Kerrick
First Post
This is a quicky little thing for the Search skill I came up with at work today. It's not a revision so much as a set of guidelines for setting DCs, so only the DM would really need to refer to the table.
Search
You generally must be within 10 feet of the object or surface to be searched. The table below gives DCs for typical tasks involving the Search skill, based on the size of the item being sought.
Fine: 24
Diminutive: 21
Tiny: 18
Small: 15
Medium: 12
Large: 9
Huge: 6
Gargantuan: 3
Colossal: 0
In addition to the above, there are several conditions that can be applied to an object.
Object is very distinctive: The object has a unique appearance (and is instantly recognizable), gives off a noticeable smell or sound, or is otherwise fairly easy to spot. DC modifier: -2 to -10.
PC knows what the object looks like: The PC is looking for an object with which he is familiar – it can be his own, something he has seen before, or something that was described to him. DC modifier: +2 for only slight familiarity (something described but never seen), to +20 for very familiar (a personal object near and dear to the seeker).
PC doesn't know what the object looks like: The PC knows what the object is, but he doesn't know exactly what it looks like. This could be anything from a trail to a random piece of jewelry (a magic ring, e.g.) to a book (the title of which is known, but not its appearance). DC modifier: +4.
Object is concealed: The object is hidden, but not deliberately (it fell behind a desk, for instance), or is placed among many other objects of similar appearance (a book placed on a shelf). DC modifier: +6.
Object is hidden: The object is deliberately hidden in an attempt to prevent it from being found. Secret doors are considered hidden objects, as are objects concealed by illusions. DC modifier: +10.
Object is invisible: The object has been made invisible. Unless the seeker has a detect magic spell or some effect that lets him see/sense invisible objects, he must search for it by feel. A detect magic will instantly reveal its presence, if its magic aura is not blocked; if the seeker can see invisible objects but the object is still concealed or hidden, use that modifier instead. DC modifier: +20.
Action: Varies. Searching a 5-foot square, or a container 3 feet on a size, is a minimum of a full-round action. If there are a large amount of items to sort through, the time could be increased up to a full minute.
An example:
Fortinbras the wizard is at the city library, seeking a tome on the Elemental Plane of Fire. He knows the title of the book (he found a reference to it in another book), but that's it. Obviously, it's in the "Planar" section, but that's a good-sized room with a dozen rows of bookcases (7 feet high and 10 feet long). The book is Tiny (DC 18) and concealed (placed on a shelf with lots of others, +6), but he knows the title (vague familiarity, -2) for a grand total of DC 22. Each bookcase is crowded with books and scrolls, but since he knows he's looking for a book and not a scroll, that cuts his time down a bit - it would take about 3 rounds to completely scan all the titles in one half of a bookcase.
The rest of the description (synergy bonuses) is unchanged, though I'd like to change the trapfinding thing so that rogues get a bonus to find traps, instead of being the only ones who can find traps over DC 25 - that's just stupid.
Search
You generally must be within 10 feet of the object or surface to be searched. The table below gives DCs for typical tasks involving the Search skill, based on the size of the item being sought.
Fine: 24
Diminutive: 21
Tiny: 18
Small: 15
Medium: 12
Large: 9
Huge: 6
Gargantuan: 3
Colossal: 0
In addition to the above, there are several conditions that can be applied to an object.
Object is very distinctive: The object has a unique appearance (and is instantly recognizable), gives off a noticeable smell or sound, or is otherwise fairly easy to spot. DC modifier: -2 to -10.
PC knows what the object looks like: The PC is looking for an object with which he is familiar – it can be his own, something he has seen before, or something that was described to him. DC modifier: +2 for only slight familiarity (something described but never seen), to +20 for very familiar (a personal object near and dear to the seeker).
PC doesn't know what the object looks like: The PC knows what the object is, but he doesn't know exactly what it looks like. This could be anything from a trail to a random piece of jewelry (a magic ring, e.g.) to a book (the title of which is known, but not its appearance). DC modifier: +4.
Object is concealed: The object is hidden, but not deliberately (it fell behind a desk, for instance), or is placed among many other objects of similar appearance (a book placed on a shelf). DC modifier: +6.
Object is hidden: The object is deliberately hidden in an attempt to prevent it from being found. Secret doors are considered hidden objects, as are objects concealed by illusions. DC modifier: +10.
Object is invisible: The object has been made invisible. Unless the seeker has a detect magic spell or some effect that lets him see/sense invisible objects, he must search for it by feel. A detect magic will instantly reveal its presence, if its magic aura is not blocked; if the seeker can see invisible objects but the object is still concealed or hidden, use that modifier instead. DC modifier: +20.
Action: Varies. Searching a 5-foot square, or a container 3 feet on a size, is a minimum of a full-round action. If there are a large amount of items to sort through, the time could be increased up to a full minute.
An example:
Fortinbras the wizard is at the city library, seeking a tome on the Elemental Plane of Fire. He knows the title of the book (he found a reference to it in another book), but that's it. Obviously, it's in the "Planar" section, but that's a good-sized room with a dozen rows of bookcases (7 feet high and 10 feet long). The book is Tiny (DC 18) and concealed (placed on a shelf with lots of others, +6), but he knows the title (vague familiarity, -2) for a grand total of DC 22. Each bookcase is crowded with books and scrolls, but since he knows he's looking for a book and not a scroll, that cuts his time down a bit - it would take about 3 rounds to completely scan all the titles in one half of a bookcase.
The rest of the description (synergy bonuses) is unchanged, though I'd like to change the trapfinding thing so that rogues get a bonus to find traps, instead of being the only ones who can find traps over DC 25 - that's just stupid.
