We have just started playing 4e D&D (bought the books and then 5e comes out sigh) and I want to know what is the difference between the modifier and a check? For example, a character might have an Intelligence of 14 with a modifier of +2 and a check of +2. Some skills have modifiers but no checks or checks but no modifiers. When do you use a modifier and when do you use a check?
[RPG] How to use modifiers and checks
dnd-4e
Related Solutions
First of all, it's a Knowledge check
Don't lose sight of the fact that the player asked to make a Knowledge check because he or she wants information. There's no way around that. Don't worry about that information breaking the flow. If the player doesn't want to break the flow by getting that information, he or she would not be requesting the check.
Tease out the information
Take a minute and give the player some information, piece by piece. Make it into a little guessing game where the player is going to get all the information, but tease it out.
"Well, they're humanoid, with orange skin."
"Like orcs?"
"Smaller. And they don't have the pig snouts."
"Some kind of goblin?"
"Yeah, but bigger than goblins. Much bigger."
"Hobgoblins?"
"That's it!"
The goal is to get the player, as his character, involved in the information analysis. Simulate the training the character might have.
Obviously, if you pick some obscure monster that the player has never heard of ("a fell taint? really, that's what it's called? surely that's some kind of joke!"), then you might need to help out more than usual.
Handing them the Monster Manual probably will break the flow, so I wouldn't recommend that.
Make it personal
This is supposed to be knowledge the character has, right? So make it personal. Instead of telling the player, "It's an orc," and giving all the stats the Knowledge check provides, add in some history or back-story.
This is a golden opportunity for a Dungeon Master. Don't squander it!
"I make a Knowledge check. 29! What is it?" "Well, your mentor, Grim Wizard Horace, used to talk about these things all the time. He said they were wisps of insubstantial evil that ripped through planar material." "Wow, they sound dangerous." "Sorta. Probably manageable. Horace said they weren't that tough for him and his adventuring party, the Wrecking Crew, and you're as powerful now as he was then, probably. But he warned of one thing." "Oh?" "Yeah, he said that when their paladin, Golden Boy Gabriel, fell unconscious, the damned things became material again and started feeding on poor Gabe. Sucked his life out of him." "What are these things called?" "Oh, you'd never forget that. Horace called them 'fell taints,' though you're not sure if those are the official taxonomic designation or if he was just being crude."
It sounds like you're asking which rolls gain the ubiquitous +1/2 level bonus. The easy answer is:
Most every d20 roll that gains an ability stat modifier as a bonus also gains 1/2 your level as a bonus to the roll.
- Attack rolls, initiative, skill checks, ability checks
Rolls that don't use a d20 don't get the level bonus.
- Damage rolls
d20 rolls that don't get an ability modifier as a bonus don't get the level bonus either.
- Saves
All defenses also gain +1/2 level, so as to scale with attacks.
There are, of course, always edge cases, but the above is a good rule of thumb for 1/2 level bonuses.
Now, your other questions...
The "Check" box is for ability modifier + 1/2 level.
I personally find this produces more math than it's worth because then you have to subtract the level bonus when recalculating damage and the like, so I put just the ability mod in it.
"Misc." is for "Miscellaneous"
Extra bonus from feats, items, and so forth, go here.
"Add +1 to the modifier" means increase a +2 to a +3, and your attack increases by +1.
The +1 in their instruction is the +1/2 level bonus at level 2. If that counts as recalculation then yes, recalculate your attack.
Storm Hammer example
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
This means that you roll 1d20 + your Wisdom modifier + 1/2 your level + weapon proficiency (because Storm Hammer has the 'weapon' keyword) + any additional bonuses from weapon enhancement or feats or the like.
(When Wizards mentions an ability as part of a power or feature, like "Wisdom" in the attack line here, they mean the ability modifier. If they meant the whole stat, they'd have said "Wisdom score.")
If the result you get from the attack roll meets or breaks the target's Fortitude defense, you hit! So move to the hit line.
Hit: 1[W] + Wisdom modifier lightning and thunder damage.
Level 21: 2[W] + Wisdom modifier lightning and thunder damage.
That's 1[W] (the damage die your weapon deals, in your case 1d8) + your Wisdom modifier + any additional bonuses from weapon enhancement or feats or the like. The total of that roll is the damage you deal to the target of the attack.
The modifier you add to a roll only increases when one of those subcategories increases: If your Wisdom score increases, the modifier might also; or you could take a feat that gives you a bonus, or get a better weapon, and so forth. This means that your attack rolls will increase by at least 1 every other level (the +1/2 level bonus increases) even if you don't do anything else to bump them up. Your damage will probably increase more slowly, from feat and item drops, and as it says on the card at level 21 you get to roll two weapon dice instead of one.
Better Resources
All I can really point to is the Player's Handbook 1 or Heroes of the Fallen Lands. They'll walk you through this process and explain these mechanics much better than I can, in a scope far beyond what a question like this can cover. The Rules Compendium is also invaluable, but doesn't walk you through this process.
Best Answer
A modifier is the +2, that is, you gain +2 to all intelligence rolls.
A check is the roll itself. If you are trying to best someone at a game of chess, the DM might say "Make an Intelligence check". You would then roll a d20, add the intelligence modifier, and that would be your result.
However, more often than not you will have a skill associated with what you want to do. For example, if you want to study a plant and determine its origins, instead of making an Intelligence check, you would make a Nature check, using the nature skill. In general, Nature is reflective of your intelligence, but if you have trained in it due to your class (for example a Druid), you would use your Nature skill for the check.
In short, likely the way you are reading them can be used interchangeably. +2 on Intelligence checks is the same as a modifier of +2.