CapnZapp
Legend
The fact is, sneaking (Stealth) and detection (Perception) aren't born equal.
A +6, say, to Perception helps the party much more than a +6 to Stealth helps the monsters.
This means that 5E's idea to drop racial bonuses to stealth and not even grant most monsters proficiency does. not. work.
If five monsters sneak up on five adventurers, the math makes it exceedingly unlikely all five monsters will beat the best passive perception score in the group, and thus pull off an ambush.
This needs to change.
I want the following:
*) a group should not be able to rely on a single good Perception score
*) good Perception should chiefly benefit yourself and possibly a ward of yours, not an entire group
*) the rules need to favor ambushers much more, so that ambushes actually happen with some regularity.
*) the game is much more fun if dark forests and caverns actually ARE dark, foreboding and scary. Simply having a character with max Wisdom and Perception proficiency should not shortcircuit all that. Sure diligent defenders should be able to take precautions such as setting up perimeters (light torches that illuminate intruders etc), but that's an exception and not the rule.
*) monsters that are supposed to be sneaky should actually be sneaky, even level-appropriate heroes should have a hard time noticing these critters.
The basic notion of passive scores is good, since we can't have both Stealth and Perception rolled - it creates too large swings. So we'll keep that, but we'll considerably rein in what Perception can do for you.
Therefore I suggest:
a) set passive perception at only 5 + prof + stat. If you are a designed guard that does absolutely nothing else, you gain the regular 10 + prof + stat, but only for a maximum of 1 hour per long rest. You simply can't maintain such vigilance for a whole guard shift. The idea is to force the players to guess when an ambush happens; if they're right they get to benefit from the generous RAW; but if not, well...
b) success means only that you gain awareness in the last second, preventing yourself from being surprised. You need to beat the Sneak check result by 5 or more to expose the ambush before it can be pulled off.
c) When I say you gain awareness, this includes a designated ward - a character you have declared yourself to protect, assuming you stay within 5 ft at all times. This way, you can still use your Perception to save someone from getting surprised; you can push the ward to the ground to avoid the assassin's poisoned arrow (assuming you win initiative too). But you can't put the entire group on full alert, unless the sneakees roll very low.
d) be generous with racial sneak bonuses. Most animals should be given +4 to Sneak. Renowed sneakers should gain +8. This means an Owl will not have simply +3 Stealth for +2 proficiency and +1 Dexterity; it will have +11.
A +6, say, to Perception helps the party much more than a +6 to Stealth helps the monsters.
This means that 5E's idea to drop racial bonuses to stealth and not even grant most monsters proficiency does. not. work.
If five monsters sneak up on five adventurers, the math makes it exceedingly unlikely all five monsters will beat the best passive perception score in the group, and thus pull off an ambush.
This needs to change.
I want the following:
*) a group should not be able to rely on a single good Perception score
*) good Perception should chiefly benefit yourself and possibly a ward of yours, not an entire group
*) the rules need to favor ambushers much more, so that ambushes actually happen with some regularity.
*) the game is much more fun if dark forests and caverns actually ARE dark, foreboding and scary. Simply having a character with max Wisdom and Perception proficiency should not shortcircuit all that. Sure diligent defenders should be able to take precautions such as setting up perimeters (light torches that illuminate intruders etc), but that's an exception and not the rule.
*) monsters that are supposed to be sneaky should actually be sneaky, even level-appropriate heroes should have a hard time noticing these critters.
The basic notion of passive scores is good, since we can't have both Stealth and Perception rolled - it creates too large swings. So we'll keep that, but we'll considerably rein in what Perception can do for you.
Therefore I suggest:
a) set passive perception at only 5 + prof + stat. If you are a designed guard that does absolutely nothing else, you gain the regular 10 + prof + stat, but only for a maximum of 1 hour per long rest. You simply can't maintain such vigilance for a whole guard shift. The idea is to force the players to guess when an ambush happens; if they're right they get to benefit from the generous RAW; but if not, well...
b) success means only that you gain awareness in the last second, preventing yourself from being surprised. You need to beat the Sneak check result by 5 or more to expose the ambush before it can be pulled off.
c) When I say you gain awareness, this includes a designated ward - a character you have declared yourself to protect, assuming you stay within 5 ft at all times. This way, you can still use your Perception to save someone from getting surprised; you can push the ward to the ground to avoid the assassin's poisoned arrow (assuming you win initiative too). But you can't put the entire group on full alert, unless the sneakees roll very low.
d) be generous with racial sneak bonuses. Most animals should be given +4 to Sneak. Renowed sneakers should gain +8. This means an Owl will not have simply +3 Stealth for +2 proficiency and +1 Dexterity; it will have +11.
