search for traps

[FitzTheRuke]

Here's how it works:

If you don't state that you are going to look for traps (IE run your hand along every crack and test every floor tile before stepping on it) then the DM assumes that your character is not an idiot, and is at least somewhat wary, keeping an eye out for danger (but not wasting a lot of time about it).

Your passive perception is 10 + WS + Training + Race bonus. Let's say this is 17. So if a trap has a hidden DC of less than 17, then you don't notice it. If a creature is hiding from you, he rolls a stealth check for it. (Let's say it's a Kobold with a +8 who rolls a 12. He gets 20 and you don't spot him.)

If, however, you ARE slowly moving down the corridore, checking every crack, yadda yadda, then YOU would roll your d20 and add Perception (in the above example, a +7) so if you rolled a 12, you'd have a 19 and spot the Kobold.

Clear?

It's not really a matter of wandering about with your head in a book and your IPOD playing vs Crawling on the floor eyeing every speck.

Fitz

 

[Chibbot]

Is it a flat 10 or are there other factors which contribute to this (WIS, training, etc)?

From what we've seen, its a flat taking 10. I think thats actually been said somewhere, but I don't recall where. I think it is possible that there will be feats, or possibly class features that increase the passive skills (maybe rogues have a higher passive perception), although I don't really expect that to be the case.

I must admit, it still seems implausible to me that somebody actively on the alert for trip-wires isn't more likely to notice them than somebody snooze-walking down the corridor.

I don't entirely agree with this. There's certainly a chance that someone looking for something will find it, but its not guaranteed. I can't count the number of times I spent 10 minutes looking for my keys on and under every surface in my apartment, only to stop looking, walk into the kitchen, get a drink, walk back out, and spot them just sitting on a book out of the corner of my eye.

And if the player does declare then what is the calculation? Is it different from a Passive Perception? If not why would a player ever state that they are, eg, on the lookout for tripwires if the DM is simply expected to roll against a passive value?

I would be grateful if someone could indicate how these different states of awareness are represented mechanically, if in fact they are.

From what has been released, the difference between a passive skill check and an active skill check is that either the player takes 10, or the player rolls. In the play-test game which I ran that had the crushing boulder trap, I gave it some "stealth" modifier, I think it was + 5 or +6, and then rolled a d20 to get how well it was hidden. I compared that to passive values when the party wasn't actively searching, and when they did, that was the DC. Don't know if thats how it will be done when the real rules are out, but it worked well for us.

 

[D'karr]

Is it a flat 10 or are there other factors which contribute to this (WIS, training, etc)?

It is a flat 10 added to your Perception skill, which already has all the appropriate modifiers included.

I must admit, it still seems implausible to me that somebody actively on the alert for trip-wires isn't more likely to notice them than somebody snooze-walking down the corridor.

If you did not notice it with the Passive Perception, then you can decide to search. Which means you are taking a chance that you will roll better. By the same token you are taking a chance that you will still not notice it, if your Passive had already not noticed it.

If finding a trap has a DC of 20 and your Passive Perception is 17, there is no chance that you will find it unless you roll. If you roll lower than a 13 you still will not find it.

And if the player does declare then what is the calculation? Is it different from a Passive Perception? If not why would a player ever state that they are, eg, on the lookout for tripwires if the DM is simply expected to roll against a passive value?

I would be grateful if someone could indicate how these different states of awareness are represented mechanically, if in fact they are.

Whether the player declares that he is searching or not, the calculation is the same. For Passive Perception it is 10 + Perception score. For an active search it is 1d20 + Perception score. Your Perception score already has all the modifiers applied to it.