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Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
890 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Jul 2023 : 00:46:17
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At least in the Realms, would you allow Knowledge (local-background region) as a class skill if the character had the same background region?
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Edited by - Delnyn on 13 Jul 2023 21:07:02
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4429 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jul 2023 : 15:41:51
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Here's what I found on the subject
quote:
Originally posted by Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, pg. 9
Local Knowledge: The Knowledge (local) skill per se does not exist in a Forgotten Realms campaign. Instead, a character who chooses Knowledge (local) must specify the region his knowledgeapplies to. For example, someone familiar with the legends and personalities of Sembia would take the Knowledge (Sembia local) skill. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jul 2023 : 01:40:57
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| To me, it seems that someone that is native to an area should know about the area they grew up in. The only way that it would make sense for someone not to have Knowledge (Local) about their hometown is if they traveled constantly as a child. |
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DoveArrow
Seeker
97 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2023 : 00:03:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
To me, it seems that someone that is native to an area should know about the area they grew up in. The only way that it would make sense for someone not to have Knowledge (Local) about their hometown is if they traveled constantly as a child.
This is for 3.5? I don't know that I would allow it as a class skill. The Knowledge skill is supposed to represent an area of study. The person hasn't really studied anything. The person has only personal knowledge of the area. I might allow them to make the roll untrained and grant them a +2 bonus on the roll since they were from that region. However, I wouldn't give them a chance to put points into that skill. |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2023 : 15:39:34
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-Thinking about it, I would think there are variations that would represent informal knowledge and formal research. Might be too convoluted to realistically differentiate in a game system, but there are definitely ways to pick up local knowledge just inherently and ways to pick it up through scholarship.
-I'll use an example, my uncle, he was a carnie that grew up and worked in Coney Island. He knew people, he knew he knew the history of buildings and streets and beaches and rides and whatever else. I'd say he was about average in intelligence, had a high school education, but that's it. No formal education in terms of history or whatever, but everything he knew, he picked up from living and working in the area his entire life.
-On the flip side, I remember a while back him being interviewed by a guy that was writing a book about the history of the area. Ultimately, the author of that book may end up knowing as much as my uncle did, but he would have arrived at that knowledge through active research and study.
-Regarding increasing ranks, that's also something I wasn't sure about, but again, you could justify both informal and formal knowledge increasing skill points. An informally trained person just picks up more tidbits here and there from just living life. A formally trained person does more research about the topic. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
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Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2023 : 17:09:16
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
To me, it seems that someone that is native to an area should know about the area they grew up in. The only way that it would make sense for someone not to have Knowledge (Local) about their hometown is if they traveled constantly as a child.
You'd be surprised. My stepdaughter can't direct me how to get places in our hometown because she's too busy when we drive staring at her phone and/or taking selfies. Granted, that's our world, but children can be vapid everywhere. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7969 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2023 : 17:59:46
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Just a few decades ago, people learned and memorized things. They knew how to get from A to B. They knew how to find things nearby. They remembered phone numbers. They did basic math in their heads. They made an effort towards good grammar and spelling. They could remember something for a little while, hours or days, instead of entirely forgetting it two sentences later. They had knowledge and information, they didn't have to look things up.
These days, people don't have those faculties. The computers, phones, internet, and google do their thinking for them.
But I think it's fair to assume people in the Realms don't have computers, phones, internet, and google. There's a good chance they carry some local knowledge in their grey mush. |
[/Ayrik] |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2023 : 19:42:57
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Yes things have declined heavily in our world and rapidly, and you point out really good points (for instance... I asked my stepdaughter what was half of 15... and after 3 minutes I got "7 plus some amount".... and her spelling makes me cringe, especially since I know she's trying to spell things right so she gets what she wants).
But there may be nobles and royalty who fall in this same category. There may be people who never really leave their farm because travelling the countryside is more dangerous. Not saying they'll be numerous at all, but I also wouldn't say that everyone knows their local communities either. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7969 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2023 : 20:05:13
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I think that sheltered nobles and royals would still have local knowledge. But their "locality" would be different or distorted from that of peasants living nearby. Different focus and different perspective.
Still, settlements in the Realms seem fairly constant. They talk about histories measured in generations. They don't have the map suddenly changed around with roads being moved, buildings being demolished and replaced, zoning and construction. So I think even the most spoiled and clueless noble would know how to navigate the favourite shops and markets and taverns and public buildings, even if he cannot readily identify every back alley and hidden path. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2023 : 17:16:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Just a few decades ago, people learned and memorized things. They knew how to get from A to B. They knew how to find things nearby. They remembered phone numbers. They did basic math in their heads. They made an effort towards good grammar and spelling. They could remember something for a little while, hours or days, instead of entirely forgetting it two sentences later. They had knowledge and information, they didn't have to look things up.
These days, people don't have those faculties. The computers, phones, internet, and google do their thinking for them.
I wouldn't say we don't have those faculties -- it's that we don't have a need to memorize all these things, because we have other means of keeping that information handy.
Even Einstein once said "[I do not] carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books." He also said, "The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think." |
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Knowledge (Local) Homebrew
