Jason Andresen (order #1578489) - Jump page for Jubei

Legends & Lore
Legends and lore represent various myths and tales
of the Iron Kingdoms. Typically these tales give
insight into a creature’s history, habits, and powers.
At the core, these myths and legends should be
considered very carefully; they may save an adventurer from
a watery grave at the hands of a boatman or an eternity of
infernal servitude. An unheeded legend has been the death of
many an adventurer!
The sort of information you can gain from musty tomes,
ancient scrolls, and the legends of veteran adventurers often
varies in quality. Legends and lore are classified under one
of four types. Characters can find Common, Uncommon,
Rare, and Obscure lore depending on how well they search
for these secrets.
Common lore is easy to find. This can be the name of a
creature, what it is supposed to look like, or even speculations
on its origin. Typically this comes in the form of a tall tale
told by an old salt or a poorly written passage in an ancient
bestiary. Common lore is usually just enough to give a rough
idea of what adventurers may potentially face. A rare creature
might not have any Common lore.
Uncommon bits of lore tend to be more specific and helpful.
Examples are vague ideas of what sorts of powers a creature
may possess, weaknesses it might have, or even the vagaries
of where it might lair. Usually this lore comes in some concrete
form. Old maps from the attics of dead adventurers or
tomes and books written by half-mad scribes are good sources
for this sort of lore. An extremely rare creature might not have
any Common or Uncommon lore.
The realm of Rare lore is the province of the damned.
This information almost always comes from firsthand encounters,
survivors of attacks, or observations made by hidden
spies. Infernal tomes of summoning, a necromancer’s notebook,
a rogue apprentice’s betrayal—these can all grant Rare
lore. This sort of information is specific and often directly
useful. The specific powers of a creature or how to counter a
special attack it makes are types of Rare lore that might save
an adventurer’s bacon.
Obscure lore comes in many forms, such as fevered scrawling
found on asylum walls, dredged up secrets from ancient
writings, and the perturbing observations of otherworldly
diagrams. Obscure lore isn’t always directly helpful— the problem
with myths and ancient texts is that they often need to be
interpreted. Still, Obscure lore can reveal the origins of a creature
or its fatal flaws if the researcher is diligent.
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What You Already Know
Characters with ranks in Survival or a relevant Knowledge
skill may be aware of some facts about a creature already. The
DC for knowing a fact is based on the information’s obscurity.
Sample DCs are listed below under “Researching the
Unknown,” but note unless the correspondence between the
skill and the situation is amazingly good, only Common and
Uncommon lore can be known in this way. In other words, no
one with a good Knowledge score who rolls a lucky 20 is going
to pull a giant’s true name out of thin air!
What is a “relevant” skill? There is no specific answer; it
depends on the situation. Here are a couple examples.
• When the party is confronted with a glowing slime trail
left by a magical beast, the DM makes a secret Knowledge
(arcana) check for the wizard. The result is 14, meaning
some Common knowledge is known (see chart below
for DCs). The DM tells the wizard this is a sure sign a
“frilled gobbersnatcher” is about.
• Later in their quest, the party encounters a dracodile
in a marshy area near the foothills of the Wyrmwall
Mountains. Upon spying the creature, the DM allows
the ranger (whose favored enemy type is magical beasts)
to make a Survival check. The result is 18, Uncommon
knowledge. The DM informs the ranger the dracodile
lairs in swamps and marshes and mothers are extremely
protective of their eggs.
It is up to the DM to decide what skill is relevant and
assign fair DCs. Perhaps a creature is extremely rare or new to
the area—in such a case even a skilled character may have no
chance of knowing anything about it. Characters will not get
to check for lore on every creature they see, but those who specialize
in Creature Lore will be fonts of useful information.
Researching the Unknown
Knowledge skills and Survival are handy for instant recall of
common and uncommon facts, but how are the more obscure
legends uncovered? Through research, which can be a very
time-consuming prospect. Gather Information can be used for
research, as can the new skill Creature Lore. DMs may use other
skills that can be employed for research as well.
If you wish to research a creature, tomes and other relics
may provide an additional bonus. The tome used must be pertinent
to the creature type—a tome on undead to research shaft
wights, for example. The character needs to study one week for
each +1 of the tome’s bonus he wishes to employ. For instance a
+4 tome of undead lore bestows a +2 bonus after two weks of
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