Animal Lore– Nonweapon Proficiency (Player’s Handbook)
Animal Lore: This proficiency enables a character to observe the actions or habitat of an
animal and interpret what is going on. Actions can show how dangerous the
creature is, whether it is hungry, protecting its young, or defending a nearby den.
Furthermore, careful observation of signs and behaviors can even indicate the
location of a water hole, animal herd, predator, or impending danger, such as a
forest fire. The DM will secretly roll a proficiency check. A successful check
means the character understood the basic actions of the creature. If the check
fails by 4 or less, no information is gained. If the check fails by 5 or more,
the character misinterprets the actions of the animal.
A character may also imitate the calls and cries of animals that he is
reasonably familiar with, based on his background. This ability is limited by volume.
The roar of a tyrannosaurus rex would be beyond the abilities of a normal
character. A successful proficiency check means that only magical means can
distinguish the character’s call from that of the true animal. The cry is sufficient to
fool animals, perhaps frightening them away or luring them closer. A failed
check means the sound is incorrect in some slight way. A failed call may still
fool some listeners, but creatures very familiar with the cry automatically
detect a false call. All other creatures and characters are allowed a Wisdom check
to detect the fake.
Finally, animal lore increases the chance of successfully setting snares and
traps (for hunting) since the character knows the general habits of the creature
hunted.
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