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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 7102292" data-attributes="member: 57112">It's entirely possible (probable, even!) that we're talking past each other about things that are almost the same thing but aren't quite? I'll try to clarify--I used active as "the player has declared their PC is performing an action" and passive as "basically everything else".This is why I use passive knowledge checks in place of "is that something my character knows?" because the character isn't actually performing an action there. Of course, there's a difference between that and actively trying to recall information the character may or may not have learned, which is what active checks are for. Yes, I realize that sounds a lot like splitting hairs. I'm full of inconsistencies! But it's what makes sense for me and my table.So passive perception represents normal level of awareness and care while moving through space, while active perception involves stopping and visually scanning (or putting an ear to the ground/wall/etc) for something. Passive insight is the visual cues and vocal cues people give in everyday conversation that provides clues to the individual's mental or emotional state; active insight involves keeping an eye out for more subtle cues, putting the pieces together to get a fuller idea of their mental/emotional state and make guesses at what that might mean vis-a-vis what they're actually saying (i.e, this guy's fidgeting, avoiding eye contact, sweat rolling down his brow even though it's kind of chilly right now; he's probably lying).As an adventure writer, I rely on passive checks to provide clues that will spur players to attempt to actively solve whatever puzzle (location of a trap, whether an NPC is lying or nervous about something else, a particularly important piece of lore) I've created those clues for.I honestly mostly skip this step in home games where I'm familiar with the PCs and what they're capable of, really. I already know what clues they're going to be capable of catching or not, so there's really no point to the mechanic for me. I'll sometimes use it in the first few adventures where I'm still learning the PCs though.</blockquote>

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