Use this skill to make contacts in an area, find out local gossip, spread rumors, and collect general information.
Check: By succeeding at a skill check (DC 10) and spending 1d4+1 hours passing out money and buying drinks, a character can get a feel for the major news items in a neighborhood. This result assumes that no obvious reasons exist why information would be withheld such as if you can’t speak the local language). The higher the check result, the better the information.
If the situation doesn’t require the expenditure of money, no Wealth check is necessary.
Information ranges from general to protected, and the cost and DC increases accordingly for the type of information the character seeks to gather, as given in the table below.
| Type of Information | DC | Purchase DC |
|---|---|---|
| General “Who’s the big cheese in this town?” | 10 | 5 |
| Specific “What can you tell me about the woman who always attends functions with the senator?” | 15 | 10 |
| Restricted “What do they make in that mysterious factory?” | 20 | 15 |
| Protected “When is the next test flight for that secret prototype fighter jet?” | 25 | 20 |
General information concerns local happenings, rumors, gossip, and the like. Specific information usually relates to a particular question. Restricted information includes facts that aren’t generally known and requires that the character locate someone who has access to such information. Protected information is even harder to come by and might involve some danger, either for the one asking the questions or the one providing the answer. There’s a chance that someone will take note of anyone asking about restricted or protected information.
The character can increase the amount of money used to gather information, gaining a circumstance bonus by effectively offering a bribe (though the process might entail buying more expensive drinks, not necessarily offering a character extra money). Increase the Wealth check DC by 2 for each +1 circumstance bonus the character wants to add to his or her skill check. For example, Brandon Cross is looking for restricted information about a military base that does not appear on any public maps. He really wants to get this information, so he increases the Wealth check DC by +2 for every +1 bonus he wants to apply to the check. In this case, he thinks he can succeed on a Wealth check against DC 22, granting him a +2 bonus on the Gather Information check if he makes it.
Try Again?: Yes, but it takes 1d4+1 hours for each check, and characters may draw attention to themselves if they repeatedly pursue a certain type of information.
Special: A character can take 10 when making a Gather Information check, but cannot take 20.
A character with the Trustworthy feat gets a +2 bonus on all Gather Information checks.
Time: A Gather Information check takes 1d4+1 hours.