Herald (Wilderness/Borderlands)
In the wilds, knowledge is about Diplomatic Survival.
- Specialty: Inter-Tribal Customs. They know the specific “peace-signs,” banners, and greeting rituals of various frontier factions. A successful roll allows them to prevent a misunderstanding with a potentially hostile group of “locals.”
- The Desert Star-Gazer (Arid/Waste)
In the desert, the history is written in the heavens.
- Specialty: Celestial Navigation/Theology. They connect the movements of the stars to the moods of the gods. They can predict significant omens or environmental shifts (like a sandstorm) by reading the night sky.
- The Ruin-Delver (Ancient Ruins/Dungeons)
Trained in “Necro-History”—the study of fallen empires.
- Specialty: Architecture of the Dead. They can identify the era and culture of a dungeon just by the style of its floor tiles or the “logic” of its traps. They are +2 to detect secret doors by noticing gaps in a culture’s standard building patterns.
Why other options are incorrect
- ❌ Alternate Magics is incorrect because it focuses specifically on monstrous and extraplanar abilities; Knowledge is broader, covering mundane academic and cultural fields.
- ❌ Mapping is incorrect because it is the technical recording of space; Knowledge (Geography) is the understanding of the political, historical, and environmental context of that space.
- ❌ Storytelling is incorrect because it is the performance of information; Knowledge is the retention and analysis of that information.
