[RPG] mechanic for a PC to learn the relative strength of an opponent, stat-wise

combatdnd-5egm-techniquesmonsters

TL;DR: It would be realistic for a PC to be able to evaluate how mechanically strong their opponent is, but I couldn’t find any RAW for this. Am I missing something?

Certain skill checks in DnD, like Nature or Religion, allow PCs to learn bits of lore or narrative information about their opponents. Depending on the check result, you can learn about their position in the world, strengths and weaknesses, common knowledge, even types of attack.

However, from what I understand (correct me if I’m wrong), such a check can’t tell the players any mechanical information about the creature – their HP, AC, CR, etc. But in a game as combat-oriented as DnD, knowing an opponent’s stats, or at least how they relate to yours, is vital to make an informed decision on how to proceed with this interaction – behave recklessly, cautiously, etc.

Imo, it’s not unreasonable to wish to be able to evaluate your opponent. After all, IRL by looking at someone you can get a general understanding of how dangerous they’d be in a fight. In some marginal cases looks can be deceiving, but on average – you’d know who can kick whose ass.

In DnD, however, where we have CR5 trolls and CR16 snake-girls (Marilith), PCs can’t base their decisions on the looks of the opponent. But, realistically speaking, living in this world they should know how to evaluate someone’s relative strength.

So, how can I let my players know the power gap between them and the other creatures?

Best Answer

Know Your Enemy

The "Know Your Enemy" Battle Master Fighter feature (PHB, pp. 73-74) does exactly that:

The DM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to two of the following characteristics of your choice:

  • Strength score
  • Dexterity score
  • Constitution score
  • Armor Class
  • Current hit points
  • Total class levels (if any)
  • Fighter class levels (if any)

However, the question premise is a bit flawed

Certain skill checks in DnD, like Nature or Religion, allow PCs to learn bits of lore or narrative information

That is not exactly true. There are no skill checks in 5th edition. Using particular skills in order to achieve some expected goal was the 3.x thing. It is not the way how 5e is supposed to work.

Instead, players describe, what do their characters do. So a player just asks you "I observe a monster for a while. Do I understand, how dangerous it is?" As a DM you might (or might not) ask a player for an ability check before resolving the outcome. Revealing a particular creature's stats is a decision that is completely up to the DM.

how can I let my players know the power gap between them and the other creatures?

If you are the DM, it's your concern to give players information that is relevant, reasonable and accessible. Read a couple of relevant questions:

Mechanics knowledge is table-dependent

in a game as combat-oriented as DnD, knowing an opponent’s stats, or at least how they relate to yours, is vital to make an informed decision

That's true. This is the reason, why some DMs explicitly reveals monsters stats. There is nothing wrong with it. While DMG suggests a few ways of conveying remaining hit points, it also mentions that a DM can say the number explicitly. The same is true for other stats, and table-dependent as well, see Are enemies' combat statistics and current HP public or hidden?

See also Does D&D 5e have a rule for character knowledge about monsters?

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