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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 2033716" data-attributes="member: 5100">For spot, I might, if I thought the modifiers wouldn't completely kill any chance of success.  The way it actually plays out is that the Ranger character is aware of a lot more information than the player is told.  The character is aware of the barmaid getting busy with the guardsman in the corner.  The player might be told about it.  If it's window dressing, I use it as such.  That may mean a few red herrings, but that's part of the fun. The same applies to the bard.  He recognizes that the barmaid is lying about the bread being today's, but it doesn't matter unless I'm feeling verbose. Most of the time, this isn't worth rolling dice.  Again, it's window dressing.  If you're talking about the ninja hiding in the corner, that's worth a roll.  Ditto to the mayor lying about having never heard of the BBEG.  Those are core story-line events, and they need to be handled with care. It's the DM's job to determine what descriptions/details are value-added to the game.  It's not his job to determine success or failure for important events.  That's why we use dice. For purposes of this thread, I've been assuming something like the PCs interviewing key NPCs, who may be trying to hide information from the PCs.  There is a difference.  The casually strolling ranger still gets his free Spot check if anything interesting is going on.  If his Spot is through the roof, then you aren't likely to surprise him.  If he is actively being paranoid, then he's spending a move(?) action every round to get an extra spot check.  That's two rolls required to surprise him.  Granted, he looks like a dork, but he's safer.  In practice, I'd probably just ad hoc a +5 bonus, or some such, if the ranger was really being a freak. Spot and Sense Motive are passive skills.  You never have to declare that you're using them.  There are some options for using them actively, but that isn't the main point.</blockquote>

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