The vast universe of Eltaryon is full of myth and mystery. Each character's knowledge of the universe varies based on their background and experiences. A rural farmer may not know the complex intricacies of the planes, or even know for certain that other planes exist outside the material plane. Meanwhile, a scholar of interplanar travel may have an understanding of other planes, and their characteristics. A denizen of one of those planes could have even more specific knowledge about its creatures and environment.
A player may be aware of information about the world that their character does not have. Particularly in cases where the player has played in multiple campaigns before, they may have trouble identifying where their character's knowledge ends, and their player knowledge begins. This can also be true in cases where characters may be aware of things that their players wouldn't be expected to know. These characters have inhabited
Eltár their entire lives, while players have only been aware of it for as long as they've been playing.
The Knowledge Rarity Table shows the differing tiers of knowledge, the DCs shown are based on the average humanoid living on
Eltar. The table also describes the knowledge associated with a particular tier.
Rarity in Different Contexts
Most elements of the game including locations, spells, magic items, and creatures have a rarity to denote how often they're encountered in the universe of Eltaryon. If no rarity appears above the primary text or stat block of an article, it is considered to be of common rarity by default.
Uncommon and Rare subjects may be known of in a superficial fashion by the average denizen of Eltar, but further details will often only be available to those who have special training, grew up in a certain culture, or come from a particular part of the world. In an article or stat block, next to the text describes that the rarity of a game element, you may see text in parenthesis describing a group to which the relevant information is
Native.
Native Knowledge
If a subject is native to you, you have been exposed to it in some way before. When you attempt to Recall Knowledge about a topic that is native to you, you gain +5 to the roll. As PCs progress through a campaign, creatures, spells and items that they encounter will likely become native knowledge to them.
Nativity is most commonly determined by a character's Homeland. When choosing a homeland, you choose the region your character hails from and receive a nativity bonus for that region.
Recalling Knowledge
When determining what your character would know about a particular topic that they could reasonably have learned through study or personal experience, you can use your Arcana, History, Nature or Religion skills. The GM determines the skill used based on the nature of the knowledge in question. The GM then gives you answer by comparing how your passive Skill score in the relevant skill compares to the the DC of the topic. The depth of information you receive is based on your degree of success compared to the DC, as shown in the Degree of Knowledge Table.
If you'd like to delve a little deeper, you can use a
bonus action to attempt to
Recall Knowledge to determine if your character can remember anything more about the topic in question. When you do so, the GM secretly makes a Skill Check for your character with the relevant skill, the GM then provides you additional information based on your degree of success. If your Skill Check is lower than your passive Skill score and fails to meet the DC by more than 5, you recall incorrect information about the topic
Once you attempt to Recall Knowledge, the result of your Ability Check will affirm your current level of knowledge of the subject in question. In rare cases, you may get the GM's permission to try again with a different but related skill, but the DC will usually be higher than normal. In most cases, however, in order to attempt another Recall Knowledge check on the same subject, you'll have to spend some time researching and studying it before you can attempt the Skill Check again.
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