Elves making people Aware

[jaelis]

It's because around elves, you can never relax.

Best answer so far

 

[Yaezakura]

One thing that I've been trying to find a way around is the situation where the elf bombs his perception check -- how then does he provide the 'subtle hints' to the other pcs that something is up.

A way to look at that case is that, the party knowing the elf is keeping a general watch, are able to scout in smaller areas. I think of it like how special forces teams are shown in movies, tactically entering a room with each member 'covering' a specific area. It could be something as simple as the elf telling everyone 'be careful'.

Just because the elf bombs the check doesn't mean he didn't react--he could have noticed something, but then immediately dismissed it as the sound of a small animal or the shadow of leaves in the wind and relaxed, but his companions would have still noticed his initial reaction. Remember, passing a check is more than just hearing or seeing something--it's also identifying what it is you're hearing/seeing as something you need to pay attention to instead of the random scurrying of a field mouse.

 

[Gloombunny]

As far as the half-elf diplomacy thing goes, I figured it's just because half-elves are all smoking hotties and having one hanging out with you makes you seem cooler and more impressive even if she doesn't say anything.

 

[Sashi]

I don't have a fluff reason, but I have a pretty good mechanical reason:

Players shouldn't be punished for not wanting to fit exactly into the niche their race was built for. For example, if you want to play a diplomacy Half-Elf, you get bonuses. But if you don't want to be a diplomacy half-elf ... you still get those bonuses. Only the bonuses are essentially useless to you.

But, by granting a bonus to the rest of the party, the non-diplomacy Half-Elf gives a bonus to whever is diplomacy focused. That way you keep the racial effect of the Half-Elf (diplomacy boost) without tying Half-Elves into being diplomacy focused or burn a part of their racial mojo.

 

[Wolf72]

I'd assume it was because the elf/half-elf was working with the rest of the party to find something ... like a bunch of others said.

now, if that elf missed something and say the dwarf picked it up b/c of the bonus I'd think it happened something along these lines.

elf: *still searching/looking* (failed check)
dwarf to elf: hey look over here, I can't quite make it out.

basically the elf still gets the shot, and the dwarf gets the assist (or vice versa?)

elf to dwarf: hey, what's that near your foot ... take a closer look

 

[Rechan]

Because everyone is trying to out-do the haughty pointy-ears.

 

[Mostlyjoe]

As far as the half-elf diplomacy thing goes, I figured it's just because half-elves are all smoking hotties and having one hanging out with you makes you seem cooler and more impressive even if she doesn't say anything.

Damn halfie hotties. I'm just a human we get 'resistances' what ever the hell that means. I feel like scotch guard. That's sexy.

 

[Victoly]

As far as the half-elf diplomacy thing goes, I figured it's just because half-elves are all smoking hotties and having one hanging out with you makes you seem cooler and more impressive even if she doesn't say anything.

I was thinking along similar lines, but I was thinking more of a stray animal analogy: "Well, if they took in the Half-Elf and gave him food and shelter, they must be decent people, right?"

 

[Caleidoscope]

Or an explanation would be like this: Even though the elf desn't consciously notices the ambush, his subconscious does and his body motions reacts to the danger, and since everybody else in the party are fine tuned to the subtle motions of the elf, they benefit from his subconscious reaction.

 

[hong]

As far as the half-elf diplomacy thing goes, I figured it's just because half-elves are all smoking hotties and having one hanging out with you makes you seem cooler and more impressive even if she doesn't say anything.

I read "smoking" as a verb.