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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 6061521">For specifically stating that his character is "aware", I would give him a +2 to perception-related checks he makes.  However, a person who is "on edge" about being ambushed can also be betrayed by it.  Small noises become big deals, their pack horse stepping on a stick, the flutter of bird wings, the rustle of the wind in the leaves.  Paranoia will burn you out.  Lets say while "traveling" everyone gets a turn to do something.  A player may choose to do nothing, but every time you come to Paranoid-guy's turn, he must make a check.  Sometimes spot, sometimes listen.  Even the silence should bother him.Give him lines like "You hear a rustle in the trees, but when you look up it's only a squirrel."  "A loud crunch rings out behind you!  But it's only the horse stepping on a stick."  "A shadow moves in the distance, what do you do?  *he charges in to attack*  You find nothing, it must have been a trick of the light."  *he rolls a 15+10 for 25* "You hear nothing at all, even the sounds of your own footsteps seem muffled."Lull your player into a false sense of security, or heighten his paranoia.  Depending on how well the bandits have hidden themselves, even good checks, even nat 20's may not discover them until it's too late, and it's ALWAYS DM discretion to determine what clues, if any, the player finds, of if the player can detect the bandits at all, who presumably are skilled in stealth and hiding so it should be difficult to detect them.I would say at the end, your "aware" character would get to act in the surprise round of the ambush.  But unless he's very specific with what he's checking for, and you ALWAYS want players to be specific, and says something like "I look behind the incredibly large boulder up ahead before crossing the stream."  He's not going to find anything.**as a DM and player I dislike player statements like "I am aware while traveling!"  Okay, great...but unless you are actually looking for something in particular, you're more likely to get paranoid over nothing than find anything at all.  Players should determine what they're rolling for first, and be explicit about that.  Even "I look for bandits in the woods!" is too general, to which I would say "The woods are very big, they are on your left, your right, before you and behind you, and above you.  Which part of the woods are you looking in?"</blockquote>

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