📜 Character Knowledge Sheet

🎭 Character Identity

• Character Name:

• Race:

• Class:

• Background Summary (1–2 short paragraphs):

  Include details about birthplace, upbringing, social standing, and reason for becoming an adventurer.

🧙 Mentor or Instructor

• Name:

• Occupation/Class:

• Relationship:

• Notable Teachings or Sayings:

  Include memorable lessons, warnings, or secrets passed down. These may be lore hooks or personal quirks.

🌍 Regional & Cultural Knowledge

What your character knows based on where they were raised or the people they lived among.

• Homeland terrain familiarity (e.g., mountains, swamps):

• Local customs or superstitions:

• Weather signs or natural omens:

• Regional legends or myths:

• Unique plants, creatures, or natural hazards:

📚 Class-Based Knowledge

Practical and theoretical knowledge relevant to the character’s class.

• Common lore (e.g., how to identify spell components, smith tools, lay traps):

• Survival or professional skills (e.g., ropework, herbalism, animal tracking):

• Political or religious insight:

• Magical or historical knowledge:

• Signature class abilities explained in-world:

🧬 Racial Knowledge

Specialized knowledge drawn from racial culture.

• Language or sign systems (e.g., Elven trail markers, Dwarven runes):

• Craftsmanship or trade (e.g., gemcutting, brewing, woodworking):

• Racial folklore or ancestral memory:

• Relationships with other races or monsters:

• Taboos, rituals, or beliefs unique to the race:

🔮 Miscellaneous Lore & Secrets

Add 2–5 unique tidbits for flavor and future plot use. Some examples:

• A legend your character believes in.

• A rare herb or creature they’ve heard about.

• The layout of a long-abandoned fortress.

• Knowledge of a noble family’s scandal.

• A superstition they refuse to ignore.

🧾 Notes & Observations (Player-Added)

Leave blank space for the player to record anything they've learned through play—like symbols deciphered, monster weaknesses, or secret doors discovered.

🧠 DM Tips for Use:

• Fill this out collaboratively or prepare it in secret.

• Pass updates between sessions or after major events.

• Include "red herrings" to keep players guessing.

• Use it to personalize quests, NPCs, and world lore.

…And Nobody Knows But You

By Russell Droullard

Imagine that an alien from a distant planet is visiting with you for a month. Although it speaks perfect English and understands the basic laws of Western civilization, it knows next to nothing about those tiny bits of knowledge you have acquired in your lifetime. Everything you take for granted, from the side of the road on which you drive to cordial ways of addressing people, must be taught to this being.

The alien is a rapid learner, though, and listens as you quickly point out many items of interest: Rainbows are reflections of raindrops in the sunlight; diamonds, the hardest and most precious stone known to man, can cut glass; chirpings heard at night are from crickets scraping their wings together; and four-leaf clovers are associated with good luck. As the days pass, you’re astonished at how much knowledge exists. By the time the month ends, you realize you’ve hardly scratched the surface of what you know.

This example illustrates an aspect of fantasy role-playing hardly touched upon by most gamers. In most FRPG campaigns, the player characters are the aliens, the outsiders visiting a new world — their own! Here they will discover untold new races, cultures, religions, languages, flora, fauna, and uncountable items that appear much like those of our world, yet are so different.

Unfortunately, most Dungeon Masters abandon such rich detail and fail to realize how unique their worlds are. Just as we know so much about our own planet, so do the inhabitants of your realm understand the natural laws and social conformities of their world. Farmers recognize tell-tale signs in clouds and animal reactions for weather predictions, elves know which wild berries are safe to eat, and fighters remember the best prices in town for armor.

The most important knowledge, however, is that possessed by the PCs. In your world of dragons and knights, these characters are the only footholds your players have in understanding the myriad natural laws you have devised or assumed exist. Some characters may know about legends or survival skills, others the herbal ingredients to make healing elixirs. However you as a DM decide to create and distribute such knowledge, each character is sure to have unique knowledge of the world.

The result of using this specialized character knowledge is the creation of a PC that is suddenly better defined, and more lifelike in your campaign. Given the presence of such knowledge, the PC is gifted with far more personality than one composed entirely of numbers and abilities. Unless you decide otherwise, no two characters will possess the same knowledge, further enhancing each one’s individuality. With their own storehouses of information, each character becomes all the more real in the player’s mind.

Specialized character knowledge also strengthens your campaigns with realism. Having already handed out information sheets to the players, imagine this scene in your adventure:

A low-level party finds a cave on the side of a shrub-covered hill. From inside the dark cavern, slobbering and crunching noises are heard. Thinking it to be a wild animal, the PCs prepare to attack when the druid in the party stops them. Pointing to a nondescript bush, he explains that such bushes are normally blooming with poisonous red berries. This one is stripped bare. As the players exchange worried glances, the druid continues with his exclusive character knowledge. Only trolls can stomach such deadly berries, and a stripped bloodberry bush is a sure sign that a troll is nearby. With that, the nervous party unanimously agrees to explore elsewhere.

Though no combat was joined, this scene can be just as exciting as any melee encounter. As in real life, the players must remember what information they possess and when to share it. Passing a private note to the druid’s player with the same information moments before finding the cave would have spoiled the purpose of the encounter. The troll cave was designed to be avoided by the weak party and to display the importance of specialized knowledge. It will become apparent to the players quite soon just how vital the information you have supplied them can be.

Character-Knowledge Sheets

Before you write out lists of knowledge for the PCs, you must at least know the races and classes that make up the party. These two factors are the prime influences over what knowledge any character possesses.

Elves certainly know more about nature and forests than dwarves who live beneath the stony earth, while thieves understand knot-making better than rune-reading magic-users.

When possible, copy down as much information about the characters as possible, even going so far as to photocopy all the character sheets. The more facts and statistics you have, the more refined and customized each page of information becomes.

The first portion of a character-knowledge page should include a brief history of the character, as developed by the player (with your approval) or by you (with the player’s approval), with a sentence or two about the PC’s parents. Establish his social standing (lower, middle, or upper class) and any lineage important to your campaign.

For example, if the warriors of your civilized nations proudly proclaim their father’s and father’s father’s deeds, then bestow a couple of memorable names on the lineage of the PC if he is a fighter.

Continue with a few notes describing the character’s life, even going so far as to explain why he chose his particular class. Don’t become engrossed in a long-winded history, however, as you’ll be wasting your time and boring the player when he reads it. A simple paragraph or two is perfect, as this creates roots for the character and gives him purpose and reason.

Follow with notes on the character’s mentor, an important NPC all too often ignored in role-playing. A mentor is both friend and teacher, and should be described with a spark of personality to accent the character. I often describe a special bond between instructor and student, telling about the extra attention that the mentor paid to the character and, in turn, the disciplined study displayed by the character.

Occasionally, I pass on a mentor’s experienced knowledge, such as the recollection that the only mithral armor in the realm lies far to the north in a dragon’s lair, or that the city guards of a certain city are corrupt and easily bribed. Childhood friends and family are rarely, if ever, used in role-playing, but a mentor is someone that a PC may return to over and over again. Give him the same respect and individuality you would give to any of your own characters.

The final part is the essence of these character-information sheets. Here you list all those bits of knowledge you think this character would know if he was a real person. Write about his knowledge of sailing or stargazing, rune-reading or metal-crafting. A character may know a fantastic legend about a mountain of treasure in a fiery volcano, or that a terrible sea serpent lives in a deceptively tranquil lake.

Cover all those aspects that make your world unique: art, languages, herbs, legends, magic, religion, culture, and superstitions, to name only a few. As you develop and create these bits of information, you’ll not only see the characters deepen with personality, you’ll watch your own world grow with new details and realism.

Racial Knowledge

Dwarves

Because of their inbred love for mountains and hills, dwarves are apt to know not only the region where they grew up like the backs of their hands, but also the surrounding countryside with fair accuracy. Dwarves are rugged individuals, and some have the ability to detect the reliability of weapons and other goods in addition to their skills at underground observation.

Some have skills in blacksmithing, others in surviving in barren mountains and hills (finding fresh water, edible roots, etc.). Of course, all dwarves know the importance of their beards and spend a good part of each morning grooming and trimming these symbols of pride and honor.

Elves

Most elves are lithe creatures living in secluded regions across the land. The sylvan elves are sure to know survival skills in the forest as well as how to identify many plants and animals. They may imitate bird calls to signal other elves or leave constructed signs (such as crossed twigs) for other elves to read.

Because of their long lives and love of nature, elves understand the basics of weather forecasting and long-term weather cycles, such as seasonal storms, changing tides, or temperature fluctuations every few years. However, although elves live hundreds of years, they are a secluded people and know little of civilized human history.

Gnomes

Although physically similar to dwarves, surface gnomes rarely live underground, finding otherwise uninhabited wooded hills to serve as homes for their clans. Often possessing great senses of humor, gnomes may have slightly ridiculous names or partake in silly traditions. Many know practical jokes and how to gather irritating dyes and powders from plants and animals.

Gnomes also love gems and crystals, and possess either the skills to cut gems or estimate their worth.

Half-Elves

Whether these beings are accepted or shunned in your campaign, half-elves are a rare stock of character due to the vast differences in lifestyles between humans and elves. For those half-elves in your party, decide in which racial culture the character was raised and assign knowledge accordingly.

Chances are, however, prejudice will result in a character not as well-rounded in knowledge as others of either the elven or human race.

Humans

Because of humanity’s ability to live in nearly every climate and geographical region, it is impossible to list all the various skills humans can have. Even a simple analysis of our own world should suggest many ideas.

Tropical inhabitants know skills in fishing, sailing, and rope working; those in colder climates understand ways to utilize every piece of hunted animal for food, weapons, or art. Those who live in cities know the best shops to buy various goods, while country folk know many of nature’s ways.

Peasants probably live lives centered on family ties, simple cooking, traditions, and hard work. Wealthy people usually center on worldly goods, entertainment, fine food, and politics. Common sense is the best determinant for detailing human knowledge.

Halflings

A quiet race, halflings have many skills centered on the betterment of their own lifestyles. Cooking, art, literature, craftsmanship—halflings share many skills with those most talented of the other races.

Although they do not possess the survival skills of elves and dwarves, halflings do have a knack for fine weapon crafting, object identification, and tool construction. The halfling lifestyle is open-ended, and many of their skills are determined by the campaign’s nature.

Character-Class Knowledge

Cavaliers and Paladins

Holy fighters, these pious individuals operate under strict codes of chivalry. (A complete European chivalric code is outlined in Unearthed Arcana, though any of it can be modified for your campaign.) Cavaliers and paladins are heroic figures to their respective kingdoms and may often be called upon by kings or mentors to fulfill great tasks.

They are celebrity-like figures in the public eye, especially when they reach higher levels, and even a tiny loss of honor is greatly damaging to their reputations and self-respect.

As for adventuring skills, these holy warriors have little. They know well the politics and codes of their societies and what their proper places are in protecting their kings, but they generally know little about the wilderness.

Clerics

The skills of a cleric are more likely to center on the magical side than on the fighting side. Clerics know the best places to find spell components and ingredients (either in nature or shops) and know which wild herbs or fruits cure wounds or poisons.

Because clerics have such strong bonds with their deities, they recognize subtle omens in answer to their prayers or feel the evil in opposing temples before anyone else does. As magicians who can heal, the skills of a cleric are sure to enhance his life-preserving abilities.

Druids

Druids are well attuned to nature and all of its manifestations. They are sure to know simple weather prediction, the identification of plants (as edible, poisonous, spell ingredients, etc.), identify non-magical animals, and perhaps survive in the wilderness without difficulty.

However, as great as their outdoor skills are, they should be deficient indoors and underground. They have no understanding of crafted items and are of little help in cities and towns. Druids have skills involving the earth, sky, plants, and animals, but little else.

Fighters, Barbarians, and Rangers

Fighters possess great ability and knowledge concerning weapons and armor. Some can fashion crude weapons from stone, branches, and rope, while others can repair their own equipment with the proper tools. Fighters may also know rope-knotting, trap-laying, and how to recognize the craftsmanship of tools.

Barbarians share these same skills, as well as having survival skills of their own. Rangers also share these fighter skills, though to a lesser degree, but should also have abilities that enhance their unique tracking abilities. They may recognize animal footprints, bird feathers, and other natural markings. Some rangers make use of every part of a killed animal, while others know efficient, practical ways of hunting.

Magic-Users and Illusionists

Though different in spell abilities, magic-users and illusionists share much in common in character knowledge. Both understand the importance of fresh spell components and know where (and sometimes when) to find the best places for their ingredients.

Due to their high intelligence, magic-users and illusionists are sure to know great lore concerning magical items, ruined castles, enchanted tombs, and other points of interest. Because they are the weakest in melee, some of these magicians may know evasive tactics or bargaining techniques to escape from foes—tidbits such as: orcs despise cold water, or ogres love fresh deer meat.

As a rare bit of knowledge, some magic-users may know certain, special spells that kill particular monsters instantly. Provide this knowledge with plenty of forethought, however.

Thieves, Thief-Acrobats, and Assassins

These unscrupulous individuals are sure to have knowledge in some of the more contemptible occupational areas. They have a great understanding of their cities’ layouts, including rooftops, alleys, shops, sewers, and guard posts, along with knowledge of typical crowd activities, which gangs and powerful characters control certain “turfs,” and where to buy and sell stolen goods.

Some PCs may have exclusive knowledge in the behind-the-scenes politics of a kingdom, while others can manipulate ropes, needles, and other tools to perform unusual and useful acts. These characters have few, if any, wilderness survival skills, but their street wisdom makes them vital in any city adventure.

Monks

One of the rarer character classes, monks are well-disciplined individuals. Much like the monks of our own history, they have some knowledge of botany, astronomy, chemistry, and other earthy sciences. In return for their studious knowledge, however, monks live without worldly possessions and luxuries. They seek inner peace and harmony that cannot be reached from wealth and status.

Bards

As entertainers who double as adventurers, bards are sure to be skillful at delighting audiences. Bards know simple magic tricks with cards, coins, and handkerchiefs, various recipes for mixing drinks, funny songs and riotous jokes, and important ballads and myths.

However, because bards are created after attaining levels as fighters and thieves, they are not spontaneously enlightened with this character knowledge. They pick up these abilities only when they actually become bards, either through watching crowd-pleasers or through private instruction.

Integrating Knowledge

Other factors shape the knowledge of characters. Wealth allows rich people to focus on life’s luxuries and arts; lack of wealth forces poor people to concentrate on life’s necessities.

Generally, nonhuman races are more immune to the social effects of wealth within their own clans or tribes, but caste systems, prejudices, and poor living conditions have the same effect. Typically, males dominate the ruling classes and have more opportunities than females with regard to gaining power and position in society (especially human society), but there is no reason why you cannot turn the tables and create a society governed by women, or one with equal rights for both sexes.

Sample Character-Knowledge Sheet

Lithadean Mooncloud
Female elven magic-user

History:
You were born and raised in the Sealden Forest, the largest stronghold of Forest Elves on the continent. Your parents, both fine artists, encouraged you to enter their profession, but you resisted. The arcane lore of magic-use enticed you into a profession commonly dominated by males. Although you received jests and ridicule from your fellow students, you prospered in your training and study, and graduated at the top of your class.

Shortly thereafter, you became an assistant under the wizard Ediana who had just returned to Sealdin after years of adventuring. The two of you developed a bond of great friendship, and he taught you everything he knew about the art of sorcery. It soon became obvious that you held knowledge superior to that of your peers, but as Ediana always said, “Wise ones don’t preach; they listen.” You held your tongue during boasting sessions and, as you realize in retrospect, became a better and more respected person because of it.

Now Ediana has instructed you to explore the world, and fill your mind with experience and knowledge. He does not expect your return for another five years.

Character Knowledge: (The following is known only to this character.)

• Ediana taught you the ancient magic-user script Felveron. It is no longer used today, but in ages past it was the hidden code of all great magic-users, inscribed on books, tombs, and chests.

• As an elf, you can create a special marker (such as torn leaves or piled stones) that conveys a simple message to other elves. Signs for danger, safety, and help are all common messages. These markers, based on the amount of time you have to make them, are nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings.

• When the moon is new and the stars are hidden by clouds, the eerie white light seen in some marshes comes from magical spider moss. When eaten shortly after being picked, spider moss cures wounds and restores health.

• Legends say that the Hall of Elven Kings, a grand tomb now far beneath the ocean waves, has locked within its walls the only staff of the magi known to exist. One can only guess the magicks that guard such a powerful treasure.

Of course, such a compilation of knowledge could go on forever. You could easily write pages of lore about the PC’s culture, commonly known legends, and reported magical properties of plants, but confine yourself to just a few points of interest. The purpose of these sheets is to establish the realism of that PC and your campaign, not to bury your player with trivia.

Putting Knowledge to Use

As you design these knowledge sheets, remember that they are useless unless you, as the Dungeon Master, make an effort to utilize them in your campaign. The adventures you make (or modify from packaged modules) should incorporate the information you are giving the players.

If you provide one player with knowledge that deer with silver antlers can sniff out magical items from great distances, or that roses growing in the shade of holy temples cure poison, then let such marvels be found.

The best way to integrate information like this is to determine the basics of your next adventure, deciding primarily on its purpose and location (forest, city, etc.). Now list on the knowledge sheets items that would help characters in this adventure to cross over obstacles or gain insight into completing the quest.

For example, you decide to have the party stumble upon a strange temple and explore the edifice. Give one character knowledge of this legendary temple “with blood-red gates and grinning statues that howl when the wind passes by them.” Inside, another character deftly fashions a rope bridge to cross a dank pit, as a third character mentions that the crystal shards around the chamber are caused by the touch of a rare breed of rust monster.

Later, a fourth character provides a bit of history about an enigmatic glyph on the sanctuary altar, while another warns about the beautiful but poisonous flowers in the temple’s courtyard.

Designing character knowledge sheets and adventures together involves considerably more planning than the average dungeon requires. But the results are well worth the effort.

Long-Term Use and Motivation

When characters can enlighten or warn the rest of the party without any cues from the Dungeon Master, the whole role-playing environment is suddenly enhanced and given the depth of realism that no other element can give.

Not only is it a good idea to photocopy your players’ character sheets, but copy their information sheets, too. This allows you to customize adventures to the PCs’ classes, races, levels, and knowledge. Occasionally collect the original knowledge sheets and add more items, writing some information on “up-and-coming” adventures and “general knowledge” that can be applied at any time.

Also add bits of information that serve no immediate purpose; this keeps the players from thinking that every time you update their sheets, they should expect to use all of their new knowledge in the next adventure. If need be, these “red herrings” can easily be incorporated into future adventures, but it never hurts to have a couple bits of knowledge that never seem to get used.

As you distribute these knowledge sheets to your players for the first time, gently encourage them not to share all of their information with each other. You can provide “common knowledge” during the game for everyone on knowledge that all characters would have.

Of course, this doesn’t mean character knowledge should never be shared, either! Rather, players should share their knowledge when and if the time is appropriate. If a player chooses not to divulge knowledge at an appropriate time, fine. If the party suffers because of that player’s selfishness, he must suffer the wrath of the other players — a terrible fate indeed!

Depending on the knowledge you provide, some players may find a long-term goal to strive for. For instance, the elf outlined earlier was told about the staff of the magi in an underwater tomb. She may decide she wants that staff, and during the course of her adventuring she decides to gather information and clues from NPCs and other sources about this tomb, all unbeknownst to the rest of the party.

It is easy to see how you can motivate your players with far-reaching goals for their higher levels.

Final Thoughts

The result of your creative effort in these knowledge sheets will be instantly noticed. Suddenly your players’ characters will have depth, purpose, intelligence, and uniqueness. They will pay more attention to details and, most importantly, better role-play their characters as they share and interact with the knowledge.

Soon your campaign will take on a whole new dimension of realism as you spread knowledge and motivation to your players.