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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5536515" data-attributes="member: 4937">See my discussion above.&nbsp; The problem is that they try to set the DC of Spot linearly when it isn't linear with distance.&nbsp;&nbsp; The apparant size of an object is a function of its cross sectional area (perpendicular to the line of sight).&nbsp;&nbsp; So for short distances, it makes a little bit of sense that you'd see immediate changes in the DC of spot and that works ok for dungeon distances.&nbsp;&nbsp; Things do seem much smaller at 40' than they do at 20'.&nbsp;&nbsp; But if something is 1000' away, moving it 10' or 20' further away involves a trivial change to DC because it involves a trivial change to apparant size.&nbsp; To get a non-trivial change to apparant size when something is 1000' away, you have to move it a couple hundred feet further away.&nbsp; So if 1000' away is +10 to DC, then maybe 1500' away is +11 to DC.&nbsp; So spotting something that is collosal and moving and unconcealed (like an airplane or a dragon) miles away is nearly trivial, even if you do roll spot checks to detect it.&nbsp;&nbsp; You stop having to worry about 'Ok, you just see it'.&nbsp; If you really want to know if it can be seen or if you want to go to the rules and work out approximately how far away it is when they first notice it, you can work it out.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 5536515, member: 4937"] See my discussion above. The problem is that they try to set the DC of Spot linearly when it isn't linear with distance. The apparant size of an object is a function of its cross sectional area (perpendicular to the line of sight). So for short distances, it makes a little bit of sense that you'd see immediate changes in the DC of spot and that works ok for dungeon distances. Things do seem much smaller at 40' than they do at 20'. But if something is 1000' away, moving it 10' or 20' further away involves a trivial change to DC because it involves a trivial change to apparant size. To get a non-trivial change to apparant size when something is 1000' away, you have to move it a couple hundred feet further away. So if 1000' away is +10 to DC, then maybe 1500' away is +11 to DC. So spotting something that is collosal and moving and unconcealed (like an airplane or a dragon) miles away is nearly trivial, even if you do roll spot checks to detect it. You stop having to worry about 'Ok, you just see it'. If you really want to know if it can be seen or if you want to go to the rules and work out approximately how far away it is when they first notice it, you can work it out. [/QUOTE]

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