I'm very harsh on this. I rule that the character's memory is the player's piece of paper.
Or to put it another way, if the player didn't write it down, that says to me that the player chose that their character doesn't remember it. Saying "my character would remember" generally doesn't cut it (there are exceptions, of course).
You didn't write down the name of the mayor? OK, your character doesn't remember, and now the mayor feels slighted.
Important caveat: if the piece of information is plot-critical then I'll just tell the players (so the game doesn't stop). But if it's not critical to the plot then the players just miss out. Sad. Make notes next time.
Intelligence measures mental acuity, accuracy of recall, and the ability to reason.
It's Intelligence.
You can use a straight Intelligence check, which just means you add your Intelligence mod, and no one has proficiency.
If you're trying to remember some piece of lore about a magical artifact, it might be Arcana. Or if it was about a god or saint, it would be Religion. In general, you could apply a proficiency to a check about something the player learned in the campaign in exactly the same way as you apply a check to something the PC should know from their backstory.
Or you can just make your own judgment call as the DM as to whether the PC would have proficiency to remember this detail. If the PC is very polite and well-mannered, maybe they would have proficiency to recall names.
I'm very harsh on this. I rule that the character's memory is the player's piece of paper.
Or to put it another way, if the player didn't write it down, that says to me that the player chose that their character doesn't remember it. Saying "my character would remember" generally doesn't cut it (there are exceptions, of course).
You didn't write down the name of the mayor? OK, your character doesn't remember, and now the mayor feels slighted.
Important caveat: if the piece of information is plot-critical then I'll just tell the players (so the game doesn't stop). But if it's not critical to the plot then the players just miss out. Sad. Make notes next time.
I think this is too harsh. In game time, it might have been only a few hours since they learned the information, but in real time it might have been last week. Also, in game time, they might have spent an hour with the mayor and used his name many times, but in real time, you just summarized the interaction. Or maybe the PC has Int 18 but the player has Int 8. There are lots of reasons a PC might remember something that a player doesn't. And yes, they should take notes, but if they missed one note I wouldn't want to punish them for it.
The real question is, why does it matter if the players remember? If they aren't taking notes at all, then maybe it's something that needs to be addressed. If they're taking notes and just happened to miss something, does it further the narrative to have their character not remember? is the game more fun and/or interesting if the character can't remember?
Sometimes the answer is yes, in which case a roll may be appropriate, but most of the time the answer is no.
When the players don't remember something important that they saw or interacted with that the characters could reasonably recall, I tend to ask for a skill check. The problem is, I'm not sure which. First, would it be intelligence or wisdom? I'm leaning towards intelligence, but it could also be a sort of reverse perception check. If it is intelligence, which would it be, arcana, history, investigation, nature, or religion?
Should I just create a new skill? Intelligence Recollection?
I wouldn't necessarily even need a roll. If you think the characters would reasonably remember it and it moves the game along (like, when was the queen's coronation again? On her birthday, next week, like the chamberlain told you a few hours ago in-game, though it was last session for y'all).
If it was for something more significant, like "ooh, wait, five sessions back i remember we apprehended this thief trying to break into the castle through a secret entrance--do I remember what he have as the password?" then I would be harsher either requiring a roll (I'd use History), or tell them they're SOL if they didn't write it down.
I thought about this for a while. I kept trying to answer and justify myself, but in the end I keep erasing what I had written. I'm in the wrong. You were trying to help. You noticed that I was inaccurate and you mentioned it in passing. I shouldn't have said anything, so I apologize.
After consideration, I submit that I was actually correct. I was talking about using a skill.
The long version is "If you want to ride a horse, for example, you have the ability to make a check against a target number determined by your Dungeon Master, modified by your level of proficiency in Animal Handling, modified by the bonus derived from your Wisdom score. You roll a twenty sided die, apply all modifiers, and see if you succeed or not."
This is shorted to "Ability Check", but if you're technical, an Ability Check is only used when you don't have the relevant skill. To use the same example it would go; "If you want to ride a horse you have the ability to make a check against a target number determined by your Dungeon Master against your Wisdom score. You roll a twenty sided die and see if you succeed or not."
If you have the skill, it's a Skill Check.
No, that is still wrong. It is always an ability check. Sometimes you get to apply your proficiency bonus if you have the appropriate skill but it's still an ability check. That is why every check is written as "Player can make an "Ability (Skill)" check or just "Make an "ability" check. Pages 174 and 175 of the PHB is quite clear on this.
We aren't in the Rules & Game Mechanic forum, where exact wording makes a difference, but thanks for taking the trouble to show me the page numbers in the Player's Handbook to prove I was wrong. I'll keep it in mind for games at someone else's table. Wouldn't want to confuse anyone.
And you're welcome. I guess I'm just overly pedantic.
Just make sure the party has a variant human who took the Keen Mind feat and you're pretty much good for the campaign unless more than a month has passed :)
If the player's are completely blank, I might have them roll for it, but usually if there's clearly an effort and they can recall some element and they're just imprecise, I just give it to them.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I'm very harsh on this. I rule that the character's memory is the player's piece of paper.
Or to put it another way, if the player didn't write it down, that says to me that the player chose that their character doesn't remember it. Saying "my character would remember" generally doesn't cut it (there are exceptions, of course).
You didn't write down the name of the mayor? OK, your character doesn't remember, and now the mayor feels slighted.
Important caveat: if the piece of information is plot-critical then I'll just tell the players (so the game doesn't stop). But if it's not critical to the plot then the players just miss out. Sad. Make notes next time.
It's Intelligence.
You can use a straight Intelligence check, which just means you add your Intelligence mod, and no one has proficiency.
If you're trying to remember some piece of lore about a magical artifact, it might be Arcana. Or if it was about a god or saint, it would be Religion. In general, you could apply a proficiency to a check about something the player learned in the campaign in exactly the same way as you apply a check to something the PC should know from their backstory.
Or you can just make your own judgment call as the DM as to whether the PC would have proficiency to remember this detail. If the PC is very polite and well-mannered, maybe they would have proficiency to recall names.
I think this is too harsh. In game time, it might have been only a few hours since they learned the information, but in real time it might have been last week. Also, in game time, they might have spent an hour with the mayor and used his name many times, but in real time, you just summarized the interaction. Or maybe the PC has Int 18 but the player has Int 8. There are lots of reasons a PC might remember something that a player doesn't. And yes, they should take notes, but if they missed one note I wouldn't want to punish them for it.
The real question is, why does it matter if the players remember? If they aren't taking notes at all, then maybe it's something that needs to be addressed. If they're taking notes and just happened to miss something, does it further the narrative to have their character not remember? is the game more fun and/or interesting if the character can't remember?
Sometimes the answer is yes, in which case a roll may be appropriate, but most of the time the answer is no.
I wouldn't necessarily even need a roll. If you think the characters would reasonably remember it and it moves the game along (like, when was the queen's coronation again? On her birthday, next week, like the chamberlain told you a few hours ago in-game, though it was last session for y'all).
If it was for something more significant, like "ooh, wait, five sessions back i remember we apprehended this thief trying to break into the castle through a secret entrance--do I remember what he have as the password?" then I would be harsher either requiring a roll (I'd use History), or tell them they're SOL if they didn't write it down.
No, that is still wrong. It is always an ability check. Sometimes you get to apply your proficiency bonus if you have the appropriate skill but it's still an ability check. That is why every check is written as "Player can make an "Ability (Skill)" check or just "Make an "ability" check. Pages 174 and 175 of the PHB is quite clear on this.
I do appreciate the apology though. Thank you.
We aren't in the Rules & Game Mechanic forum, where exact wording makes a difference, but thanks for taking the trouble to show me the page numbers in the Player's Handbook to prove I was wrong. I'll keep it in mind for games at someone else's table. Wouldn't want to confuse anyone.
And you're welcome. I guess I'm just overly pedantic.
<Insert clever signature here>
Just make sure the party has a variant human who took the Keen Mind feat and you're pretty much good for the campaign unless more than a month has passed :)
If the player's are completely blank, I might have them roll for it, but usually if there's clearly an effort and they can recall some element and they're just imprecise, I just give it to them.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
The rules doesn't change just because we're in a particular forum. Your claim that there is such a thing as a skill check is still wrong.