Society (Int; Trained Only)
You understand the people and systems that make civilization run, and you know the historical events that made societies what they are today. Part of this expertise includes a greater understanding of languages.
Functions: Create or detect forgeries, decipher writing, identify monsters (humanoids), learn languages, recall knowledge (about history, locales, or nobility).
Core Skills: Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), Linguistics.
Create or Detect Forgeries
You must have the proper writing materials to create a forgery. If the handwriting doesn't need to be specific to a person, you need only to have seen a similar document before, and you gain a +8 bonus on the check. To forge a signature, you need an autograph of that person to copy, which grants a +4 bonus on the check. You need a larger handwriting sample to forge a longer document in that person's script.
The GM rolls a Society check to create a forgery secretly, so you're not sure how good your forgery is until someone examines the work. The examiner attempts an opposed Society check, modified by any applicable bonuses or penalties listed under the decipher writing function of Society.
Action: 1 minute to 1d4 minutes per page to create a forgery, or 1 round per page to detect a forgery.
Try Again: Yes, though examiners who encounter forged documents will be more cautious of future documents.
Decipher Writing
A Society check can allow you to decipher writing in an unfamiliar language or a message written in an incomplete or archaic form. If you succeed at your check, you understand the general content of about one page worth of writing. If you fail, you must succeed at a DC 5 Wisdom check or draw a false conclusion about the text. Both checks are rolled by the GM in secret, so you don't know whether the conclusion you drew is true or false.
| Unfamiliar Message |
Society DC |
| Simple message | 20 |
| Standard text | 25 |
| Intricate, exotic, or very old writing | 30 |
Action: 1 minute per page.
Try Again: Yes.
Identify Monsters
Society can be used to identify monsters of the humanoid type. See Monster Identification.
Learn Languages
Each time you put a rank in Society, you learn to speak and read a new language. See the Core Rulebook for a list of common languages.
Action: None. Unlike with other skill uses, you gain this benefit at all times.
Recall Knowledge
Society can be used to recall knowledge on the inhabitants of a region, important personalities, royalty, noble lineages, historical events, customs, legends, and laws. See Recall Knowledge for details. Use the following DCs for certain tasks.
| Task |
Society DC |
| Know laws, rulers, and popular locations | 10 |
| Know of a recent or historically significant event | 10 |
| Determine the approximate date of specific event | 15 |
| Know a common rumor or tradition | 15 |
| Know proper etiquette | 15 |
| Know hidden organizations, rulers, and locations | 20 |
| Know a line of succession | 20 |
| Know an obscure or ancient historical event | 20 |
