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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PeelSeel2" data-source="post: 3883121" data-attributes="member: 35016">I would rule that you cannot take 20 on searching for anything.  The act of taking 20 implies failures.  Failures, with search checks, have a negative consequence.  Failure on a search check means that character fails to notice/find something, which is detrimental.  If it is not finding the hidden treasure chest or finding the secret door, failure implies your character believes it is not their (and it may not in fact be their!).Take a 40' long hallway with a dead end.  In one scenario, their is a secret door at the end, in the other their is not.  In the first scenario, the characters search for secret doors, and they fail to find it.  They do not think a door is their.  If they where allowed to take 20, it implies they go through repetitive failures of "it's not here, it's not here, oh wait, it's their suddenly!"  In the second scenario they take 20 and get a bunch of failures "it's not here, it's not here, oh wait, it's not their!".The two scenarios point something out.  When a character fails to find what he/she is looking for, the character is convinced it is not their.  Therefore, they cannot take 20.In performing search checks I would rule how the characters describe they are searching will get bonuses to the roll.  In the Village of Homlett, the characters had just defeated the bandit chief.  The Bandit chief had hidden a chest of treasure under the rubble.  Now the characters did not know it was their, they where just doing standard search checks to see if they could find something.  It had a high search difficulty and normally the characters would have to get real lucky to find it.  The player with the rogue said, however, "If I was a successful bandit chief and I had to hide my money from my men and interlopers, but I also need it fairly accessible instead of a pain in the butt to get to, where would I hide it being a sneaky person who thinks like that?"  To him, I gave a +10 circumstance bonus.  If it would have been a class other than a rogue who came up with the reasoning, I would have given a +5.Along the same lines, I would rule you cannot take 20 on a spot check.</blockquote>

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