A monster may have similar stats to a PC, e.g., Armour Class 10, Spear as a ranged weapon, etc.
When an encounter occurs, what part does the GM actually tell to the players? I suppose something like "an orc", but what else?
- Does a typical description describe the weapons of the orc?
- Do PC need to make a knowledge skill check to see what weapons a monster is actually wielding?
- Is the AC of an enemy known to players, or can it be obtained via a knowledge check?
- If an enemy is magical, can an arcane knowledge check provide every bit of information about such a monster?
- When a monster does not take damage from non magical weapons, does the GM inform the heroes about that or simply says "no damage" on an damage roll?
Would this be regarded as a free action then? I mean it might be good to obtain knowledge that the monster deals fire damage so a player is able to equip his hero with the appropriate armour, but it is also plausible that the player does not know such details until this attack is used for the first time.
Best Answer
When the players's characters meet a creature, the GM (or the players) could ask for a Knowledge skill check. Normally, people will first roll the dice and then ask what skill they should use, as it varies from monster to monster. The higher the result, the more information they recall about the creature.
The GM either has to look up the monster's stats and consider what could be useful on that situation and worth recalling for the character. Or ask the player what he would probably remember about the creature. The later is prone to metagaming, and the player could ask for things the monster might not have (a tiger has no vulnerabilities).
The GM should be careful to not give out information that is already obvious to the characters. An orc wielding a two-handed heavy axe that you identify that it is certainly a battle-axe and not a handaxe is not an useful piece of information in any form or shape, as that hardly helps against that orc.
Equipment is usually descriptive when you describe the encounter or the actions taken by the enemies. If said orc seems like he is wearing a breast plate with leather scraps, then that's probably a given that is is wearing a breastplate as his armor and will probably have at least 16 AC.
What you shouldn't give out as information:
Let me just add that nothing stops you from giving out a creature's stats, but you don't have to, there are no rules saying you should. I know that some GM's prefer to hand out stats, but that moves the game a bit from a roleplaying game and more towards a tabletop game.
What is a good narrative information that you could give them:
And there are things you could say without any knowledge check, such as:
What is a special ability or vulnerability then?
This one is actually easy to answer. Look up a monster's stats. Read it thoroughly.
Now, what is the first thing that comes up when you think about it. That's the relevant information!
If the creature is a dragon, this is usually their dragon breath, their powerful spells, their high intelligence, or their frightening aura. If the creature is a ghoul, that should be their disease and paralyzing touch. If the creature is a succubus, that should be her charming and polymorphing powers. For a troll, that would be his regeneration that makes them immortal if fire is not used to burn the wounds, and so on.
Just keep in mind that this is an information that the character remembers. So he read or heard about this creature before, or a creature similar to the one he is looking at (or listening about). So, you have to think what about be something they would remember, what stands out most, what would make them scared of this creature.
Some facts about a medusa are completely irrelevant when you know that she can turn you into stone if you look into her eyes. Like, who cares if her bite is poisonous?, a lot of creatures are poisonous, but few of them can petrify you.
A vulnerability example is how trolls can be hurt by fire and acid.
Some creatures will have no special abilities, but their defenses or regenerative powers makes them strong. Knowing how to prevent their regeneration is something more useful to know than how much their bite hurts
Knowledge checks are not an action
This is exactly what the rules say. You don't have to waste an action to make a knowledge check, not even a free action. Which means you can make the check even when surprised and it's not your turn.
That doesn't mean you should tell the player everything about the creature before the combat even starts. Otherwise you might see some bad metagaming from the other players who just heard this information before the character that knows it even had the chance to speak.
Normally, it's good practice to wait for the character's turn before describing the result of his roll. So, after hearing what he knows about it, he can tell others on his turn using his free action to speak.