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Investigation Skill[edit | edit source]

  • Calculation: Any Class Level + Intelligence modifier
  • Use Time: 1 Hour
  • Effect: On success, you get a clue about the desired piece of information. On failure, you get nothing.

Details: This is a skill used to get a clue about the information you want from a social encounter. It is not a skill used to obtain the desired information directly, but rather it is a skill used to negotiate with NPCs, to learn about their personalities, thoughts, likes, dislikes, etc., in other words, to "lay the groundwork". Please note that no matter how high the success value is, it does not directly result in the information the PC is seeking. Successful checks provide "clues" that make it easier to obtain the information sought. The approximate difficulty level of the check is as follows.

Investigation Check Target Numbers and Clues Obtained[edit | edit source]

Success Value Rarity of the clue obtained
5 Common knowledge that even a small child knows
7 Information that every adult knows
9 Common people's gossip
11 Knowledge that a professional should know
13 If you knew it, you'd be considered well-informed
15 Knowledge that could have a monetary value
17 Facts that are so important that only the parties involved would know about them

GM Guide: How to use Investigation Checks[edit | edit source]

Investigation is a skill that uses a PC's social status to gain clues from fragmented information. When asking the PCs to make this check, it is important to provide a clear path to the desired outcome, rather than giving a direct result. It is the player's role to connect the clues given to him with the tools he has available to solve the problem. Investigation Checks are best used as a general source of information when a player is feeling stuck, or to provide a few hints without giving away the crux. The following are some guidelines for using the Warlord and Mystic classes. The GM should use this as a guide to determine the appropriate class for the situation.

Guidelines for Investigation Checks using the Warlord class[edit | edit source]

A PC who has mastered the Warlord class is known as a military strategist. Sources of information may be military personnel, armor merchants, guards, etc. If the PCs successfully complete an Investigation Check, the GM will be given clues from these NPCs as to the outcome the PCs are seeking. It is up to the GM to decide how to give this information, but ideally it should inspire the PCs to come up with a solution. An Investigation Check with the Warlord class might yield the following information.

Ask a former soldier for information about a famous general
"That general likes to drink, and he'll do anything to get his hands on a certain brand.”
Ask a former soldier about the secrets of the royal family.
"This is a secret, but the second prince seems to have a crush on a woman from downtown."
Ask an active guard about the state of the nobleman's mansion.
"From that nobleman's house, where he's been strengthening his patrols, I sometimes hear a fierce marital quarrel."
Ask the active guards about the recent incident.
"I heard that one of the children in the slums is missing. Nobody has been able to confirm his identity, so no one has checked."
Ask an arms dealer about his business.
"Yesterday, a big lil' Drakken from out of town bought a magic sword that looked like an iron pillar."
"The shortage of weapons has driven up the price, and the weaponsmith is doing very well."

Guidelines for Investigation Checks using the Mystic class[edit | edit source]

A PC who has mastered the Mystic class is known as a fortune teller. Sources of information include customers seeking divination, tavern owners, and other ordinary citizens. If a PC succeeds in an Investigation Check, the GM is given clues from these NPCs as to the outcome the PC is seeking. It is up to the GM to decide how to give the clues, but ideally, the clues should inspire the PCs to come up with a solution. An Investigation Check with the Mystic class might yield the following information.

Ask customers seeking fortune telling what rumors they are aware of.
"It's rumored that people come out of the shadows of the city at night and attack young women."
"My neighbor has been acting strangely for about a week now. He doesn't seem to be at work."
Ask the owner of the tavern about his latest troubles.
"The price of aromatic herbs has tripled in the last week. It seems that the vendors' wagons have been attacked in large numbers."
Ask the tavern keeper about his customers.
"There's a client who's very popular with novice adventurers. I hear he pays well, but you need connections."
Make small talk with ordinary citizens.
"The harvest festival is in three days' time, and like every year, they hold a martial arts tournament. The stakes are high.”
"The bard singing in the central square is quite good. There are many nobles who want to hire him.”