Is knowledge about monster types inherent?












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Does my character inherently know what the traits of each monster type are (such as vermin or undead being immune to mind-affecting spells) or do I need to make a knowledge roll for that?










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    5












    $begingroup$


    Does my character inherently know what the traits of each monster type are (such as vermin or undead being immune to mind-affecting spells) or do I need to make a knowledge roll for that?










    share|improve this question











    $endgroup$















      5












      5








      5





      $begingroup$


      Does my character inherently know what the traits of each monster type are (such as vermin or undead being immune to mind-affecting spells) or do I need to make a knowledge roll for that?










      share|improve this question











      $endgroup$




      Does my character inherently know what the traits of each monster type are (such as vermin or undead being immune to mind-affecting spells) or do I need to make a knowledge roll for that?







      pathfinder monsters knowledge-check






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      edited 5 hours ago









      V2Blast

      23.4k375148




      23.4k375148










      asked 5 hours ago









      NejosanNejosan

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          1 Answer
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          5












          $begingroup$

          This is not spelled out in the rules, and will come down to table conventions. Some GMs may treat anything in any Bestiary as confidential info during a game session, others might treat it as open knowledge.



          At my own tables, I treat all general rules information (i.e. monster type details, universal monster rules mechanics etc) as public knowledge, and any monster-specific information as being off-limits without a check. Even knowing for sure what monster type a given creature is should require a basic monster knowledge check.



          In a similar fashion, Spellcraft covers knowledge of what spells do and are capable of, but players generally need to know the mechanics for their spells, and so access to this information is normally allowed without restriction. But, if an NPC is using an unusual or rare spell, I might not allow players to look the information up without a check.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
            $endgroup$
            – Nejosan
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
            $endgroup$
            – YogoZuno
            3 hours ago











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          1 Answer
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          1 Answer
          1






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          active

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          5












          $begingroup$

          This is not spelled out in the rules, and will come down to table conventions. Some GMs may treat anything in any Bestiary as confidential info during a game session, others might treat it as open knowledge.



          At my own tables, I treat all general rules information (i.e. monster type details, universal monster rules mechanics etc) as public knowledge, and any monster-specific information as being off-limits without a check. Even knowing for sure what monster type a given creature is should require a basic monster knowledge check.



          In a similar fashion, Spellcraft covers knowledge of what spells do and are capable of, but players generally need to know the mechanics for their spells, and so access to this information is normally allowed without restriction. But, if an NPC is using an unusual or rare spell, I might not allow players to look the information up without a check.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
            $endgroup$
            – Nejosan
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
            $endgroup$
            – YogoZuno
            3 hours ago
















          5












          $begingroup$

          This is not spelled out in the rules, and will come down to table conventions. Some GMs may treat anything in any Bestiary as confidential info during a game session, others might treat it as open knowledge.



          At my own tables, I treat all general rules information (i.e. monster type details, universal monster rules mechanics etc) as public knowledge, and any monster-specific information as being off-limits without a check. Even knowing for sure what monster type a given creature is should require a basic monster knowledge check.



          In a similar fashion, Spellcraft covers knowledge of what spells do and are capable of, but players generally need to know the mechanics for their spells, and so access to this information is normally allowed without restriction. But, if an NPC is using an unusual or rare spell, I might not allow players to look the information up without a check.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
            $endgroup$
            – Nejosan
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
            $endgroup$
            – YogoZuno
            3 hours ago














          5












          5








          5





          $begingroup$

          This is not spelled out in the rules, and will come down to table conventions. Some GMs may treat anything in any Bestiary as confidential info during a game session, others might treat it as open knowledge.



          At my own tables, I treat all general rules information (i.e. monster type details, universal monster rules mechanics etc) as public knowledge, and any monster-specific information as being off-limits without a check. Even knowing for sure what monster type a given creature is should require a basic monster knowledge check.



          In a similar fashion, Spellcraft covers knowledge of what spells do and are capable of, but players generally need to know the mechanics for their spells, and so access to this information is normally allowed without restriction. But, if an NPC is using an unusual or rare spell, I might not allow players to look the information up without a check.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$



          This is not spelled out in the rules, and will come down to table conventions. Some GMs may treat anything in any Bestiary as confidential info during a game session, others might treat it as open knowledge.



          At my own tables, I treat all general rules information (i.e. monster type details, universal monster rules mechanics etc) as public knowledge, and any monster-specific information as being off-limits without a check. Even knowing for sure what monster type a given creature is should require a basic monster knowledge check.



          In a similar fashion, Spellcraft covers knowledge of what spells do and are capable of, but players generally need to know the mechanics for their spells, and so access to this information is normally allowed without restriction. But, if an NPC is using an unusual or rare spell, I might not allow players to look the information up without a check.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 5 hours ago









          YogoZunoYogoZuno

          11.4k22867




          11.4k22867












          • $begingroup$
            Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
            $endgroup$
            – Nejosan
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
            $endgroup$
            – YogoZuno
            3 hours ago


















          • $begingroup$
            Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
            $endgroup$
            – Nejosan
            4 hours ago










          • $begingroup$
            @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
            $endgroup$
            – YogoZuno
            3 hours ago
















          $begingroup$
          Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
          $endgroup$
          – Nejosan
          4 hours ago




          $begingroup$
          Would this imply a reasoning like "Okay, that guy's flesh is rotten so he's probably some kind of undead and I shouldn't cast color spray" would be unacceptable?
          $endgroup$
          – Nejosan
          4 hours ago












          $begingroup$
          @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
          $endgroup$
          – YogoZuno
          3 hours ago




          $begingroup$
          @nejosan It's difficult to say without more details, but maybe...if the character in question has never encountered any undead, and has no training in Religion, then it's hard to justify as anything other than player knowledge.
          $endgroup$
          – YogoZuno
          3 hours ago


















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