You are educated in a field of study and can answer both simple and complex questions. Like the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of different specialties.
Below are listed typical fields of study.
- Arcana (ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, constructs, dragons, magical beasts); Although robots are constructs, Knowledge (arcana) cannot be used to identify robots or their abilities and weaknesses.
- Dungeoneering (aberrations, caverns, oozes, spelunking)
- Engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications); This is the most important skill with regard to technological subjects. Knowledge (engineering) can be used to identify a robot’s abilities and weaknesses. Knowledge (engineering) is also used to identify and understand unknown technological objects in a similar manner to how Spellcraft is used to identify the properties of a magic item. The DC to correctly identify and understand an unknown technological object is equal to the object’s Craft DC. An object with a Craft DC of 15 or less can be automatically identified and understood by someone trained in Knowledge (engineering) who also has the Technologist feat.
- Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people); Used for astronomy.
- History (wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities)
- Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)
- Martial
- Nature (animals, fey, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasons and cycles, weather, vermin)
- Nobility (lineages, heraldry, personalities, royalty)
- Planes (the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, outsiders, planar magic)
- Psionics
- Religion (gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition, holy symbols, undead)
Action: Attempting to recall knowledge is a smple action.
Retry? No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn’t let you know something that you never learned in the first place.
Proficiency:
- Master: When you fail a Knowledge check, you can reroll the check at a –10 penalty.
- Legendary: Whenever you attempt a Knowledge check, you can roll twice and take the better result.
Uses
General Knowledge (Novice)
Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).
Table: Knowledge Skill DC’s
| Task | Knowledge Skill | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Identify auras while using detect magic | Arcana | 15 + spell level |
| Identify a spell effect that is in place | Arcana | 20 + spell level |
| Identify materials manufactured by magic | Arcana | 20 + spell level |
| Identify a spell that just targeted you | Arcana | 25 + spell level |
| Identify the spells cast using a specific material component | Arcana | 20 |
| Identify underground hazard | Dungeoneering | 15 + hazard’s CR |
| Identify mineral, stone, or metal | Dungeoneering | 10 |
| Determine slope | Dungeoneering | 15 |
| Determine depth underground | Dungeoneering | 20 |
| Identify dangerous construction | Engineering | 10 |
| Determine a structure’s style or age | Engineering | 15 |
| Determine a structure’s weakness | Engineering | 20 |
| Identify a creature’s ethnicity or accent | Geography | 10 |
| Recognize regional terrain features | Geography | 15 |
| Know location of nearest community or noteworthy site | Geography | 20 |
| Know recent or historically significant event | History | 10 |
| Determine approximate date of a specific event | History | 15 |
| Know obscure or ancient historical event | History | 20 |
| Know local laws, rulers, and popular locations | Local | 10 |
| Know a common rumor or local tradition | Local | 15 |
| Know hidden organizations, rulers, and locations | Local | 20 |
| Identify natural hazard | Nature | 15 + hazard’s CR |
| Identify a common plant or animal | Nature | 10 |
| Identify unnatural weather phenomenon | Nature | 15 |
| Determine artificial nature of feature | Nature | 20 |
| Know current rulers and their symbols | Nobility | 10 |
| Know proper etiquette | Nobility | 15 |
| Know line of succession | Nobility | 20 |
| Know the names of the planes | Planes | 10 |
| Recognize current plane | Planes | 15 |
| Identify a creature’s planar origin | Planes | 20 |
| Recognize a common deity’s symbol or clergy | Religion | 10 |
| Know common mythology and tenets | Religion | 15 |
| Recognize an obscure deity’s symbol or clergy | Religion | 20 |
| Identify a monster’s abilities and weaknesses | Varies | 10 + monster’s CR |
Monster Lore (Novice)
You can use this skill to identify monsters and their special powers or vulnerabilities.
Check: In general, the DC of such a check equals 10 + the monster’s CR. For common monsters, such as goblins, the DC of this check equals 5 + the monster’s CR. For particularly rare monsters, such as the tarrasque, the DC of this check equals 15 + the monster’s CR or more. A successful check allows you to remember a bit of useful information about that monster. For every 5 points by which your check result exceeds the DC, you recall another piece of useful information.
Table: Monster Lore
| Creature Type | Field of Study |
|---|---|
| Constructs, dragons, magical beasts | Arcana |
| Aberrations, oozes | Dungeoneering |
| Humanoids | Local |
| Animals, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids, plants, vermin | Nature |
| Outsiders | Planes |
| Undead | Religion |
Proficiency:
- Skilled: When you successfully identify a creature, you gain one additional piece of information for every 5 ranks you possess in that Knowledge skill.
- Expert: When you successfully identify a creature, you gain a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls, opposed ability checks, skill checks, and caster level checks against creatures of that kind (e.g., glabrezu demons, but not other demons or evil outsiders) for 1 minute. This bonus increases by 1 for every 5 ranks beyond 10 you possess in that Knowledge skill.
- Master: The competence bonus above also applies to saving throws against exceptional, spell-like, or supernatural abilities used by creatures you identify.
Recall Intrigues (Skilled)
You can identify feats and the class features of various classes with successful Knowledge checks when you observe the feats or class features being used.
Check: You can attempt a skill check to identify a feat or class feature when you observe it in use, similar to how Spellcraft can be used to identify a spell. The feat or class feature must have some observable effect in order for you to attempt the Knowledge check. For example, you can’t see the internal determination of Iron Will, so this ability can’t identify that feat. In general, if a feat or class feature creates a noticeable effect (such as the extra attack from using Cleave) or has a variable modifier a character must choose to use (such as Arcane Strike, Combat Expertise, or Enlarge Spell), it can be identified. If it creates a static bonus (such as Dodge or Lightning Reflexes), there’s no telltale sign to give it away.
Table: Identify Feats or Features
| Task | Knowledge Skill | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Identify a class feature from a class that grants arcane or psychic spells | Arcana | 10 + class level when the feature is granted.* |
| Identify a class feature from a class with access to the druid or ranger spell list | Nature | 10 + class level when the feature is granted. |
| Identify a class feature from a class that grants divine spells | Religion | 10 + class level when the feature is granted. |
| Identify a class feature from any other class | Local | 10 + class level when the feature is granted.* |
| Identify a combat feat being used | Local | 10 + character’s level |
| Identify a metamagic feat being used | Arcana | 10 + character’s level |
| Identify teamwork feat being used | Nobility | 10 + character’s level |
| *Add 10 to the DC if the class is a prestige class. | ||
The Knowledge skill required to identify a feat or class feature varies depending on the type of feat or class feature to be identified and is outlined in the Recall Intrigues (Knowledge) table above, along with the DCs of such skill checks.
Modifiers
- Equipment (Library)—If you have access to an extensive library that covers a specific skill, this limit is removed. The time to make checks using a library, however, increases to 1d4 hours. Particularly complete libraries might even grant a bonus on Knowledge checks in the fields that they cover.
- Training—You cannot make an untrained Knowledge check with a DC higher than 10.