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 Knowledge (local Cormyr) -- About Azoun DC
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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  10:01:32  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Poll Question:
This is my 1st poll, so I start with something simple.

It is the Year of the Tankard (1370 DR), and king Azoun IV is alive. Long live the king! Now, how difficult should a Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill check be, to know the name (and only the name 'Azoun', and not the more formal name 'Azoun IV') of the king?

Choices:

DC 0
DC 5
DC 10
DC 15
DC 20
DC 25
DC 30
DC 40
Other

(Anonymous Vote)

Link to my homepage: http://user.tninet.se/~bsu242v/

Edited by - webmanus on 21 Aug 2005 12:29:02

Kajehase
Great Reader

Sweden
2104 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  11:35:44  Show Profile Send Kajehase a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'd say it's as low as DC 1 or 2 even. The impression I get from the novels and (pre 3.x ed) sourcebooks is that Azoun maintained a highly "visible" rule, so that even a very young child probably knew at least his name. (In fact, after the Crusade, this probably could be said to hold true for the Dalelands - and to a lesser degree, Sembia, the Vast, and the Moonsea - as well).

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Misericordia
Seeker

Italy
66 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  12:28:05  Show Profile  Visit Misericordia's Homepage Send Misericordia a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase

I'd say it's as low as DC 1 or 2 even. The impression I get from the novels and (pre 3.x ed) sourcebooks is that Azoun maintained a highly "visible" rule, so that even a very young child probably knew at least his name. (In fact, after the Crusade, this probably could be said to hold true for the Dalelands - and to a lesser degree, Sembia, the Vast, and the Moonsea - as well).



I agree. Azoun is probably known to everyone in Cormyr, also before the Crusade. After that I'd use a 0 CD!

Omnia sunt communia.
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Kajehase
Great Reader

Sweden
2104 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  13:37:33  Show Profile Send Kajehase a Private Message  Reply with Quote
*wonders who thought it should be DC 40 and why*

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Edited by - Kajehase on 11 Aug 2005 13:38:06
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Sir Luther Cromwell
Learned Scribe

Canada
158 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  14:06:04  Show Profile  Visit Sir Luther Cromwell's Homepage Send Sir Luther Cromwell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
DC 5, because where the average person knows Azoun, the village idiot might not.

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Misericordia
Seeker

Italy
66 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  14:21:31  Show Profile  Visit Misericordia's Homepage Send Misericordia a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Sir Luther Cromwell

DC 5, because where the average person knows Azoun, the village idiot might not.



I think the village idiot won't have knowledge skill at once. If you have that skill you MUST know who is the king.

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  14:35:59  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Well, it all depends on who is the village's idiot.

- Villager A1, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 3, no ranks in the Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill.
- Villager A2, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 6, no ranks in the Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill.
- Villager A3, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 8, no ranks in the Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill.
- Villager B1, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 10, no ranks in the Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill.
- Villager C1, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 12, no ranks in the Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill.
- Villager D1, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 18, no ranks in the Knowledge (local Cormyr) skill.

I assume that the average villager should be B1. With A1 - A3 beeing "the fools". As noted above, these villager have no additional local knowledge. That is, they have only access to common knowledge.

However, the following dude, with only 1 rank, does not only known common knowledge (DC 0 - 10), but also things that the average person just does not known (DC 11+):

- Villager E1, 1st-lvel Commoner, Int 12, with 1 rank in Knowledge (local Cormyr).

Thanks to that only rank, villager E1 can make skill checks for all kind of DCs. Pretty good. But then, it did cost him two skill points ... a lot of effort, I assume.

Well, thanks to all of you who have so far participated in this poll. Interested of more skill polls?

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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore

USA
1105 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  16:26:16  Show Profile  Visit Garen Thal's Homepage Send Garen Thal a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It should be DC 10. Most people will be able to name the king of Cormyr without much effort--taking 10 on the Knowledge check (really an Int check with no ranks or Int bonus)--but when pressed, threatened, or otherwise challenged (that is, denied the ability to take 10), certain outsiders, fools, and other uninitiated won't be able to come up with the correct answer.
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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  16:42:58  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Garen, I liked your post ... It made me think, reread rules, and so on. Still, I do not agree. I do not think that taking 10 applies to the above situation. Taking 10 is more for routines, such as chopping wood; a character would not need to routinely answer the same question.

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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36805 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  17:19:34  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by webmanus

Garen, I liked your post ... It made me think, reread rules, and so on. Still, I do not agree. I do not think that taking 10 applies to the above situation. Taking 10 is more for routines, such as chopping wood; a character would not need to routinely answer the same question.



A character wouldn't routinely need to answer the question "What color is grass?", either, but they'd still know the answer quite readily. When something is common knowledge, you don't have to stop and think about it.

Until his death, Azoun IV was the only king most Cormyreans knew or had known. As pointed out earlier, he was also a very high-profile ruler. So, to a Cormyrean, only a fool or an outsider from far away wouldn't know who the king was.

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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36805 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  17:20:53  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase

*wonders who thought it should be DC 40 and why*



I'm wondering that one, myself...

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 11 Aug 2005 :  17:33:08  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Correct. And, therefore, skill checks as Knowledge do not take time to execute, at least, under normal conditions. And, take 10 is for routine task, and a Knowledge skill check should not be considered as such, at least, that is what I think.

Now, if the DC i 0, then we all know that very few persons will not know the answer ... and with Azoun beeing so famed, DC 0 could be the one to use. However, DC 10, would meen that 50% knows, and the rest do not know. Of course, if you think that take 10 is appropiate, then, 100% will know the answer. Now, while gaming, I would under normal conditions never ask the players to roll a DC 0 check ... although it could be funny ... "So, you DO NOT KNOW who AZOUN is??? And we who have travelled together all this time!"

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KnightErrantJR
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USA
5402 Posts

Posted - 12 Aug 2005 :  01:42:38  Show Profile  Visit KnightErrantJR's Homepage Send KnightErrantJR a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Just as a practical point, Narnra in Elminster's Daughter almost knew the name of the LINE, Obarskyr (I forget how she mispronounced it), but she didn't know Azoun's name. But she was a street urchin in Waterdeep.
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Crennen FaerieBane
Master of Realmslore

USA
1378 Posts

Posted - 12 Aug 2005 :  14:51:12  Show Profile Send Crennen FaerieBane a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think it would be just DC 5 - however, I think that to know his daughter or the fact of Azoun V might be a little harded. I think KnightErrantJR makes a good point.

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Xysma
Master of Realmslore

USA
1089 Posts

Posted - 12 Aug 2005 :  16:25:30  Show Profile  Visit Xysma's Homepage Send Xysma a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think DC 5 is accurate, not everyone would know the name Azoun, but most would. As a house rule, I give all residents of a certain region (both PCs and NPCs) 1 rank in Knowledge (Local- their city). That way they all have a chance to know tidbits of general information.

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 13 Aug 2005 :  20:58:01  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi Xysma!

Why do you give them one rank, and why not a +1 circumstance bonues instead? In terms of DC, what do you define as general information?

As I understand/interpret the rules, knowledge is either common (DC 0 - 10) or non-common (DC 11+).

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 13 Aug 2005 :  21:02:58  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi all!

A question to all of you you have thought of say DC 5+. If knowing the name of the king is DC 5+, what would be DC 0, that is, an even easier question? Do you have a good example?

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 14 Aug 2005 :  16:02:05  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi folks!

Another issue. If the DC is 0, or 5, do you think that a Cormyrian should get a +2 circumstance bonus? And, how about a fellow from the Dalelands, should he get +2, or maybe +0? Someone from the Vilhon Reach should maybe get +0/-2, or even -5/-10. Waht do you think?

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Sir Luther Cromwell
Learned Scribe

Canada
158 Posts

Posted - 15 Aug 2005 :  00:55:15  Show Profile  Visit Sir Luther Cromwell's Homepage Send Sir Luther Cromwell a Private Message  Reply with Quote

The way I usually do knowledge local of a character's local area, I simply allow the character to take a 10. Average people knows average information about his native land, a smart person would know a bit more.

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warlockco
Master of Realmslore

USA
1695 Posts

Posted - 21 Aug 2005 :  13:30:18  Show Profile  Visit warlockco's Homepage Send warlockco a Private Message  Reply with Quote
One major problem with this entire poll.
Knowledge skills cannot be used untrained.

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 21 Aug 2005 :  20:26:26  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I did miss you post warlockco,

Knowledge skill cannot be used untrained ... yes ... but ... as long as something is considered common knowledge, then it is possible to roll a Intelligence check to find out if the character knows something about the issue. Maybe, I am taking the wrong approach, and I do not understand how this skill should be used ... but ... I feel pretty sure that I do understand this skill. Below, from the SRD 3.5
quote:
Untrained: An untrained Knowledge check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, you know only common knowledge (DC 10 or lower).
Thus, if we define a question and an answer, then we should be able to set an appropiate DC and select an appropiate Knowledge skill. If the DC is greater than 10, then only persons with ranks in the appropiate Knowledge skill may make a check. At least, that is how I understand the rules.

What do you say warlocko? How about you others ... Maybe, we should ask the Wizards ...

Link to the SRD 3.5:
http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/skillsInt.html

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warlockco
Master of Realmslore

USA
1695 Posts

Posted - 21 Aug 2005 :  21:13:21  Show Profile  Visit warlockco's Homepage Send warlockco a Private Message  Reply with Quote
As to who would know of Azoun.
I would say everyone except the smallest kids or the most remote parts of the kingdom would know of Azoun.
Outside of Cormyr, Sembia and the Dalelands, alot of people would have at least heard of him, beyond that.... Let's just say even with the spread of knowledge in the present day, there are some Americans that don't know that Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States.

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Kajehase
Great Reader

Sweden
2104 Posts

Posted - 22 Aug 2005 :  06:29:13  Show Profile Send Kajehase a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by warlockco

Let's just say even with the spread of knowledge in the present day, there are some Americans that don't know that Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States.



But pretty much every Swede above the age of 10 does know it...

There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
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warlockco
Master of Realmslore

USA
1695 Posts

Posted - 22 Aug 2005 :  07:22:38  Show Profile  Visit warlockco's Homepage Send warlockco a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase

quote:
Originally posted by warlockco

Let's just say even with the spread of knowledge in the present day, there are some Americans that don't know that Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States.



But pretty much every Swede above the age of 10 does know it...



We have people that think Mexico and Canada are States. Not Countries.

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webmanus
Learned Scribe

Sweden
338 Posts

Posted - 22 Aug 2005 :  22:56:14  Show Profile  Visit webmanus's Homepage Send webmanus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
By the way. I did create an encounter with two fellows from Cormyr who tought that Shadowdale was a barony or county of Cormyr. Those two Cormyrians were in an inn in Mistledale. And, a Shadowdalian soldier (who happened to travell with the party) was VERY upset.

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Alisttair
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Canada
3054 Posts

Posted - 21 Jun 2006 :  15:51:38  Show Profile  Visit Alisttair's Homepage Send Alisttair a Private Message  Reply with Quote
DC 5 only because realistically, there ARE idiots, and Faerun is no different.

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Bluenose
Learned Scribe

United Kingdom
134 Posts

Posted - 21 Jun 2006 :  16:22:10  Show Profile  Visit Bluenose's Homepage Send Bluenose a Private Message  Reply with Quote
DC 5 rather than DC 0 because there are easier questions: where do you live?; what country friends, is this?; and others.

There's a story, possibly untrue, that in 1644 after the English Civil War had been going for three years, a group of parliamentary soldiers challenged a local shepherd to say whether he was for king or parliament. Apparently his reply was something like "Be they having a falling out then?" So it's not impossible to imagine someone who doesn't know.

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scererar
Master of Realmslore

USA
1618 Posts

Posted - 22 Jun 2006 :  03:42:17  Show Profile Send scererar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I would keep it on the low end for anyone from Cormyr and the surrounding areas.
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Sian
Senior Scribe

Denmark
596 Posts

Posted - 22 Jun 2006 :  05:48:53  Show Profile  Visit Sian's Homepage Send Sian a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by warlockco

quote:
Originally posted by Kajehase

quote:
Originally posted by warlockco

Let's just say even with the spread of knowledge in the present day, there are some Americans that don't know that Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States.



But pretty much every Swede above the age of 10 does know it...



We have people that think Mexico and Canada are States. Not Countries.

´

(some) Americans ignorance never fail to surprice me :S

what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore

Germany
1720 Posts

Posted - 22 Jun 2006 :  11:07:12  Show Profile Send Ergdusch a Private Message  Reply with Quote
DC 0. Everyone who has chosen the Skill Knowledge (Local-Cormyr) should have come agross the name of Azoun along his studies. Taking already a single skill point should grant him that basic knowledge. It's like studying geography and not knowing that the world is a globe.

Ergdusch

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