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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 6603177" data-attributes="member: 45197">Hiya!&nbsp;My take: I see Passive as, well, Passive. You aren't really *looking* for anything in particular... maybe you're focused on something else, maybe you're staring off into space thinking about what kind of sandwich to make, who knows? It's kinda like walking into a resteraunt for the first time. In an instant, your brain scanning the room for &quot;stuff and things&quot;...how many tables are available, where is that loud conversation comming from, who's arguing, what's that nice smell, and a million other things. The next instant your brain calculates all of what it just took in and prioritizes it for you; you then take that information and can use it to decide what to focus on. Do you want quiet? A large table? A table by the window? What?&nbsp; Passive Perception is kinda like that. An adventurer walks into a 20'x30'x12' room with an arched ceiling. His Passive perception takes it all in....about a half dozen wooden support beams, some kind of junk/refuse in the far corner, a door on the far wall with iron bands, and something just glinted over on the left... That's &quot;Passive&quot;. Now the player can decide what to focus on...&quot;I'm looking to the left at what might have caused that glint&quot;... &quot;OK, make a Perception check&quot; (as the DM knows that a thief just ducked behind one of the support beams; maybe the PC sees the tip of the thieves boot, or maybe he sees some dust settling nearby, or maybe he sees a mouse run up the beam and away from it...).&nbsp; That's how all my &quot;Passive&quot; checks are handled. Passive is just the quick, instant intake of info. Some people are really good at this...some not so much. Once something peaks their interest, then they can move on to actively trying to make sense of what their brain just told them to focus on.^_^Paul L. Ming</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pming, post: 6603177, member: 45197"] Hiya! My take: I see Passive as, well, Passive. You aren't really *looking* for anything in particular... maybe you're focused on something else, maybe you're staring off into space thinking about what kind of sandwich to make, who knows? It's kinda like walking into a resteraunt for the first time. In an instant, your brain scanning the room for "stuff and things"...how many tables are available, where is that loud conversation comming from, who's arguing, what's that nice smell, and a million other things. The next instant your brain calculates all of what it just took in and prioritizes it for you; you then take that information and can use it to decide what to focus on. Do you want quiet? A large table? A table by the window? What? Passive Perception is kinda like that. An adventurer walks into a 20'x30'x12' room with an arched ceiling. His Passive perception takes it all in....about a half dozen wooden support beams, some kind of junk/refuse in the far corner, a door on the far wall with iron bands, and something just glinted over on the left... That's "Passive". Now the player can decide what to focus on..."I'm looking to the left at what might have caused that glint"... "OK, make a Perception check" (as the DM knows that a thief just ducked behind one of the support beams; maybe the PC sees the tip of the thieves boot, or maybe he sees some dust settling nearby, or maybe he sees a mouse run up the beam and away from it...). That's how all my "Passive" checks are handled. Passive is just the quick, instant intake of info. Some people are really good at this...some not so much. Once something peaks their interest, then they can move on to actively trying to make sense of what their brain just told them to focus on. ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]

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