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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9766601" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Perception: Noticing physical observables (sights, smells, naturally-occurring sounds, etc.)Investigation: Piecing together circumstantial evidence into a resultant conclusionFor me, the difference is that Investigation is about proposing a theory and taking actions which generate evidence for or against that theory, while Perception is straight-up just what do your senses detect. Perception matters most when you have no idea what in particular you're looking for and are just taking in the scene. Investigation matters most when you know (or think you know) what you're looking for, but need to confirm that it is in fact actually here as opposed to somewhere else.Examples include...<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Trying to determine where a secret door is. Perception: noticing the scrape marks on the floor where the bookcase swings open, seeing places where dust has been pushed around, listening for any unusual sounds. Investigation: Examining the bookshelf to identify a book touched/moved more than others, measuring the length of a room vs its exterior to find the false wall, tapping walls to find hollow ones, etc.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tracking someone/something. Perception: detecting the subtle indentations in grassy ground, hearing footsteps if the target is close, smelling the scent left behind (e.g. perfume, smoke, etc.) Investigation: matching fingerprints or shoe markings, collecting witness testimony, checking which direction branches/reeds/etc. are broken, using an accurate map to determine viable routes of escape.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Finding traps. Perception: seeing the tripwire, smelling the acid, feeling the indentations in the floor where boulders have fallen. Investigation: Testing floors for whether they sound hollow, checking for irregularities in tile patterns, distinguishing different types of soot-stains (e.g. torch-smoke vs fire-trap scorching),</li> </ul>It can also help to point out things that one can't be used for, but the other can. Investigation is a generic research skill--if you aren't looking for historical information or some specific bit of lore from Arcana or Religion or the like, then Investigation is your go-to for "looking up details to assemble an argument"--which Perception should be useless for. Conversely, Investigation is worthless for the purpose of keeping watch, while Perception is obviously useful--do you notice things approaching your camp?Investigation applies reasoning to a situation, sometimes with testing of a hypothesis, to draw a conclusion. Perception takes in the scene as it already is, with only whatever minimal interaction is necessary. I really do think the "knocking on the wall to hear if it's hollow" thing is a good example illustrating the division. I would not, personally, consider that action one of "perceiving", but rather of "investigating"--you're testing the world to see if it yields useful information, not just gleaning the useful information available on the surface.</blockquote>

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