Spot

H

Hawkeye

First Post

• Feb 19, 2003

• #1

Since PCs generally don't get Scent, could Spot be used in its place to notice things like the slight scent of smoke that might indicate a village under attack from marauders or a distant forest fire? Either of which may spur the PCs into action or retreat. I know Spot is pirmarily listed as using visual clues and more of a passive ability, but I was just looking for an opinion.

Hawkeye

 

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Mr Fidgit

First Post

• Feb 19, 2003

• #2

i usually use a Wisdom check as an 'awareness' roll to notice things not covered by Spot or Listen. in the case of noticing a fire, i'd modify the DC based on things like: if the PCs are upwind or downwind of the fire, weather conditions, and so on

 

Last edited: Feb 19, 2003

Murrdox

First Post

• Feb 19, 2003

• #3

For lack of a better skill, I too have used "spot" for scents.

Most of the time, however, I rely on skills related to the scents. For something common like "smoke" spot is good enough.

If the characters are walking on a footbridge over a huge pool of acid - they're ALL going to smell something, but I make them make an alchemy check to identify what the heck it is that's burning their nostrils.

I think the game assumes that since humans (and similar races) don't have highly developed senses of smells, then smells need to be pretty powerful to be detected. Basically, either the smell is strong enough to be detected, or it isn't... there's no check involved to see if you can successfully "smell" something. I don't use scent that often, but when I do, it's usually a matter of the characters trying to identify what they're smelling, than the fact that they smell something in the first place.

 

M

Mahali

Explorer

• Feb 20, 2003

• #4

Wilderness lore seems more appropriate to me than Spot.

 

S

Steverooo

First Post

• Feb 21, 2003

• #5

Why smell smoke?

Why can't they just SEE the smoke coming from the fire???

 

Hypersmurf

Moderatarrrrh...

• Feb 21, 2003

• #6

I use Spot for detecting scents.

An elf gets a +2 bonus to Listen checks because of his keen ears.

An elf gets a +2 bonus to Spot checks because of his keen senses. Senses, plural. Nowhere in the Spot skill description does it say it's limited to visual perception.

-Hyp.

 

H

Hawkeye

First Post

• Feb 22, 2003

• #7

Reading the description of Spot, it seems to indicate a isual component versus other senses. Are you saying that you would only give a -1 Spot check on someone trying to Taste something from 10 feet away? Has this be errat'd? I am going off of my copy of the PHB. I don't minbd using it for other senses and in fact would, but by a strict reading of the skill description it seems to only be a vsiual base skill. If not, why do some creatures also have Scent?

Regarding seeing the fire. If you are in a dense forest, you may not be able to see the flames through the trees, but you may be able to smell the moske miles from the source. For example, if you have people in your neighborhood that burns leaves during the fall. You might not be able to see the fire, but the smoke may drift over the entire nieghborhood for hours.

Hawkeye

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2003

Ravellion

serves Gnome Master

• Feb 22, 2003

• #8

Sure, make spot even stronger. Did you allow dexterity to modify Thac0 in 2e as well?

edit: I am not actually adding something constructive with that, so I will add that Wisdom covers general perception, as is distillable from the SRD:

"Any creature that can perceive its environment in any fashion has at least 1 point of Wisdom."

Rav

 

Last edited: Feb 22, 2003

H

Hawkeye

First Post

• Feb 23, 2003

• #9

As a matter of fact we did use Dex to modify THAC0 in 2ed, for missle weapons, just like the rules called for. :b

Hawkeye

Spelling

 

Last edited: Feb 23, 2003

G

grep

First Post

• Feb 24, 2003

• #10

I wouldn't make it a spot check. Spot is with your eyes, not your nose. Make it an untrained wisdom check. If your characters really want to be good at smelling things, I would reccomend a "smell" ability, akin to spot and listen.