L
lowkey13
Guest
*Deleted by user*
Live by it, die by it...
iserith
Magic Wordsmith
The player pays for that in trade-offs though, or at least should in my opinion. However much they've invested in that ability comes at the cost of not investing in other areas which may or may not be offset by other members of the party. What's more, in order for that investment to pay off, you're typically going to have to engage in tasks where that ability will come into play. This means you're not engaged in other tasks which might be equally as valuable, depending on the context.
I could be wrong given I don't have all the information, but it sounds to me like there may be some issues under the hood with how you handle Perception in general. This is quite a common thing I've noticed and is reported on the forums regularly. Some small tweaks on that may allow your players to benefit from their investments while feeling those trade-offs I mention above.
BookBarbarian
Expert Long Rester
It's the DM's job to decide which rules to apply to which situation based on the what the Player is saying their character does.
After deciding which rule applies I also try to adhere what's in the book as it makes communication easier if we are all on the same page.
That being said, sometime's I've made a wrong ruling and had it pointed out to me by a player. In that scenario I'll apologize and try to do better next time. For the sake of keeping the game going I won't go stop play to look up a rule in a book or change a ruling already made. I prefer to just fail, learn form my mistake, and get better by iteration.
After deciding which rule applies I also try to adhere what's in the book as it makes communication easier if we are all on the same page.
That being said, sometime's I've made a wrong ruling and had it pointed out to me by a player. In that scenario I'll apologize and try to do better next time. For the sake of keeping the game going I won't go stop play to look up a rule in a book or change a ruling already made. I prefer to just fail, learn form my mistake, and get better by iteration.
The more interesting challenge is not IF they discover the interesting thing, but what they have to do about it.
If this super perception character discovers every trap they come across, it is still necessary to overcome or avoid that trap. Give them the clues the interesting thing exists and let them figure out what course of action they need to take.
Anyone can roll a high number or custom build an uber character. That is not where the challenge comes from.
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
One thing that I’ve found is that I can use such a high passive perception to my advantage as a DM, while still making them feel a pay-off for their stat investment. “Legolamb, with your keen elf eyes, you see that each of the four doors bears an arcane rune scratched on the door handle.” Now they’re wondering what each rune is - are they traps, or clues?
Also, just because they always notice something, doesn’t mean you don’t control when they notice it. They can notice the fleeing messenger just as they disappear into a crowd (or emerge from one, depending on your needs). That trap, well, they just catch it as their foot touches the tripwire, laying it ever so taught against them. They haven’t triggered the trap, but if they move in the slightest, then it will go off. How do the PCs deal with this?
Also, just because they always notice something, doesn’t mean you don’t control when they notice it. They can notice the fleeing messenger just as they disappear into a crowd (or emerge from one, depending on your needs). That trap, well, they just catch it as their foot touches the tripwire, laying it ever so taught against them. They haven’t triggered the trap, but if they move in the slightest, then it will go off. How do the PCs deal with this?
jasper
Rotten DM
Paul of Perfect Perception, "Hey there is another trap! Do your thing."
Rotten Roger the rogue, " Not again. Can't we go around? I got 2 hit points left!"
Paul of Perfect Perception, " But that is your job!"
"Well perceive this!", yells Rotten Roger as he pushes Paul into the spiked pit trap.
Rotten Roger the rogue, " Not again. Can't we go around? I got 2 hit points left!"
Paul of Perfect Perception, " But that is your job!"
"Well perceive this!", yells Rotten Roger as he pushes Paul into the spiked pit trap.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
I am greatly in favor of changing or customizing rules before the game begins, but I'm significantly less inclined to break those rules once they've been made. I don't want to undermine the efforts of the players by arbitrarily causing them to succeed or fail in ways that they don't know about ahead of time.
If someone wants to max out their Perception and notice every trap or secret door from across the room, then that just makes my job easier, since I don't need to worry about whether or not they'll see it.
If someone wants to max out their Perception and notice every trap or secret door from across the room, then that just makes my job easier, since I don't need to worry about whether or not they'll see it.
Cap'n Kobold
Hero
What is their Intelligence(Investigation) skill like?
merwins
Explorer
Also high, but not as extreme.
But all the perception stuff is only an example.
Sometimes, as a GM, I want to craft a particular scene. Setup is important, after which character decisions take the stage and they can resolve/derail the situation as they desire.
But I may have to have spells work a certain way, or in a certain combination, or give a character a way to cast two spells in a turn, or have multiple character types present if I want things to happen a certain way.
I like to give my players the opportunity to be surprised, "How did they do that?" and it would be better for that to happen within the rules, IMO. That way, the players might even be eligible to pursue a path to those abilities as well.
I don't always like the explanation of GM fiat or monster ability.
Warmaster Horus
Explorer
That's a place where you can use 'box text' to set the scene. If you want more player agency, build some skill checks and/or basic choices into the narrative of the box text but the conclusion is the beginning of the scene you want. Perhaps the players checks have provided them a bit more knowledge, an advantage or the like? Perhaps their basic choices have placed them in one situation vs another. But for that situation, they are highly bound by your setting. It's not something you want to do all that often, but it can be effective.
