# Monster knowledge handouts



## Truename (Jan 9, 2010)

I put together some monster knowledge handouts for Scouring of Gates Pass that I thought I'd share. (I didn't do humanoids or animals, so there's just two: the Wisp Solon and the Pseudodragon.)

These are designed to provide three levels of information depending on what knowledge check your PCs get. To construct it, print each handout double-sided, then fold it like a letter along the dashed lines. Use a dot of glue or rubber cement to hold it together. I left some space on the left margin for a three-hole punch.

At the table, break the glue seals according to your players' knowledge roll, and hand it out. Enjoy!


----------



## sfedi (Jan 11, 2010)

I LOVE the handouts.

Although I don't get how to print and fold them 

Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Truename (Jan 11, 2010)

sfedi said:


> I LOVE the handouts.
> 
> Although I don't get how to print and fold them
> 
> Thanks for sharing!




Thanks! When you print, you should end up with one piece of paper printed on both sides. To do this, you need a duplex printer OR you can simply put the first page back in the paper tray and print again.

Then to fold, let's take the Psuedodragon as an example. This is much easier to do than to describe. There's just two folds.

To get oriented, look at the very bottom of the page--you should see some faint grey numbers at the bottom of each column. Column 1 is the "Lore" column and provides DC 15 information. Column 2 is the "Powers" column and provides DC 20 info. Column 3 is the "Vulnerabilities" column--it combines with column 2 and 4 to provide DC 25 info.

What we want to do is fold the paper so that we can selectively reveal the DC 15, 20 or 25 info depending on what the players roll.

1. First, put the paper on the table in front of you with the dashed lines down. You should be looking at the side with the 2, 3, and 4 on the bottom. Orient it so the numbers are along the bottom edge and the words "Mountain Pseudodragon" are in the upper right corner.

2. Now make the first fold. Hold the left side down and lift up the right edge, curling it up and over to the left so that it covers up column 3. Keep going until you can see the dashed line printed on the other side, and crease the paper along that line.

3. Now you should only see the Powers column, which is column #2. The black-and-white picture should be covered up by the folded paper.

4. Now fold again. Take the right hand edge and fold it, like before, along the second dashed line. This should cover up the Powers stat block and reveal column 1, the Lore column. You're done.

The result should be a tall, narrow piece of folded paper with a strip exposed on the left hand side. (That's for a three-hole punch.) On the front of the paper is the Lore column. That's the DC 15 handout. Unfold it once and you see the Powers column. That's the DC 20 handout. Unfold it again, and you see the whole sheet with the numbers 2, 3, and 4 on the bottom. That's the DC 25 handout.

The idea is that you use a dot of glue to hold the folds closed and then you unfold it at the table according to your players' knowledge roll.

I hope that's clear--like I said, it's a lot harder to describe than to do.


----------



## Truename (Jan 12, 2010)

*The rest of Scouring of Gate Pass*

I had some time, so I created the rest of the monster knowledge handouts for Gate Pass. This includes all the non-minion, non-unique monsters in the tactical encounters.


----------



## Burchard (Jan 13, 2010)

I downloaded the zipped file, but can't open the documents! These don't seem to be pdf like the other ones...any chance I can get the pdf versions?


----------



## Truename (Jan 13, 2010)

Burchard said:


> I downloaded the zipped file, but can't open the documents! These don't seem to be pdf like the other ones...any chance I can get the pdf versions?




Oops! Those were the original iWork documents. I've attached the PDFs.


----------



## Burchard (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks!!! We're kicking off the campaign this Saturday and these will come in very handy!


----------



## john112364 (Feb 2, 2010)

These are very cool. Good job dude. I love this place. You find all kinds of cool stuff!


----------



## scrubkai (Feb 6, 2010)

Just wondering....

Do you guys really give your players all that information on a knowlege roll?
I never do, am I being too stingy?

I think per the PHB you get:
Name, Type and Keywords at 15
Powers at 20
Resistances and vulnerabilities at 25.

For example on the Moutain Psudodragon I would give out:
15: Moutain Psudodragon, Beast (Reptile) and the Lore.
20: 15 Info + "You know they have a bite and a Poison Tail Sting.  Plus they are highly manuverable in the air, can turn invisible and have been known release poision clouds when they die."
25: 20 Info + No special resistances or vulnerabilities.

That's all the players get.  No numbers, no defenses just the basics so they know generally what to expect.

I'm I being too stingy with my info?
Just wondering how everyone else plays this...


----------



## GuyPRunkle (Feb 7, 2010)

Scrubkai,

I give out exactly the same info that you do (though my players are fighting some paragon level foes now so the DC's jump by 5).  I charge them a minor action to make the check and have them do it on their turn.  Judging from the fact that they almost always spend the action to run the check, I suspect that they find it useful anyway . . . 

Guy


----------



## Blackbrrd (Feb 7, 2010)

scrubkai said:


> Just wondering....
> 
> Do you guys really give your players all that information on a knowlege roll?
> I never do, am I being too stingy?
> ...




I don't give out much information at all to my players. My current campaign that have gotten to level 9 I haven't had a single knowledge roll because I have discouraged it. Slowing down combat with a lot of knowledge rolls feels very unnatural and weird.

On the other hand, I explain abilities after they are used so it's clear what is happening in game mechanical terms. In addition, if I get a plain question: "are they undead", I usually answer it if there isn't a specific reason to withhold the information.

I often give the players hints about what defenses are high/low so the archer doesn't waste his arrows on the soldiers walking in formation.  It's something I believe any character would be able to see, so I give the information to the players.

Regarding giving information about powers - why should the players have all the information for free. I like to have them work for it. It makes it more exciting meeting new monsters and it really feels more natural.


----------



## scrubkai (Feb 7, 2010)

Blackbrrd said:


> I don't give out much information at all to my players. My current campaign that have gotten to level 9 I haven't had a single knowledge roll because I have discouraged it. Slowing down combat with a lot of knowledge rolls feels very unnatural and weird.





Hmmm... Interesting, but I don't think that would work in my game.
One of my players is playing a Sage and really that's all that he does...   He provides the rest of the party with the odd info about anything they meet and allows the other players to use it to craft interesting plans.   In combat, he normally just spends his first turn checking out the enemies and relaying to the rest of the party any major things to look out for.  

We've always just assumed that he is drawing on past knowledge and relaying it to a party...  Much like I do with my kids when hiking through the woods, I point out the animials and tell them what they need to know.   (e.g. Stop.  That's a badger, it's mean and will defend it's home, just back away slowly...)


----------



## Jhaelen (Feb 8, 2010)

I never reveal any actual numbers, just general tendencies. I also only reveal only one power or special ability for every 5 skill points above and beyond the required DC.


----------



## Truename (Feb 8, 2010)

scrubkai said:


> We've always just assumed that he is drawing on past knowledge and relaying it to a party...  Much like I do with my kids when hiking through the woods, I point out the animials and tell them what they need to know.   (e.g. Stop.  That's a badger, it's mean and will defend it's home, just back away slowly...)




That's how our game works, too. The character with the knowledge roll gets the handout, which represents in-world knowledge using player terminology, and then the player shares that with the others using his own words.

I created these handouts because people weren't making knowledge rolls and I wanted them to have a reason to use their skills.

The original incarnation just used prose, but the players found it too difficult to reference during combat, so I switched to the statblock format. My reasoning was that, rather than contort myself coming up with descriptions ("a nasty bite" vs. "a really nasty bite" vs "a devastating bite"), why not just let the players use their knowledge of the game rules to gain the same intuitive understanding the character has?

I used to be very stingy with information, but now I save the mystery for things that really matter. And I don't put _every_ ability on the handout... just the ones characters would reasonably know about. 

That said, I'm going to see how it works out for Scouring of Gate Pass and then possibly provide less information based on my players' comments.


----------

