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View Full Version : Perception/listen/spot Checks and breaking immersion



zorba1994
2011-02-09, 02:41 PM
In my games, I have always opted out of asking for listen/spot/perception checks at critical junctures, instead just using the party's highest passive perception and leaving more detailed checks for the players to decide on their own. I felt that asking for a check at these junctures can break immersion in a part of the game that is otherwise not very core-rules driven.

What are your opinions on this topic?

Cog
2011-02-09, 02:57 PM
It's a reasonable goal, but there's one side effect; if somebody else in the party has, say, +10 in their perceptions, there's far less benefit to you having +9s, even though that isn't much behind. Having more watchful eyes seems like it ought to make even passive spotting more capable - whether it's an aid-another type bonus or something else.

zorba1994
2011-02-09, 03:01 PM
It's a reasonable goal, but there's one side effect; if somebody else in the party has, say, +10 in their perceptions, there's far less benefit to you having +9s, even though that isn't much behind. Having more watchful eyes seems like it ought to make even passive spotting more capable - whether it's an aid-another type bonus or something else.

Hmm, maybe make it so that the top 4 players contribute 1/5th of their perception bonus to the passive check.

Otherwise it gets way unbalanced when playing with 6+ players.

graeylin
2011-02-09, 03:18 PM
i just had my players give me a sheet with rolls already on it. saves, skill checks, listens, spot, etc..

as the situation came up, i looked to the sheet, used the top roll, scratched it out, and DMed the result. When I scratched out the last of X rolls, i asked them to roll some more and do a new sheet.

Example:

The group is walking down the hallway, quietly. there's a trap in the wall that pushes a colorless, odorless gas in the hall. (DC to find it with search is 15, to hear it is 25, to spot something wrong 30). As the party passes by the trigger, no one offered to search for traps. So, i go to the hear check rolls, and see if anyone rolled a 25. The elf did, but no one else. Scratch the 27 result from the Elf's hear rolland the missed rolls from everyone else, and tell the group:

As you pass the corner, Lydia hears something odd. She stops, listens, and confirms that there is a low hissing sound, barely audible, that seems to be coming from the wall right next to you.