jgsugden
Legend
I think the majority of the issues surrounding 'passive' scores are that everyone sees them working differently.
To me, you use a passive score when there is no pressure or distraction to show what you could do when 'just doing it' rather than dealing with a challenge. If you're a little distracted, give them -5 (disadvantage) or if they're focused +5 (advantage). It is the 'why bother rolling' mechanic.
It is also the 'can't risk rolling' mechanic when you don't want to alert players by asking them to role dice and their PCs are not terribly aware of the ability check situation.
To that end, I think about how I use it and don't worry so much about the label applied. With that mentality, I get a lot of use out of the mechanic (more than other DMs) and it seems to work just fine.
To me, you use a passive score when there is no pressure or distraction to show what you could do when 'just doing it' rather than dealing with a challenge. If you're a little distracted, give them -5 (disadvantage) or if they're focused +5 (advantage). It is the 'why bother rolling' mechanic.
It is also the 'can't risk rolling' mechanic when you don't want to alert players by asking them to role dice and their PCs are not terribly aware of the ability check situation.
To that end, I think about how I use it and don't worry so much about the label applied. With that mentality, I get a lot of use out of the mechanic (more than other DMs) and it seems to work just fine.