New Skill: Memory - Wis
Memory (Wis) is a completely new homebrew skill that was first introduced in my Tales of Terram campaign series that has since found its home here in The Hook. The skill is somewhat hard to describe, so for further details on when you can and can’t use the skill is decided spur of the moment by the GM should you ask, but here is the basic run down.
The following classes consider memory to be a class skill: Bard, Ranger, Monk, Cleric, Druid, Rogue, Wizard, Inquisitor, Alchemist, Magus, Oracle, Ninja, Hunter, Investigator, Arcanist, Shaman, Skald, Slayer, Warpriest, Unchained Monk, Unchained Rogue, Medium, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic, Spiritualist, Courtesan, Arcane Vessel, Spellcrafter.
If a class is not on the above list, as a player you can petition the GM to allow it as a class skill, but chances are the answer will be no. The answer is more likely to be yes if the class in question is third party or a prestige class, since, believe it or not, I have not scoured the entirety of all prestige classes and third party classes just to create the above list.
Memory is a wisdom-based skill, and it is what a character rolls when they want to remember something. The GM can make secret passive memory checks without telling the players, but usually the player will want to roll it themselves. Should that be the case, they will only be able to remember something if they already know they know it, if that makes sense (i.e. “What was that thing the wizard told me before we left?”).
Most memory checks are basically “tip of the tongue” moments, where players just need that little push to solve a puzzle or something. A successful memory check yields knowledge that the characters have come across in the past that perhaps the players forgot about. This gives an in-character way to solve a problem without relying solely on the actual player’s mental caps (no offense players, but you aren’t as wise as your level 20 monk who trains in mental tricks like this). This, of course, will not always work, not just because the character might not remember something, but because the GM has those same mental caps his/her players have, just a wider understanding of the world they’ve built and more meticulous notes on what has transpired in that aforementioned world.
Other memory checks include backstory moments for your characters, as well as anything else your characters may have experienced in the past, both in the campaign, before the campaign, and between sessions of the campaign.
This is not a magical effect, and memory itself is a faulty, tricky mess of a barely functioning humanoid skill, so characters are, of course, not omniscient with this skill. You cannot take 10 or 20 with this skill unless you have an ability that says you can (which doesn’t exist in the rulebook since I made up the skill, unless of course it’s nonspecific, like the Jack of All Trades class ability). Once a character has tried and failed to remember something, they cannot try again until something else has triggered the need to recall the information or another source has given a newfound bonus on the memory check.
Memory can NOT be used as a substitution for a knowledge check. It can only draw from actual experiences your character has had. Memory can, however, be used to give you a bonus on your knowledge check if you know you’ve studied that topic in the past. I.e. a character who has studied magic can roll a memory check, and if they roll high enough (Same DC as the knowledge check), the character gets a +2 bonus on their next knowledge (arcana) check about the subject.
The GM determines the total DC for any given memory check, which can get a bit arbitrary, but here are the basic guidelines.
*A simple memory is one in which it isn’t that demanding on the rememberer’s mentality. Typically vague in nature
-i.e. The time you and your friends went hiking and had a good time bonding.
**An advanced memory is more specific in nature than a simple memory.
-I.e. The exact location you stopped to camp for the night when hiking with friends and what the sky looked like that night as you gazed into the stars.
***A complicated memory is generally an advanced memory that also connects to other advanced memories or is simply even more advanced than an advanced memory.
I.e. the exact conversation you had with your friends as you were stargazing that night you camped while hiking, which was an event that transpired because you were all on a quest to go save your friend’s fiance from an evil warlock and were told to go to that exact location to find the magical mcguffin to break into the warlock’s castle. Memorizing information: In the official rulebook, this is an Autohypnosis(Wis) check, but I have moved it here and changed it slightly. You can attempt to memorize a long string of numbers, a long passage of verse, or some other particularly difficult piece of information (but you can’t memorize magical writing or similarly exotic scripts) by making a DC15 Memory check. Each successful check allows you to memorize a single page of text (up to 800 words), numbers, diagrams, or sigils (even if you don’t recognize their meaning). If a document is longer than one page, you can make additional checks for each additional page. Each memorizing attempt takes an hour to complete, regardless of whether or not the roll is successful. Once memorized, you always retain this information; however, you can recall it only with another successful Memory check (See above chart for DCs). If a character studies something by virtue of it being their profession or class, defer back to the point about the difference between memory and knowledge checks.
| Simple Memory* | DC10 |
| Advanced Memory** | DC15 |
| Complicated Memory*** | DC20 |
| Information was memorized (See below) | DC10 |
| Memory experienced within 24 hours | -5DC |
| Memory experienced between 1 and 7 days ago | +0DC |
| Memory experienced between 1 week and 1 month ago | +2DC |
| Memory experienced between 1 month and 12 months ago | +5DC |
| Memory experienced between 1 year and 5 years ago | +10DC |
| Memory experienced over 5 years ago | +10+1DC per 5 years |
| Memory was significant at the time. | -5DC |
| Memory was insignificant at the time. | +5DC |
-i.e. The time you and your friends went hiking and had a good time bonding.
**An advanced memory is more specific in nature than a simple memory.
-I.e. The exact location you stopped to camp for the night when hiking with friends and what the sky looked like that night as you gazed into the stars.
***A complicated memory is generally an advanced memory that also connects to other advanced memories or is simply even more advanced than an advanced memory.
I.e. the exact conversation you had with your friends as you were stargazing that night you camped while hiking, which was an event that transpired because you were all on a quest to go save your friend’s fiance from an evil warlock and were told to go to that exact location to find the magical mcguffin to break into the warlock’s castle. Memorizing information: In the official rulebook, this is an Autohypnosis(Wis) check, but I have moved it here and changed it slightly. You can attempt to memorize a long string of numbers, a long passage of verse, or some other particularly difficult piece of information (but you can’t memorize magical writing or similarly exotic scripts) by making a DC15 Memory check. Each successful check allows you to memorize a single page of text (up to 800 words), numbers, diagrams, or sigils (even if you don’t recognize their meaning). If a document is longer than one page, you can make additional checks for each additional page. Each memorizing attempt takes an hour to complete, regardless of whether or not the roll is successful. Once memorized, you always retain this information; however, you can recall it only with another successful Memory check (See above chart for DCs). If a character studies something by virtue of it being their profession or class, defer back to the point about the difference between memory and knowledge checks.
Comments