Hello!

I was wondering which Skill is to be used when Acolytes wanna "hit the books" - make use of the library/records, etc.; Inquiry or some other?

Thanks!

L

By default, it is whatever Lore skill relates to the topic they are researching. If there is no lore skill that covers it such as researching administratum records in regards to tithe amounts counted in Counting House 228 last quarter, then another appropriate Int skill such as Bureaucracy or Logic in the last example would work or just plain good old fasioned Literacy. I reckon, in a pinch, you could use Inquiry tying the roll to Int instead of Fel but Inquiry, for the most part, is more about talking to folks, eves dropping on gossip and knowing what to pick out of that gossip, and general door to door canvasing tactics more then anything.

"It depends" . I made my PC;s use multiple skills when trying to access and use Library data ( Ecclesiarchy records in this case ). My solution was the following:

1) Finding & getting access: Common Lore ( whatever is relevant ), possibly followed by Charm/Deceive test to get around the stubborn Librarian.

2) Deciphering the text: know relevant language ( High Gothic in my example ), test Literacy. DoS works as a modifier to Step 3.

3) Collecting the necessary data: Test relevant Scholastic Lore. Positive DoS from previous step reduce the amount of time the extended test takes at this stage.

Hi:

Thanks for the input!

I see the Lore skills are all Advanced... What to roll if the PCs don't have 'em?

L

LETE said:

...nothing? Just give them what you think someone with absolutely no clue about what they're looking for nor how to recognize it once they find it would find and think was useful. This might be a good time for them to higher a research assistant or expert in fill-in-the-blank field perhaps ;-)

Just remember, knowledge is a precious and guarded thing in 40k and hard to come by. Going into a librarium in 40k looking for information on topic you know next to nothing about would be like like Joe Sixpack today deciding to step into a library (no google in 40k) to look up the legal protections and ramifications of establishing a Limited Liability Corporation in the state of Louisiana with a man who is a convicted felon who has a judgment against them from a lawsuit to the tune of $40,000 as a silent partner. Would they even know where to look, what to look for, and recognize the answer for what it is when they find it? See, that's when Joe Sixpack highers an expert (lawyer) to do that for him ;-)

LETE said:

Instead of driving the PC;s to a dead end, give them a chance to achieve the search result with another skill. Literacy and Logic come to mind as possible substitutes. Just make the test a bit more difficult, since the skill used is not the optimal one. So if the test was Challenging (+0) with the "proper" skill, make it Difficult (-10) or even Hard (-20).

Aajav-Khan said:

Sorry for posting so quickly after my last answer but I had to add to Aajav's post. If you go such a suggested rout, I'd recommend making it as harsh as you can, at the very least -20 or more. However, and I really want to stress this, I'd opt to subtly suggest the PCs seek out an expert.

Seeking out and getting the assistance (willingly or not) of said expert would be a great time to stress the value and importance of information and knowing it. This would allow your plot to continue (there's always more than one way around a problem even if that problem is knowing something) as well as stressing the value of networking. Hell, their inquisitor already knows that value otherwise they'd be happy manufactorium drones and not pounding the pavement for the inquisition -they just need to get some people to pund some pavment (or parchment as the case may be) for them. This would also open up some interesting rp doors as well as they seek out the expert and, by what ever means they can devise (payment, torture, promises of power, sexual favors, and God-Emperor only knows what else) to get said expert to research and give them the knowledge they seek.

In a setting like 40k, the seeking and acquisition of knowledge should never be a simple affair that just anyone could do easily and those who have it have a lot of power. This should be stressed and known and not downplayed or hand-waived else you'll find your self doing a lot of back peddling to make lores and what tech-priests and adepts do a viable thing in latter levels.

Graver said:

Trying to get an outside expert is certainly one possible solution. But depending on the circumstances it might not always be possible. Availability, time and cost are all factors that might be against the PC;s. Secrecy might also be a concern. If the research is part of an undercover investigation its probably a good idea to keep the number of people involved as small as possible.

To OP: I hope we have been able to be of help. Good luck on the campaign .