D&D 5E Some 5ed Questions

[Rune]

Or better yet Jaracove, use the actual encounter building guidelines in the DMG. CR's can be deceptive and are not they way to build an encounter. Use the XP budgeting guidelines (with the multipliers) that are suggested in the rules.

Well, better is a pretty subjective term.

The encounter-building guidelines are effective at what they are designed to do, and that totally works for some people. But, even then, they still can't account for variables such as environment and tactical approaches, on either side, nor, to some degree, extreme luck. Even with the encounter-building guidelines, practice is still the most important tool.

CR, as you mentioned, is not an accurate measure of encounter difficulty. It is, instead, a rough measure of potential lethality, which is not the same thing.

 

[Jaracove]

Thanks for the advice.
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I can't recall coming across any rules for how long a search takes; were there any?

EDIT: Also, is there a setting to stop those really annoying facebook/twitter pop ups that keep appearing on the left of every page I open on Enworld?

 

[Joe Liker]

I can't recall coming across any rules for how long a search takes; were there any?

That's highly variable, depending on what they are searching for -- so you're right; there's no hard-and-fast rule, apart from the fact that passive Perception is instantaneous.

I usually say it takes a round to actively search a 5-foot cube. (You might think that's too short and decide it takes a full minute.) If there's a narrative reason I want it to take a long time to find something, I make it harder by setting a high DC. My default DC for secret doors is 20, but some dungeon-dwellers are better than average at hiding their doors.

Characters are certainly welcome to re-check an area as many times as they like. If they know something is in a certain area but not exactly where, you might give advantage on the rolls.

 

[Gilladian]

Thanks for the advice.
---

I can't recall coming across any rules for how long a search takes; were there any?

EDIT: Also, is there a setting to stop those really annoying facebook/twitter pop ups that keep appearing on the left of every page I open on Enworld?

On my iPad there is an arrow symbol on the far edge I clicked to expand the message window and hide the annoying feeds.

 

[Jaracove]

An elf has +3 from having Wisdom 16, a +2 Proficiency in Wisdom, a +2 Perception skilled proficiency, +2 to Perception from the elven 'Keen Sight' feature

All are from separate sources so is his passive perception 17?

 

[Tormyr]

An elf has +3 from having Wisdom 16, a +2 Proficiency in Wisdom, a +2 Perception skilled proficiency, +2 to Perception from the elven 'Keen Sight' feature

All are from separate sources so is his passive perception 17?

No, there are a few different things there.
+3 bonus applies to anything wisdom related
This elf also has a +2 proficiency bonus. The proficiency bonus can be added to things the elf is proficient in.
This elf is proficient in Wisdom saving throws. 2 + 3 = a +5 bonus to Wisdom saving throws.
Elves automatically have proficiency in ability checks that use the Perception skill. Almost all perception checks are Wisdom related, so this elf gets 2 + 3 = +5 to Wisdom (Perception) ability checks.
Since elves already get proficiency in the perception skill, the elf should choose another skill instead of the free Perception skill it already gets.

 

[Jaracove]

No, there are a few different things there.
+3 bonus applies to anything wisdom related
This elf also has a +2 proficiency bonus. The proficiency bonus can be added to things the elf is proficient in.
This elf is proficient in Wisdom saving throws. 2 + 3 = a +5 bonus to Wisdom saving throws.
Elves automatically have proficiency in ability checks that use the Perception skill. Almost all perception checks are Wisdom related, so this elf gets 2 + 3 = +5 to Wisdom (Perception) ability checks.
Since elves already get proficiency in the perception skill, the elf should choose another skill instead of the free Perception skill it already gets.

Normally I would agree with you but this last part is what I query

I query it because the elf is not getting the same proficiency bonus from the same source, which may happen if you had for example, a race feature (+2 stealth) and a class feature (+2 stealth). Each bonus is from a separate; so there's no doubling up from the same source modifier

 

[Hriston]

Having Keen Senses is no different from having proficiency with perception from some other source.

 

[Tormyr]

Normally I would agree with you but this last part is what I query

I query it because the elf is not getting the same proficiency bonus from the same source, which may happen if you had for example, a race feature (+2 stealth) and a class feature (+2 stealth). Each bonus is from a separate; so there's no doubling up from the same source modifier

It isn't a modifier that the elf is getting. The elf gets proficiency in Perception. That is either on or off. A character either has proficiency in the skill or doesn't. A rogue or bard could turn that into expertise (double the proficiency bonus), but if Perception is in the list of skills available from their class or background, the elf should choose something else because they already have Perception.

And since I forgot to answer this in the previous post, the passive perception for that elf would be 15.

 

[Jaracove]

Sorry but I still can't see what the difference is.

Is there a hard and fast rule in the phb that explains this?