Listen and Spot Checks

[doktorstick]

As rule of thumb, do the PCs automatically "Take 10" when the DM needs a Listen or Spot check? The corollary would be that they only roll dice when actively "listening" or "spotting" (full-round action).

Imagine the PCs are walking through town, casually, not expecting anyone to be sneaking up on them. Would it be a roll or a "take 10"?

Imagine the PCs are walking through a dungeon and are probably more alert. Would it be a roll or a "take 10"?

I have always called for a roll in both cases, but I have seen it done with the "take 10" approach.

Cheers,
/ds

 

[Weeble]

take 10 is a valuable time saver also. in this case it would not spoil an event that was coming up that, say, the players shouldn't know about, while having the Players roll or rolling yourself can tip the players off.

 

[James McMurray]

I have the players roll. But to avoid tipping them off, I have a sheet of pre-rolled results, and just cross them off as I need them. Actually, only one column of rolls was actually rolled, the rest were generated by Excel's random number generator.

 

[Caliber]

Every now and then (and especially if attention is starting to wander) I will either roll some dice myself or have all the other players make Spot or Listen checks. Once you really get into the habit, they will no longer be suspicious when the dice come out (or, they will be, but they won't know when its real and when its just a set up.)

 

[Romotre]

I write down each of the PC's listen and spot before hand. If I need some I roll them behind the screen. If someone hears/sees something, I'll inform that character. Otherwise we keep going on. I sometime makes rolls at random times to throw them off, and its oten for other random things.

 

[LostSoul]

That's exactly what I do, unless the player asks to make a Spot or Listen check.

It works rather well.