Got odor?

[The Shaman]

D20 provides us with the Spot and Listen skills, for picking out things by sight and sound - but what about sense of smell?

How do you handle characters picking up faint odors? How do you determine if they can identify the scent?


Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting a thread about gamer hygiene.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

I arbitrarily use spot checks.

 

[fafhrd]

Wisdom check.

 

[gizmo33]

Maybe there should be a "smell" skill, like listen and spot. Rather than monsters just being able to smell anything within 30 ft automatically, they should make smell checks. DC is -2 for each 10 ft distance (like listen?) Modify for creature size (assume larger creatures smell more). Creatures within 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (RPGs) give the smeller a +4 on rolls. Smell replaces the tracking skill rolls.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Faint odors? depends upon where they are.

In a city, you've got to be kidding. Not over the stench of trash and sewage.

After days of dungeon crawling killing things? The party makes the city smell good.

Out in the woods I assume they notice the smell and then allow a check to identify it. What I use for the check depends upon what the smell is. Chemicals might need a craft: alchemy check, natural scents might be Survival.

 

[ZombieButch]

You could also handle it like Mutants & Masterminds or True20: wrap Spot and Listen up into a single skill, Notice, that can also cover smell & taste.

 

[Eternalknight]

You could also handle it like Mutants & Masterminds or True20: wrap Spot and Listen up into a single skill, Notice, that can also cover smell & taste.

Lone Wolf by Mongoose does this as well, but calls it Perception. I plan on using it in every game from now on.

 

[afreed]

I wrote Scent skill rules for Denizens of Avadnu. Fairly basic, works very similarly to Spot and Listen. I'd recommend making it a ranger class skill and either giving it as a class skill to all half-orcs or giving half-orcs a +2 bonus to checks. The scent special quality grants a +10 bonus and the ability to track via scent without the Track feat.

If anyone's interested, I can try to post the skill entry later. (I'd encourage you to buy the book, or one of the Digital Denizens PDFs, but it's barely 1/4 of a page....)

 

[Voadam]

d20 Dragonlords of Melnibone had a skill smell I believe, but I stick with the binary system of the core and ad hoc it based on wether the creature has scent or if they don't and whether I think an odor should be apparent. (I would also consider wether the character is a gnome with their big gnoses. )

Scent is simply part of a scene description, not a challenge check for mechanics.

 

[DMH]

Experts and Experts 3.5 both have Smell as a skill and Experts was panned for it in reviews. I think it would be nice to go the Gamma World 4th edition way and just add perception as an ability.