Knowledge of Nobs
Trying to show how a bard should be played, after believing my attempt recently with Dinike was far from impressive, the new party's bard makes good use of her knowledge of everything. Well, except for Nobility and Royalty, and we are meeting lots of nobility and royalty all of a sudden. But never fear, as the bard has Bardic Knowledge to fall back on in times like this. The accumulation of word-of-mouth and subtle investigations over the years combined with an amazing memory rewards the bard with knowledge in many situations that could not be gleaned any other way.
Sadly, Dinike looks like a freaking genius next to our new bard, with Bardic Knowledge check after check failing miserably, as we look to her for inspiration and information; all we get back is the gormless stare more commonly seen on a goldfish. We don't learn about the political machinations of the new city we are in, nor about the relationships between various members of the aristocracy of our home country. However, when we are in a gaol cell waiting to be sold as slaves and two dishes are pushed under a slat, offering us water and salt, BAM!, a natural 20 on the check and she tells us that the salt is a local delicacy.
And that probably would have been more of a revelation before I had tasted it.