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I would 2nd the Magic Initiate (Wizard) feat, for Booming Blade. Then, when you can cast 5th level spells, add Holy Weapon, for another 2d8 radiant damage. Between Divine Strike, Booming Blade, and Holy Weapon, a Lvl 14 cleric is dealing an extra 6d8 / 9d8 damage, on top of weapon damage and...

iserith I agree, and I think we're describing the same thing, but I would concede that my use of the term 'auto-succeed' is misleading. A DM's uncertainty, especially when no die is rolled, is really just the difference between a DM needing to look at the numbers, and a DM just knowing that the...

I’m going to offer this as a case for using the mechanic: When a player makes an Ability Check, their Passive Score for the same Skill functions as the lowest possible result for that check. I was dubious about it, at first, but I’m going to try it in my games. Disclaimer: none of this is...

I think you're taking the phrasing too literally, but I agree that there aren't any references to this concept, that the passive perception score should be used in place of a low result on a perception check. If it's supposed to be the official version, it's either a big oversight, or a very...

Just so I'm sure, are you saying that a player will never roll a die, and add their Perception skill modifier, to check what their character observes about their surroundings? Also, just so I'm sure, are you saying that the rules don't work the way that is described by the lead designer of the...

It does definitely say that characters doing other things don't get to use their passive perception, while traveling. Crawford also suggested, in the podcast, that it makes total sense that stealth might automatically succeed against passive perception, for a character whose attention is focused...

No, a passive check resolves the exact same activity, because repeating a task doesn't change the essential nature of the task. The Players Handbook example would be a simple ability check, but the DM just decides the result is a single score instead of the many results of many checks. It...

Could you please clarify the logic in that? It sounds like you're saying that Passive Perception is something that only applies to a Search, which is not true. Crawford was very clear, that Passive Perception is intended to be always on, unless a condition prevents it.

Yeah, that's what I said.

You're right, and I realize that. I only use the term to distinguish from a passive check, and I shouldn't have capitalized it. Apologies for diluting the thread, but I felt that the concepts were relevant, since the podcast discussion wasn't only about combat situations.

So, the advice from Jeremy Crawford, lead designer of the Players Handbook: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/james-haeck-dd-writing ...and this is regarding perception, specifically, but the highlights that I take away are: - DMs discretion, above all; he and the team realize how...

That's a good argument, and I accept it. I still have a problem, though, with the Players Handbook's very definition of a passive check, which pretty clearly sets up 2 distinct narrative situations in which to use the mechanic. The first is the shortcut for repeated checks. I'm still looking...

Respectfully, I don't think so; if I had said that a die is rolled for a passive check, that would be a direct conflict with the book definition. What I would love to do is simply to find a convincing narrative case for a Passive Investigation check, which is the whole point of this thread...

I think this gets a lot easier with a little translation, where 'Active' indicates that the character intends to do something, and 'Passive' indicates that they don't. 'Perception' is the ability to notice something, and 'Investigation' is the ability to discover something. 'Passive...