Use this skill for making contacts in an area, finding out local gossip, rumour-mongering and collecting general information.
Check: An evening’s time, a few gold pieces for buying drinks and making friends, and a DC 10 Gather Information check get you a general idea of a city’s major news items, assuming there are no obvious reasons why the information would be withheld. The higher your check result, the better the information.
If you want to find out about a specific rumour, or a specific item or obtain a map, or do something else along those lines, the DC for the check is 15 to 25, or even higher.
If a mass battle is to be fought in or near an inhabited area, a DC 20 Gather Information check provides a strategic advantage to your force (see Strategic Advantages).
Learn Organization Structure: You can learn a broad overview of the command structure of an organization: who the officers or leaders are; how many layers of command exist between the highest-level officers and the average foot soldier (or entry-level operative); how to identify ranks within the organization; and what kind of authority the various members have. Discovering the names of specific members of the organization adds 10 to the DC of the Gather Information check, and knowing their location adds another 5.
The more secretive the organization, the more difficult this information is to obtain. Publicly recognized organizations are much easier to learn about than organizations that don’t officially exist. You can only obtain this information if someone in the community actually knows it. At the DM’s discretion, members of the local community may be completely ignorant of an organization operating in their area. For example, if a bandit crew is using the remote and long-abandoned monastery dozens of miles away, and no one outside the organization knows they are there, the average citizen can’t provide any information about their command structure.
The table below shows the various DCs and examples of what sorts of groups they represent.
| Organization | DC | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Public | 10 | Local government, local guild |
| Private | 15 | Private club, military |
| Exclusive | 20 | Invitation-only club, local criminals |
| Secretive | 25 | Espionage group, criminal cartel |
| Unknown | 30 | Shadow government, underground cult |
Avoid Suspicion (Epic): By accepting a -20 penalty on his or her Gather Information check, you can avoid any suspicions that might otherwise be aroused by someone pursuing sensitive information.
Action: A typical Gather Information check takes 1d4+1 hours.
Try Again: Yes, but it takes time for each check. Furthermore, you may draw attention to yourself if you repeatedly pursue a certain type of information.
Special: A half-elf has a +2 racial bonus on Gather Information checks.
If you have the Investigator feat, you get a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks.
If you have the Urban Tracking feat, you can use Gather Information to track down the location of missing persons or wanted individuals within communities.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (Local), you get a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks.
Source: Player’s Handbook (Page 74), Epic Level Handbook (Page 41), Races of Destiny (Page 148)