Trained Only

You know how to search for and study clues, gather information through interviews and surveillance, and analyze evidence to help solve crimes. The GM may make investigation checks for you in secret, so you do not know exactly what you have found, or if you may have missed something.

SEARCH
You can search an area for clues, hidden items, traps, and other details. Perception allows you to immediately notice things, while an Investigation check allows you to pick up on details with some effort.

TABLE: SEARCH DIFFICULTIES
DC SAMPLE SEARCH
10 Ransack an area to find a certain object.
20 Notice a secret compartment, simple trap, or an obscure clue.
25+ Find a well-hidden secret compartment or trap, or an extremely obscure clue.
To determine how long it takes to search a given area, take the total area measurement (in square feet, yards, or miles), find the time measurement for that distance, and add 2. So searching 60 square feet (roughly an 8 ft. by 8 ft. room) takes the time rank of 60 feet (rank 1), plus 2, or 1 minute (time rank 3). Searching a square mile takes the time rank of 1 mile (rank 8), plus 2, or two hours (time rank 10).

The DC for an Investigation check to find a concealed object is usually opposed by the Stealth or Sleight of Hand check of the character who hid it.

GATHER EVIDENCE
To collect a piece of evidence for analysis, make an Investigation check (DC 15). If the check succeeds, the evidence can be analyzed (see Analyze Evidence.) If the check fails, an analysis can be done, but with a –5 penalty for highly unfavorable circumstances. With more than one degree of failure, the evidence is ruined and no analysis can be done. On the other hand, two or more degrees of success provide a +2 circumstance bonus to later analysis.

GATHER INFORMATION
You know how to make contacts, collect gossip and rumors, question informants, and otherwise get information from people.

By succeeding at a DC 10 Investigation check taking at least an hour, you get a feel for the major news and rumors in an area. This assumes no obvious reasons exist why information would be withheld. The degree of the check result determines the completeness and detail of the information. Information ranges from general to protected, and the DC increases accordingly for the type of information, as given on the table.

TABLE: GATHER INFORMATION RESULTS
DEGREE OF SUCCESS TYPE OF INFORMATION
One General
Two Specific
Three Restricted
Four Protected

General information concerns local happenings, rumors, gossip, and the like.
Specific information usually relates to a particular question.
Restricted information isn’t generally known and requires you to locate someone with access to the 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 answers.

Failure on the Investigation check means you waste time turning up nothing of value. An additional degree of failure means you also alert someone who may be interested in your inquiries, perhaps even someone you are investigating!

SURVEILLANCE
You can set up surveillance of a particular area, watching from a stationary location. The DC of the subject’s Stealth check to evade your notice is equal to the result of your Investigation check. For actively following a subject, see Tailing in the Stealth skill.