Religious Lore [Archive] - Wizards Community

Religious Lore [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Pindar
07-27-07, 01:26 PM Given that these skills are all generic doesn't it seem odd that a priest of Lathendar knows just as much as about the worship of Bane as he would his own god?

Would it be reasonable to give a circumstance bonus of level divided by 4 for clerics and paladins to religious lore for their own religions?
Kouk
07-27-07, 01:40 PM Sure.
Puca
07-27-07, 03:40 PM I wouldnt give a bonus to the check. Id adjust the DC.

What makes a question “really easy,” “basic,” or “really tough” is subjective. It depends on who youre asking.

For example, Im Roman Catholic. If you were to ask a Roman Catholic which hand they use for the sign of the cross, its like a no-brainer. DC of like 1. Ask the same guy if Orthodox Catholics use the same hand, a little harder. Maybe like DC 9 or so.

For non-Catholics, those questions are maybe a little harder even. Depends on how often youve had a chance to see it. But it might reflect a little bit of study of a religion they dont practice. Like DC 11.

For a cleric of Pelor, questions about Pelor and the worship of him should be very easy, no-brainers. Even a fighter with no ranks in Knowledge (religion) but with Pelor on the deity line of his character sheet should be able to know the basics. But for either of them to know much about Vecna would take just a little more study, like ranks in Knowledge (religion) would demonstrate.
JadeSpider9643
07-27-07, 07:16 PM No you shouldn't be adjusting the DC, the knowledge that's needed is the same no matter who you ask. It's simply a matter of weither someone is educated in that subject, or if they picked it up somehow. If the question seems trivial or obvious then the difference between your bonus and the DC is probably pretty low. If it seems hard or obscure, then the difference is higher.

The DC reflects how common that knowledge is to come across....top secret area 51 super stealth spy plane specifications? high DC, the knowledge is not shared openly and restricted to a specific few people, DC is easily in the 50s or higher. Which hand does a Roman Catholic use to make the sign of the cross? that'd be a low DC, every roman catholic is told, and anyone that wants to know can ask and will probably be told. also anyone that sees a Roman Catholic do it can learn for himself. But the knowledge is also slightly trivial to people it's not important to, this would probably be a DC 15.
JadeSpider9643
07-27-07, 07:24 PM Given that these skills are all generic doesn't it seem odd that a priest of Lathendar knows just as much as about the worship of Bane as he would his own god?

Would it be reasonable to give a circumstance bonus of level divided by 4 for clerics and paladins to religious lore for their own religions?

You don't roll a knowledge check for every little thing in life, knowledge checks are more for when you want to see if someone knows something obscure or highly detailed. some things are just a given that you know, like what county you live in, or what you do for a living, or how to put on pants...

Unless he's a very lazy drunk idiot of a priest of lathendar, you probably shouldn't have to even make checks for fairly common stuff that a priest of bane would probably have to make checks for. like what are lathendar's domains? or who is lathendar's biggest enemy? what does a holy symbol of lathendar look like? anything obscure enough to really require a check probably doesn't deserve too big of a circumstance bonus beyond knowledge(religion) ranks.
JulesCARV
07-27-07, 07:28 PM I'd say do it for all classes, not just clerics and paladins. A fighter who worships Heironeous is going to know more about Heironeous than about, say, Boccob. Of course, the fighter starts from a quite low base modifier (probably no ranks), so a cleric of Boccob might know more about Heironeous than a fighter of Heironeous, albeit not as much as a cleric of Heironeous would.
zorgling25
07-27-07, 08:15 PM Alternatively, we could have subskills for Knowledge: Religion for each god! Knowledge: Religion: Bane and Knowledge: Religion: Lathander are two separate skills! :D

As for my serious answer however, I wouldn't bother with this for clerics and paladins. If someone has devoted his life to a certain god, I would usually make things requiring Knowledge: Religion checks about their own god automatic successes, modified by my discretion of course.

As with many things in Dungeons and Dragons though, some realism has to be sacrificed for the sake of brevity and balance. For example, Spellcraft doesn't have subskills for Spellcraft: Arcane and Spellcraft: Divine, though an arcane caster should be more likely to identify spells he knows or can cast than a divine caster who is not trained in that form of magic.

Whenever a rule is balanced or simple, people complain that its not realistic. When a rule is realistic, people say its too complicated or unbalanced.
KrisTheGreat
07-27-07, 11:08 PM try giving it based on a 1 god for five points of knowledge religion i did it for all knowledge skills i find it works well

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Pindar 07-27-07, 01:26 PM	Given that these skills are all generic doesn't it seem odd that a priest of Lathendar knows just as much as about the worship of Bane as he would his own god? Would it be reasonable to give a circumstance bonus of level divided by 4 for clerics and paladins to religious lore for their own religions?
Kouk 07-27-07, 01:40 PM	Sure.
Puca 07-27-07, 03:40 PM	I wouldnt give a bonus to the check. Id adjust the DC. What makes a question “really easy,” “basic,” or “really tough” is subjective. It depends on who youre asking. For example, Im Roman Catholic. If you were to ask a Roman Catholic which hand they use for the sign of the cross, its like a no-brainer. DC of like 1. Ask the same guy if Orthodox Catholics use the same hand, a little harder. Maybe like DC 9 or so. For non-Catholics, those questions are maybe a little harder even. Depends on how often youve had a chance to see it. But it might reflect a little bit of study of a religion they dont practice. Like DC 11. For a cleric of Pelor, questions about Pelor and the worship of him should be very easy, no-brainers. Even a fighter with no ranks in Knowledge (religion) but with Pelor on the deity line of his character sheet should be able to know the basics. But for either of them to know much about Vecna would take just a little more study, like ranks in Knowledge (religion) would demonstrate.
JadeSpider9643 07-27-07, 07:16 PM	No you shouldn't be adjusting the DC, the knowledge that's needed is the same no matter who you ask. It's simply a matter of weither someone is educated in that subject, or if they picked it up somehow. If the question seems trivial or obvious then the difference between your bonus and the DC is probably pretty low. If it seems hard or obscure, then the difference is higher. The DC reflects how common that knowledge is to come across....top secret area 51 super stealth spy plane specifications? high DC, the knowledge is not shared openly and restricted to a specific few people, DC is easily in the 50s or higher. Which hand does a Roman Catholic use to make the sign of the cross? that'd be a low DC, every roman catholic is told, and anyone that wants to know can ask and will probably be told. also anyone that sees a Roman Catholic do it can learn for himself. But the knowledge is also slightly trivial to people it's not important to, this would probably be a DC 15.
JadeSpider9643 07-27-07, 07:24 PM	Given that these skills are all generic doesn't it seem odd that a priest of Lathendar knows just as much as about the worship of Bane as he would his own god? Would it be reasonable to give a circumstance bonus of level divided by 4 for clerics and paladins to religious lore for their own religions? You don't roll a knowledge check for every little thing in life, knowledge checks are more for when you want to see if someone knows something obscure or highly detailed. some things are just a given that you know, like what county you live in, or what you do for a living, or how to put on pants... Unless he's a very lazy drunk idiot of a priest of lathendar, you probably shouldn't have to even make checks for fairly common stuff that a priest of bane would probably have to make checks for. like what are lathendar's domains? or who is lathendar's biggest enemy? what does a holy symbol of lathendar look like? anything obscure enough to really require a check probably doesn't deserve too big of a circumstance bonus beyond knowledge(religion) ranks.
JulesCARV 07-27-07, 07:28 PM	I'd say do it for all classes, not just clerics and paladins. A fighter who worships Heironeous is going to know more about Heironeous than about, say, Boccob. Of course, the fighter starts from a quite low base modifier (probably no ranks), so a cleric of Boccob might know more about Heironeous than a fighter of Heironeous, albeit not as much as a cleric of Heironeous would.
zorgling25 07-27-07, 08:15 PM	Alternatively, we could have subskills for Knowledge: Religion for each god! Knowledge: Religion: Bane and Knowledge: Religion: Lathander are two separate skills! :D As for my serious answer however, I wouldn't bother with this for clerics and paladins. If someone has devoted his life to a certain god, I would usually make things requiring Knowledge: Religion checks about their own god automatic successes, modified by my discretion of course. As with many things in Dungeons and Dragons though, some realism has to be sacrificed for the sake of brevity and balance. For example, Spellcraft doesn't have subskills for Spellcraft: Arcane and Spellcraft: Divine, though an arcane caster should be more likely to identify spells he knows or can cast than a divine caster who is not trained in that form of magic. Whenever a rule is balanced or simple, people complain that its not realistic. When a rule is realistic, people say its too complicated or unbalanced.
KrisTheGreat 07-27-07, 11:08 PM	try giving it based on a 1 god for five points of knowledge religion i did it for all knowledge skills i find it works well