- See also Ancient History (Proficiency) and Future History (Proficiency).
Player's Handbook[]
The character is a storehouse of facts about the history of a region the size of a large county or a small province. The character knows when the ruined tower on the hill was built and who built it (and what happened to him), what great heroes and villains fought and fell at the old battlefield, what great treasure is supposed to be kept in a local temple, how the mayor of the next town miraculously grew hair on his balding pate, and more.
The DM will provide information about local sites and events as the character needs to know them. Furthermore, the character can try to retell these events as entertaining stories. Once the subject is chosen, he can either make a proficiency check and, if successful, add that tale to his repertoire, or actually tell the story to other characters. If the character succeeds in entertaining them, the player need not make a proficiency roll for the character, since he has succeeded. The character can tell these stories to entertain others, granting him a +2 bonus to his Charisma for the encounter. But telling stories to hostile beings is probably not going to do any good.
Player's Option: Skills & Powers[]
The character knows all about the background of a specific area in the campaign world and can use this knowledge to entertain and enlighten others, gaining a +2 bonus to the reaction rolls of NPCs from that area. If a specific question comes up—the identity of a knight's banner seen in the distance, for example—the character can make a proficiency check, with success indicating the correct tidbit of information. A character with the obscure knowledge trait gains a +3 bonus to the proficiency rating.
The Complete Barbarian's Handbook[]
A barbarian with this proficiency must specialize in the legends and lore of his homeland. An oral historian, the barbarian can recite from memory a plethora of information concerning events, characters, and locations from bygone eras.
Campaign Option: Council of Wyrms Setting[]
Local History is described in the Player's Handbook: For dragons, this proficiency provides a storehouse of knowledge about a specific dragon domain, its ruler, clan, demihuman population, and local monsters. This information is provided by the DM as necessary. The character can also tell local tales (and check for a +2 Charisma bonus for an encounter), as decided by the DM.
Hatchlings can't select this proficiency.
Shaman[]
For tribal shamans, this proficiency always centers on the spirits whom the community reveres. Tribal shamans with this proficiency, upon making a successful check, receive +10% to the chance that a spirit is "home" when they attempt to contact it.
For other shamans, the history proficiencies operate as normal, although any shaman may choose to specialize in lore about the spirits.