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This relates to physical searches of an area or collection of items. You can search for a specific item, any items of value, a person, or for hidden traps, doors, or compartments
| Target of Search | DC |
|---|---|
| Search a chest or sack for an item | Trivial or Easy |
| Find a person in a crowded area | Moderate |
| Find a secret door | Hard |
| Spot a trap without triggering it | DC of the trap |
| Find evidence of someone's presence | Moderate or contested by Stealth |
| Find evidence of tampering | Contested by Stealth |
Action: A standard action allows you to search one hex. A full action allows you to also search adjacent hexes
Try Again: yes
Special: You may make a Thorough Search which doubles the time spent and gives you advantage on your search roll
An evening’s time, a few gold pieces for buying drinks and making friends, and a DC 10 Gather Information check get you a general idea of a city’s major news items, assuming there are no obvious reasons why the information would be withheld. The higher your check result, the better the information. If you wish to avoid spending money, you may take a -4 penalty to the check and spend no money.
If you want to find out about a specific rumor, or a specific item, or obtain a map, or do something else along those lines, the DC for the check is 15 to 20, or even higher, at the GM's discretion.
If you wish to avoid suspicion, you take a -10 modifier to the check. If you fail the check by more than 5, you arouse suspicion, but you get the information. If you fail by 10 or more, you do not get any information and suspicion is aroused. if you fail by more than 15, you get purposefully misleading information and you arouse suspicion. You can get a + 4 bonus to this check if you come up with a subtle cover story for why you are looking into the issue. The GM will secretly decide if your cover story convinces the target(s).
Action: A typical Gather Information check takes 1d6 hours.
Try Again: Yes, but it takes time for each check. Furthermore, you may draw attention to yourself if you repeatedly pursue a certain type of information.
If you wish to piece together information on a mysterious subject, on which the full truth of the matter is not known by any one person you speak to, use Investigation. If you wish to puzzle out additional information from what you already have, use Deduction.
| Mystery Complexity | Investigation DC |
|---|---|
| Simple | 10 |
| Moderate | 15 |
| Complex | 20+ |
Simple Mysteries: These are small mysteries that can usually be solved or deemed unknowable with less than half a day's work. Missing items, or curious behavior, would qualify as simple mysteries. Simple mysteries should always be able to be solved without traveling too far from your current location.
Moderate Mysteries: These are more complicated mysteries, for which you will need to find the right people to talk to. Finding the identity of a person without a lot of information, solving a village's mysterious problem, or uncovering a local official's corruption, would be examples. These mysteries may take a day or two, maybe more maybe less, to solve.
Complex Mysteries: These mysteries are questions for which you may not be the only one to ask, and require significant research. They may have a DC significantly higher than 20 depending on the complexity. It may be uncovering a complicated and well hidden conspiracy, or figuring out why the ancient blood benders died out (a hypothetical example). These mysteries may be something you spend a lot of time over weeks or even months, while engaging in other activities as well, and may require multiple checks, such as any time you come close to important information while pursuing another mission.
Deduction is quite different and may help you in your investigations, though a certain amount of deduction is assumed to be a part of any investigation. If you feel you are missing something, and your GM agrees it is appropriate, you can make a deduction check DC 10. A successful check grants a +1 bonus to any ongoing investigation, with an additional +1 bonus for every 5 points that you exceed the DC.
Deduction may also be used at any time to try to connect the information you already have together to uncover new information or an implication you had missed. Due to the nature of the game, there is always some information loss due to communication and this can help bridge that gap. The DC is 10 for obvious facts or implications, and 20 for more subtle implications or information. A deduction check represents an active pursuit of information and should normally be suggested by the player.
Action: Varies, see above
Try Again: Yes, but you must have some reason to believe an additional attempt may succeed, such as a change in circumstance or location of the search.
