Hi guys, I was just taking a look at chapter 4 and was wondering if anyone else thought that some of the DC's for the knowledge checks were a bit high especially for a planar character. I have a feeling youre not supposed to be able to use knowledge skills untrained so having to pass a DC20 Knowledge (the planes) check to figure out that baatzeu are all over Baator seems a bit harsh.
Even a DC 10 check to figure out what the Innkeepers guild does and how to recognise a member seems a bit unreasonable. Shouldn't guilds and factions be promoting their members and what they do rather than relying on people to look it up?
Sorry if this came off a bit harsh, I think you guys did a great job but it might still need a tweak here and there
According to the official rules, Knowldedge checks can be made untrained, but only for common knowledge (DC 10 or lower); Figuring out that Baatezu are from Baator should be common knowledge in a PS campaign. However, if you're like me and like Sean K. Reynolds' "Fewer Absolutes" House Rule, all skills can be used untrained, but with a -5 or -10 modifier.
While we are on the subject of Knowledges, though, I thought I'd bring up my thoughts on the ones in chapter four. First off, I love the current version of Knowledge(the Planes); in fact, I'd like to see the specialty system used for that apply to most or all Knowledges. Second, having too many Knowledges muddies things; I think that Knowledge (Factions and Guilds) should be eliminated. The Knowledge of Factions and Sects can be combined with Religions into a single Knowldege (Belief). Guilds should be incorporated into Knowledge (Local).
For Knowledge (Local), which has always suffered from vague rules, I would say that characters should buy sepparate Knowledge (Local) skills for each plane (except for the Prime, which should be done on a world-by-world basis (eg. Knowledge (Local-Outlands), Knowledge (Local-Ethereal), Knowldege (Local-Oerth). Four every four points in a particular version of Knowledge (Local) the character chooses a City, town, realm, demiplane, Abyssal Layer, etc as a specialization.