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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6345895" data-attributes="member: 1465">Indeed there's a lot of blur between the different skills and checks options, but it's good to see them as more and flexible opportunities rather than a rigid system to sort out.I tend to see Perception as a description of your general awareness of things that are not expected, that stand out, be them visual, audible, smell, taste or something else. But also, I see Perception as something to use particularly when you don't know what you're looking for. Not strictly passive however, i.e. I would use Perception also for actively listening at a door, or for looking into the distance. Instead, I tend to see Investigation as trying to seek a specific target, either you're looking for an object (or object type) or an answer. But at the same time this could also be a difference between Wisdom and Intelligence in general.The mechanics (passive vs roll, hidden vs shown to the players, retry or not, how long it takes or how long before another check) serve different purposes. IMHO the main use of passive perception might be for encapsulating multiple routine checks, but it's just an option and because of that it can also be used with Investigation or other skills. I'm not sure I'll use it often because you can't reach your highest DC. I would prefer hidden rolls if I don't want the players know about a failure, or regular rolls when they will find out anyway.Then there is also the variant rule for using different abilities with a skill, which I plan to use quite often instead, but not letting the players choose, instead letting the circumstance establish that. I really like the idea that a detective may need a Wisdom(Investigation) check when looking for any clues in a crime scene, an Intelligence(Investigation) check to put the clues together and figure out how the crime actually took place, a Charisma(Investigation) check to gather information from people, and a Constitution(Investigation) check to sort out data from an archive in a night's work.I am sure I won't always adjudicate these below in the same way, but here's what I'd do:Since the trap is fixed DC, I'd avoid using passive and make a hidden group Wisdom(Perception) roll.Same, hidden group Wisdom(Perception) vs DC.Regular (non-hidden) individual Wisdom(Perception) checks vs Dexterity(Stealth), assuming the enemy is going to attack the party anyway.If the opponent won't start a fight but will stay there hiding, then hidden group Wisdom(Perception) vs Dexterity(Stealth), but in this case passive Perception may be ok (there is still randomness because it's an opposed check).Hidden group Wisdom(Insight) check vs Charisma(Deception), or once again passive Insight is ok.That said, in all these examples you can also decide not to roll anything until the players say they actually want to check. It depends if you prefer playing by "the characters are assumed to be doing their best all the time" or "the players always need to declare".My bottom line is that we've got plenty of mechanics:- using different base abilities- using different skill proficiency- passive vs check- player rolls vs hidden (DM rolls)- individual check vs group check- static DC vs opposed contest- automatic vs player-initiated- retries (dis)allowedand too many possible in-game and meta-game circumstances to keep fixed on how to handle each case.</blockquote>

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