Recall Knowledge Considerations

Use the following advice. “What is it?”: For the basic information referred to in Recall Knowledge, you'll typically want to answer with a sentence that includes a name, type or category, and some basic context. You have lots of freedom, and players will rarely complain about getting too much detail. Examples: “This statue represents Zon-Shelyn, the Embrace, god of creating art from suffering, strange beauty, and reunion with loved ones.” “The merchant is a witchwyrd, a four-armed humanoid who often loves to haggle.” “The comm unit was manufactured on Eox, a planet populated by undead.” “This creature is a wabu, a popular fluffy pet from Daimalko.” Often, the answer you need is summarized in a sentence within the subject's description or stat block! Redirection: You can freely make suggestions to a player if they seem stumped on what to ask or think of a question unlikely to be relevant. If they have a question they really want to ask, find a way to make the answer interesting even if you don't think the knowledge will be useful. Adventure Details: Published adventures often include a piece of information characters can discover if they Recall Knowledge. A player doesn't need to ask the perfect question in order to get this knowledge! Feel free to feed it to them on any check to Recall Knowledge that hits the DC, often in addition to an answer to their original question. General vs. Unique: Some elements, such as creatures or items, might require you to draw a distinction between a general concept and a unique individual, such as “performer” vs. “Zo!” When a PC tries to Recall Knowledge, let them choose whether to ask about the general category or the unique person or item, and determine the DC and specifics based on that choice. If the unique character or item is famous enough, the DC might even be easier than for the general topic!