Knowledge

You are educated in a field of study and can answer both simple and complex questions. Like the Craft, Perform, and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of different specialties.

Many of the Knowledge skills have specific uses as noted on Table: Knowledge Skill DC’s. Often, more than one knowledge skill overlaps on a particular use, as denoted by skill 1/skill 2. The GM may decide that one of the skills takes a penalty if it isn't very applicable to the task.

Below are listed typical fields of study.


 * Alien species: Refers the various species of the galaxy. Know the difference between a gundark and a rancor.
 * Astronomy: The science of the stars. Useful for plotting hyperspace routes.
 * Biology: The science of life. Useful for identifying things in nature.
 * Business: How to run an efficient and profitable organization.
 * Chemistry: Mixing things up. Covers everything from making bombs to metallurgy.
 * Engineering: Applied physics, and how they get used to create the things that make life easier.
 * Forensics: Reading the clues, and knowing how what you see know is related to what happened then.
 * Geography: The study of how planets work, and all the elements that come with it.
 * History: The study of old stuff. Gotta know how things used to work to make things better now.
 * Jedi lore: The jedi have a lot of history, muddied by the mysticism that comes with the Force.
 * Politics: Navigating the festering cesspit that is government.
 * Streetwise: Society always has an underbelly, and this helps you deal with it.
 * Tactics: Know thy enemy, know thyself, and know how to crush their armies beneath your heel.
 * World lore: The study of various civilizations on all kinds of worlds. Also gives a general idea of what a world is known for.

General Knowledge
Answering a question within your field of study has a DC of 10 (for really easy questions), 15 (for basic questions), or 20 to 30 (for really tough questions).

Action: Usually none. In most cases, a Knowledge check doesn’t take an action (but see “Untrained,” below).

Retry? No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn’t let you know something that you never learned in the first place.

Monster Lore
You can use this skill to identify monsters and their special powers or vulnerabilities.

Check: In general, the DC of such a check equals 10 + the monster’s CR. For common monsters, such as goblins, the DC of this check equals 5 + the monster’s CR. For particularly rare monsters, such as the tarrasque, the DC of this check equals 15 + the monster’s CR or more. A successful check allows you to remember a bit of useful information about that monster. For every 5 points by which your check result exceeds the DC, you recall another piece of useful information. Action: Usually none. In most cases, a Knowledge check doesn’t take an action (but see “Untrained,” below).

Retry? No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn’t let you know something that you never learned in the first place.

Example Knowledge Uses
Knowledge skills have many varied uses, with a fair amount of overlap where one field of study blends into another. Here are some example uses for each knowledge skill, to give an idea of what each skill encompasses. The GM can rule that another skill can be used, with a -2 penalty for a closely related subject, or a -5 penalty for a field of study only vaguely related to the question.

Roll Alien Species if:

 * You want to make sure the alcohol you're serving doesn't poison sullustans.

Roll Politics if:

 * You want to know whether the penalty for using a comm scrambler in a city is just a night in jail, or losing your tongue.
 * Which bureaucrat you'll need to convince if you want a permit to land without paying docking fees.

Roll Tactics if:

 * You want to recognize the setup for an ambush, and probable places your enemies would hide.

Modifiers

 * Training You cannot make an untrained Knowledge check with a DC higher than 10.
 * Equipment (Library) If you have access to an extensive library that covers a specific skill, this limit is removed. The time to make checks using a library, however, increases to 1d4 hours. Particularly complete libraries might even grant a bonus on Knowledge checks in the fields that they cover.
 * Equipment(Computer/Datapad) If you have access to a computer or datapad with a database that covers a specific skill, this limit is removed. The time to make checks involving a computer, however, increase to 1d4 minutes and may require a Computers check to search for specific data(see Computers skill). Most computers grant a bonus on the knowledge skill check due to the great amount of information they can contain.

Recall Intrigues (Knowledge)
Source PPC:SpyHB

You can identify feats and the class features of various classes with successful Knowledge checks when you observe the feats or class features being used.

Check: You can attempt a skill check to identify a feat or class feature when you observe it in use, similar to how Spellcraft can be used to identify a spell. The feat or class feature must have some observable effect in order for you to attempt the Knowledge check. For example, you can’t see the internal determination of Iron Will, so this ability can’t identify that feat. In general, if a feat or class feature creates a noticeable effect (such as the extra attack from using Cleave) or has a variable modifier a character must choose to use (such as Arcane Strike, Combat Expertise, or Enlarge Spell), it can be identified. If it creates a static bonus (such as Dodge or Lightning Reflexes), there’s no telltale sign to give it away. * Add 10 to the DC if the class is a prestige class

The Knowledge skill required to identify a feat or class feature varies depending on the type of feat or class feature to be identified and is outlined in the Recall Intrigues (Knowledge) table above, along with the DCs of such skill checks.