Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
High Passive Perception
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7150829" data-attributes="member: 97077"><p>Easy - every task is a trade-off.</p><p></p><p>While adventuring, the players choose ONE general task they are undertaking as they do their thing. That might include Keeping Watch (for monsters and traps), Drawing a Map, Foraging, Tracking, Navigating, Searching for Secret Doors, etc. When you attempt one of these tasks, you can't do another at the same time (unless you're a ranger in favored terrain). Because this is a task that is performed repeatedly, the DM can use a passive check to resolve the outcome, when that outcome is uncertain.</p><p></p><p>So if your Observant PC wants to focus on avoiding being surprised by monsters, then he or she must Keep Watch. That means no drawing of maps or foraging or finding secret doors or whatever other task that might reasonably distract from Keeping Watch. If instead the Observant PC wants to Search for Secret Doors in the dungeon, then that means if lurking monsters come calling, he or she is automatically surprised since the character is not Keeping Watch. (Again, assuming the character is not a ranger in favored terrain.)</p><p></p><p>Further, you have to be in the position to notice things. If the party is approaching a hidden trap, for example, the Observant PC can only have a chance of spotting it IF the PC is both Keeping Watch and in the front rank. This means you not only have a trade-off, but you have to put yourself at some risk, too, by being in the front of the party.</p><p></p><p>In all likelihood, this will still mean the Observant PC will notice all the things he or she is focusing on. But the character can't focus on <em>everything</em>. There's a meaningful choice for him or her to make here that exists in the context of the setting rather than just when building the character.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7150829, member: 97077"] Easy - every task is a trade-off. While adventuring, the players choose ONE general task they are undertaking as they do their thing. That might include Keeping Watch (for monsters and traps), Drawing a Map, Foraging, Tracking, Navigating, Searching for Secret Doors, etc. When you attempt one of these tasks, you can't do another at the same time (unless you're a ranger in favored terrain). Because this is a task that is performed repeatedly, the DM can use a passive check to resolve the outcome, when that outcome is uncertain. So if your Observant PC wants to focus on avoiding being surprised by monsters, then he or she must Keep Watch. That means no drawing of maps or foraging or finding secret doors or whatever other task that might reasonably distract from Keeping Watch. If instead the Observant PC wants to Search for Secret Doors in the dungeon, then that means if lurking monsters come calling, he or she is automatically surprised since the character is not Keeping Watch. (Again, assuming the character is not a ranger in favored terrain.) Further, you have to be in the position to notice things. If the party is approaching a hidden trap, for example, the Observant PC can only have a chance of spotting it IF the PC is both Keeping Watch and in the front rank. This means you not only have a trade-off, but you have to put yourself at some risk, too, by being in the front of the party. In all likelihood, this will still mean the Observant PC will notice all the things he or she is focusing on. But the character can't focus on [I]everything[/I]. There's a meaningful choice for him or her to make here that exists in the context of the setting rather than just when building the character. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
High Passive Perception
Top