The Art of Investigation
Texto
Characters in Legend of the Five Rings do not use any one skill for perceiving their environment or drawing conclusions about it; instead, various approaches for other skills cover this activity. Most often, investigating an object or place uses the Scholar skill group approaches relevant to the information they want to acquire.
Within the fiction of the game, this reflects the fact that perceptiveness is in large part derived from one’s expertise. Sharp senses can be helpful, to be sure, but knowing what to look for is far more crucial.
For example, a skilled weaponsmith is far more able to see subtle details in the pattern of a blade than similarly obscure animal tracks in a forest, and they can identify the significance of minor nicks and dents that even the keenest survivalist would not notice when looking at a sword. Handling investigation this way allows different characters to shine in different fields and show off their expertise in their respective areas of strength.
During an investigative scene, the GM should offer the PCs a few angles they can explore, helping to guide them in their skill selection. However, if a character wishes to search an area for objects and clues of interest but is unsure which skill to use, they can generally fall back on a skill that can yield information about the area they are searching. Examples include:
Wilderness environments: Survival
Large cities: Commerce or Skulduggery
Small towns: Labor
High courts: Culture or Government
Markets or docks: Commerce or Seafaring
Shrines or religious locales: Theology
Libraries: Government or Theology
Battlefields: Tactics
Below are a number of examples of investigations characters might commonly undertake:
Table 3–7: Sample TNs, Tasks, and Times for Investigations
TASK | CHECK | TIME
TN 1 Sentiment
Noticing someone in a crowded room who has unconcealed hostile intent and could be a danger
(Water) check | Action
TN 2 Government
Finding a section that has been torn away from a historical scroll and remembering what it contained based on context
(Earth) check | Action
TN 3 Skulduggery
Searching a criminal’s abandoned hideout to determine their goals based on what they took with them
Locating an object that a shugenja has rendered invisible
(Fire) check | Downtime
TN 4 Theology
(Void) check | Action
TN 5 Medicine
Learning a potentially identifying detail about a killer by studying a weeks-old corpse
(Air) check | Downtime
Texto do livro
Core Rulebook · Chapter 3: Skills › Trade Skill Group › Trade Skills › Survival · p. 165 p. 170
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Characters in Legend of the Five Rings do not use any one skill for perceiving their environment or drawing conclusions about it; instead, various approaches for other skills cover this activity. Most often, investigating an object or place uses the Scholar skill group approaches relevant to the information they want to acquire.
Within the fiction of the game, this reflects the fact that perceptiveness is in large part derived from one’s expertise. Sharp senses can be helpful, to be sure, but knowing what to look for is far more crucial.
For example, a skilled weaponsmith is far more able to see subtle details in the pattern of a blade than similarly obscure animal tracks in a forest, and they can identify the significance of minor nicks and dents that even the keenest survivalist would not notice when looking at a sword. Handling investigation this way allows different characters to shine in different fields and show off their expertise in their respective areas of strength.
During an investigative scene, the GM should offer the PCs a few angles they can explore, helping to guide them in their skill selection. However, if a character wishes to search an area for objects and clues of interest but is unsure which skill to use, they can generally fall back on a skill that can yield information about the area they are searching. Examples include:
Wilderness environments: Survival
Large cities: Commerce or Skulduggery
Small towns: Labor
High courts: Culture or Government
Markets or docks: Commerce or Seafaring
Shrines or religious locales: Theology
Libraries: Government or Theology
Battlefields: Tactics
Below are a number of examples of investigations characters might commonly undertake:
Table 3–7: Sample TNs, Tasks, and Times for Investigations
TASK | CHECK | TIME
TN 1 Sentiment
Noticing someone in a crowded room who has unconcealed hostile intent and could be a danger
(Water) check | Action
TN 2 Government
Finding a section that has been torn away from a historical scroll and remembering what it contained based on context
(Earth) check | Action
TN 3 Skulduggery
Searching a criminal’s abandoned hideout to determine their goals based on what they took with them
Locating an object that a shugenja has rendered invisible
(Fire) check | Downtime
TN 4 Theology
(Void) check | Action
TN 5 Medicine
Learning a potentially identifying detail about a killer by studying a weeks-old corpse
(Air) check | Downtime