Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon 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 Next
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
*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!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
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
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Passive vs Active 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="jgsugden" data-source="post: 7329660" data-attributes="member: 2629"><p>Passive refers to the lack of a die roll - tis true. However, you use the passive check in most situations in which the characters are not 'actively' (as in using an action) doing something. So you use passive checks in passive situations a lot, even if that is not what the passive references explicitly.That last bit I disagree on. You are keeping watch. You are taking proactive efforts to be on watch. To me, this gives you an active roll, with a floor of your passive perception, whenever there is something noteworthy to be perceived. </p><p></p><p>Let's say that the party was in combat with a fairly weak force, but they expect a menacing monster to come join the battle - one that uses stealth. Knowing when they arrive is critical. Accordingly, while the majority of the PCs are mopping up the minor threats, one PC is using their combat action to look for the threat - an active use of perception, and a skill check with a die roll.</p><p></p><p>How is that PC's activity different than the PC standing on watch while the rest of the party rests?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 7329660, member: 2629"] Passive refers to the lack of a die roll - tis true. However, you use the passive check in most situations in which the characters are not 'actively' (as in using an action) doing something. So you use passive checks in passive situations a lot, even if that is not what the passive references explicitly.That last bit I disagree on. You are keeping watch. You are taking proactive efforts to be on watch. To me, this gives you an active roll, with a floor of your passive perception, whenever there is something noteworthy to be perceived. Let's say that the party was in combat with a fairly weak force, but they expect a menacing monster to come join the battle - one that uses stealth. Knowing when they arrive is critical. Accordingly, while the majority of the PCs are mopping up the minor threats, one PC is using their combat action to look for the threat - an active use of perception, and a skill check with a die roll. How is that PC's activity different than the PC standing on watch while the rest of the party rests? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Passive vs Active Perception...
Top