Knowledge (religion) (INT; Trained only)

(Player's Handbook v.3.5 variant, p. 78)

Description

Like the Craft and Profession skills, Knowledge actually encompasses a number of unrelated skills. Knowledge represents a study of some body of lore, possibly an academic or even scientific discipline. Below are listed typical fields of study. With your DM's approval, you can invent new areas of knowledge.

  • Arcana (ancient mysteries, magic traditions, arcane symbols, cryptic phrases, constructs, dragons, magical beasts)
  • Architecture and engineering (buildings, aqueducts, bridges, fortifications)
  • Dungeoneering (aberrations, caverns, oozes, spelunking)
  • Geography (lands, terrain, climate, people)
  • History (royalty, wars, colonies, migrations, founding of cities)
  • Local (legends, personalities, inhabitants, laws, customs, traditions, humanoids)
  • Nature (animals, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids, plants, seasons and cycles, weather, vermin)
  • Nobility and royalty (lineages, heraldry, family trees, mottoes, personalities)
  • Religion (gods and goddesses, mythic history, ecclesiastic tradition, holy symbols, undead)
  • The planes (the Inner Planes, the Outer Planes, the Astral Plane, the Ethereal Plane, outsiders, elementals, magic related to the planes)

Action

Usually none. In most cases, making a Knowledge check doesn't take an action—you simply know the answer or you don't.

Try again

No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn't let you know something that you never learned in the first place.

Synergy

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (arcana), you get a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (architecture and engineering), you get a +2 bonus on Search checks made to find secret doors or hidden compartments.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (geography), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made to keep from getting lost or to avoid natural hazards.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (history), you get a +2 bonus on bardic knowledge checks (see page 28).

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (local), you get a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nature), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made in aboveground natural environments (aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountains, or plains).

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nobility and royalty), you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion), you get a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead (see page 159).

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (the planes), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while on other planes.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (dungeoneering), you get a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while underground.

If you have 5 or more ranks in Survival, you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks.

Untrained

An untrained Knowledge check is simply an Intelligence check. Without actual training, you know only common knowledge (DC 10 or lower).

Required for feats

Feat name
Arcane Disciple
Armor of Scales
Celestial Summoning Specialist
Deathless Fleshgrafter
Divine Denial
Ecclesiarch
Epic Spellcasting (Arcana)
Epic Spellcasting (Nature)
Epic Spellcasting (Religion)
Fell Conspiracy
Fiendish Summoning Specialist
Ghost Scarred
Heart of Dragons
Master of Undeath
Mother Cyst
Paladin of the Noble Heart
Pious Defense
Pious Soul
Pious Spellsurge
Ritual Blessing