Listen and Invisibility

[phillipjp]

Can you use a Listen check to determine the square that an Invisible creature is in? Or, does beating the Listen DC (including distance modifiers) only give you general direction. If you fail the DC by less than 5, do you use scatter rules to see which square you thought it was in, or does a missed roll mean you don't hear it at all?

Or, is this all pathetically munchkin, and only Blindsight, Tremorsense, See Invis, etc., can detect invisible creatures.

 

[kreynolds]

If you beat the Listen DC by 20 or more, you locate the creature, though it still benefits from the 50% miss chance.

 

[LokiDR]

Not to diverge, but what about spot? A spot DC 20 tells you there is an invisible creature around. Do you know the square and the still have total concealment? Do you know the general direction, or do you just get a "spidy sense"?

 

[Jeremy]

Spot DC 20 gives you that peripheral vision blur effect if something invisible moves within 10' of you. You see movement, that's it. It could be anywhere within 10' of you. If he is holding still it's DC 30. If you want to know the 5 foot square he's in, the DC goes up by 20. So DC 40 for moving within 10', and DC 50 for holding still.

DC increases by 1 per 10 feet as per normal range modifier to spot I'd assume.

As I recall, listen for invisible creatures works off the same scale except it's Listen vs. Move Silent to know he's there and Listen vs. Move Silent +20 to know what 5' square he's in.

Keep in mind, if the invisible creature is actively hiding as well as being invisible it's much more difficult.

 

[Dr. Zoom]

Spot DC 20 gives you that peripheral vision blur effect if something invisible moves within 10' of you. You see movement, that's it. It could be anywhere within 10' of you. If he is holding still it's DC 30. If you want to know the 5 foot square he's in, the DC goes up by 20. So DC 40 for moving within 10', and DC 50 for holding still.

It's 30 feet, and you don't see anything. You get a hunch that something is there, but you cannot pinpoint it, see it, or target it accurately.

DC increases by 1 per 10 feet as per normal range modifier to spot I'd assume.

I am not sure. The spot skill says -1 to the spot check per 10 feet of distance, but I just do straight DC 20. It is only 30 feet anyway, and the penalties will give away the distance to the player.

As I recall, listen for invisible creatures works off the same scale except it's Listen vs. Move Silent to know he's there and Listen vs. Move Silent +20 to know what 5' square he's in.

Correct. The full chart is on page 78 in the DMG.

 

[Jeremy]

Thanks for the research Doc!

Appreciate it.