Recalling Knowledge in OSR/NSR Games

26 Jan, 2026

There's been some discussion on rolling for knowledge/perception in OSR/NSR games in the Prismatic Waystation server. Perception is basically a solved issue for me; Landmark, Hidden, Secret covers most cases, and in games that still have a Perception and/or Insight skill, I tend to use it sort of like a Perception Save. The same way that you roll for Dexterity/Reflex to dodge a trap or Constitution/Fortitude, I'll roll Perception behind the screen to see if a player has the sudden urge to check under the desk for the key, or if the king is getting sick of your shit and you should stop arguing for so much gold from him.

Knowledge rolls, the conflict resolution of "how much do I know about this kingdom?" or "Do I know the weakness of a troll" is a lot trickier. A lot of times, whereas Perception is resolving what is happening in the moment and therefore can be resolved with the similar design philosophies as, say, combat or exploration, a lore check is a resolution of who this character is, or what they have experienced. As such, a roll feels much more appropriate, I think.

But these rolls can be boring! A failed knowledge roll, most of the time, is a net zero. Either you get what you want, or you wasted 10 seconds. This is the sort of thing we really try to avoid in OSR/NSR design. I've been told His Majesty the Worm uses some sort of bidding mechanic, but sadly I do not yet own this system to see those rules myself. Trust me, I want to so badly, but my shelf is full both physically and metaphorically and I need to run some other stuff first.

What I want to put forward here is a rule taken from the intricate combat procedures of Pathfinder Second Edition, the "Recall Knowledge" action. Take a second to read it here¹.

First thing I love about this rule is how much it takes from PbtA/Forged philosophies. This action specifically requires a conversation, the GM and player to go back and forth on a fair resolution for both of them; only then do you roll.

I like that it's blind roll. I like those, it's just an easy no-chafe way to curb any temptation from the player to metagame even subconsciously. If you're using regular (cough bad) perception roll procedure it adds a bit of suspense, but what's really great about this being a blind roll is how it tees up the critical failure result.

I don't really like that nothing is gained on a success, but that's okay because it's an in-combat action; it's just as offensive as a missed attack roll, which to me is not that bad but obviously your mileage may vary. What is beautiful, is that critical failure result. On a surface level, it's just funny. I love telling my players that if they throw fire spells at the elemental it'll somehow "overheat" and die, then laughing in their faces when it heals the elemental instead. I love when the system gives me permission to be a playful asshole². What's also lovely is the risk-reward, almost bluffing-game element it adds to the act of Recalling Knowledge. Is my GM lying to me? What are the tells? Is that bit of creature lore ridiculous enough to work, or are they taking the piss with me? It rules.

Why don't we just take Recall Knowledge, and push it somewhere else?

To port this mechanic over to your OSR/NSR of choice, just get rid of the Failure condition. You can make the critical fail result a worse lie if you want, but the real important thing is to remove the net zero. Relying on a Recall Knowledge should be inherently risky; if you can argue its something you learned in wizard academy or from your great grandfather cleric then you should get it for free, otherwise you're going off of something the old drunkard told you at the tavern, or a campfire story that spooked you bad when you were younger. You know the risks when you Recall Knowledge.

Since OSR/NSR tend not to have those clear-cut Arcana, Religion, Occult, Society skills even if skills are on the table, just use your Intelligence skill as the baseline odds, and use whatever roll negotiation mechanics your system of choice provides to work it out from there. If the game has DC adjustments, I'd consider making those public; I like it a lot more when players know the odds, makes for more interesting decision-making.

I thought I'd have more to say, but honestly I find this to be a pretty easy grab-and-go rule.

...How the hell are you supposed to end a blog post again?