Tome of Prowess (3.5e Sourcebook)/Perception
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Perception
Perception is both an active and a passive skill. It is used continuously in a passive state to determine what events characters are simply aware of, from whispered conversations to bursts of light to scents drifting on the breeze. It can also be used actively to learn more about an event or detect a forgery. Those who put effort into sharpening their senses can even pierce illusions or detect magical transformations in others, sometimes automatically.
Key Attribute: Wisdom
Base DCs and Modifiers
Table: Sight DCs
| Sight Event | Example | Base DC1 | Standard Range |
Range Increment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| See 1/2 Inch Details | Recognize an unobscured sub-sub-sub-fine object against a background; Text in a book | 0 | 1 1/2 ft. | 9 in. |
| See 1 Inch Details | Recognize an unobscured sub-sub-fine object against a background; Recognize facial details | 0 | 3 ft. | 1 1/2 ft. |
| See 2 Inch Details | Recognize an unobscured sub-fine object against a background; Read a small store sign, likely inside | 0 | 6 ft. | 3 ft. |
| See 4 Inch Details | Recognize an unobscured fine object against a background; Read a large, overhanging store sign or waysign | 0 | 12 ft. | 6 ft. |
| See 8 Inch Details | Recognize an unobscured diminutive object against a background | 0 | 25 ft. | 12 ft. |
| See 1 1/4 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured tiny object against a background | 0 | 50 ft. | 25 ft. |
| See 2 1/2 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured small object against a background | 0 | 100 ft. | 50 ft. |
| See 5 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured medium object against a background | 0 | 200 ft. | 100 ft. |
| See 10 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured large object against a background; See a hill giant on the edge of a forest | 0 | 400 ft. | 200 ft. |
| See 20 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured huge object against a background; See an adult red dragon flying through the sky | 0 | 800 ft. | 400 ft. |
| See 40 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured gargantuan object against a background | 0 | 1600 ft. | 800 ft. |
| See 80 Foot Details | Recognize an unobscured colossal object against a background | 0 | 3200 ft. | 1600 ft. |
| ||||
Table: Hearing DCs
| Hearing Event | Example1 | Base DC2 | Standard Range |
Range Increment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 dB | Hear a cat stalking | 0 | 4 in. | 1 in. |
| 10 dB | Hear a person breathing | 0 | 8 in. | 2 in. |
| 20 dB | Hear a whisper | 0 | 1 1/2 ft. | 4 in. |
| 30 dB | Hear leaves rustling; creature walking on soft ground (grass) | 0 | 3 ft. | 8 in. |
| 40 dB | Hear a quiet conversation; creature walking on hard ground (cobblestones); creature hustling or running on soft ground; creature flapping wings to stay in air | 0 | 6 ft. | 1 1/2 ft. |
| 50 dB | Hear a normal conversation; creature walking on noisy ground (snapping twigs); creature hustling or running on hard ground | 0 | 12 ft. | 3 ft. |
| 60 dB | Hear a crowded inn; creature hustling or running on noisy ground | 0 | 25 ft. | 6 ft. |
| 70 dB | Hear a boisterous party | 0 | 50 ft. | 12 ft. |
| 80 dB | Hear a shouted statement | 0 | 100 ft. | 25 ft. |
| 90 dB | Hear a sword clanging against a shield or armor | 0 | 200 ft. | 50 ft. |
| 100 dB | Hear a fireball exploding | 0 | 400 ft. | 100 ft. |
| 110 dB | Hear a lion roaring | 0 | 800 ft. | 200 ft. |
| 120 dB | Hear a large dragon roaring | 0 | 1600 ft. | 400 ft. |
| 130 dB | Hear something so loud it hurts, like a banshee | 0 | 3200 ft. | 800 ft. |
| ||||
Table: Smell DCs
| Smelling Event | Example | Base DC | Standard Range |
Range Increment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faint Smell | Like... something | 0 | 4 ft. | 1 ft. |
Table: Taste DCs
| Tasting Event | Example | Base DC |
|---|---|---|
| Faint Ingredient | Lavender | -5 |
Table: Touch DCs
| Touch Event | Example | Base DC |
|---|---|---|
| Faintest of touches | A faint breeze across the skin | 10 |
| Light, glancing touch; | A feather run across your arm; pierced by acupuncture needle in a "painless" spot | 5 |
| Casual touch | Arm around the shoulder of a friend; a lover's kiss | 0 |
| Non-lethal damage; very small piercing attacks | Sparring with fists; blows from padded swords; whoops, dart in your neck | -5 |
| Piercing or slashing wound from an object the two or more size categories smaller; blunt damage from an object one or more size category smaller | Arrow wound; thrown dagger lodging in your arm; hitting your thumb with a hammer | -10 |
| Piercing or slashing wound from an object the one size category smaller; blunt damage from an object of your size category | Longsword in your side; whacked by a quarterstaff | -15 |
| Piercing or slashing wound from an object of your size category; blunt damage from an object of a larger size category | Greatsword in your neck; clubbed by a larger creature | -20 |
Table: DC Modifiers
| Circumstance | DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Sound is traveling through an object, like a door or water.1 | +Interposing Object's HP/10 |
| Background noise stronger than listening event.1 | +2 per 10 dB difference |
| Additional range increment to event for primary sense used to notice event.2 | +2 |
| Intense event occurs inside the standard range. | -4 |
| Intense event occurs inside half of the standard range. | -8 |
| Ambient conditions impair the primary sense used to notice event. | +2 |
| Ambient conditions block a sense used to notice event3 | — |
| Ambient conditions block all senses that could notice event4 | N/A |
| |
Table: Check Modifiers
| Circumstance | Check Modifier |
|---|---|
| Somewhat familiar with target, knows what to look for but may not have experienced the event directly | +2 |
| Familiar with target, has witnessed before | +4 |
| Very familiar with target, many previous interactions | +8 |
| Distracted | -5 |
| Extremely distracted, like being threatened in combat | -8 |
| Shocked beyond ability to respond, dumbfounded | -10 |
| Sleeping1 | -8 |
| Rushing a 1 round or full-round action to a standard action | -3 |
| Rushing a standard action to a move action | -2 |
| Rushing a standard or move action to a swift action | -5 |
| |
Special
| ”Roll a perception check…” |
| Those are words you should never say again unless the player asks if they can make something out. When you volunteer those words you ruin immersion, break the mood, and alert the players that there’s something they should be looking for that they weren’t previously. The “Take 0” rule for perception ensures that some players will simply become aware of things that happen and you can just tell them about it. If there’s a brief flash of lightning that outlines the villain’s army against the dark night or a faint scream from somewhere deep in the dungeon, you can just tell the player with a perception bonus that would allow them to notice it, and thus deepen the atmosphere. If they want to try to make something out of it, and it’s going on long enough for them to get the rest of the party to quit being a distraction, they will get their perception check to learn more about it. In this way the check is an active thing in response to a set piece instead of a reactive thing that serves as a warning, just like it should be. |
All conscious characters are considered to be taking 0 on their perception checks, all of the time, and this does not require an action. They may not be actively paying attention to a particular thing, but they don’t ignore everything either. This is true whether they are walking down the street, chatting with a friend, or even sleeping. This change allows us to do away with reactive perception checks and instead make it an active choice to attempt to pay more attention to their surroundings, as a character no longer needs to spend an action or make a check to detect or notice something that they could not fail a check to notice.
This means that anytime a character is not distracted and is exposed to an event with a DC no greater than their perception ranks +5 they are at least aware of it. If the event has a notice DC no greater than their perception ranks, they detect it clearly. And if the event has a DC than their ranks in perception -5, they know details about it because they can make them out. Being distracted just means that the characters have one step less information. This is simply the effects of the Notice ability applied to taking 0 on a roll.
At lower levels there is not a large change in the game as a result of this, aside from the elimination of reactive perception checks. At higher levels, however, a character might automatically detect poor magical forgeries or see right through low level illusions. It is possible for a high level character to automatically see a low rank sneak without even rolling or announcing that they are keeping a wary eye, and all of that is both fine and good. It’s part of what makes higher level characters harder to manipulate in social settings, and also the only way to write a perception skill so that actually keeping a wary eye or actively trying to see what's going on means anything.
This is such an important concept that there’s even a sidebar here to reinforce it.
Untrained Uses
Discern Fraud
Forged documents are as good a liar as any silver tongued devil, but they sit in front of you and let you examine them for a longer time. Disguised individuals aren’t much different, since they practically parade in front of you. With a full-round action and a perception check, you can spot counterfeit objects and creatures, and deal with those who would pass them off on you appropriately. The base DC for this check is determined by whoever created the falsehood, and modified by your distance as indicated in the table above. You gain a modifier to your check based upon your circumstances.
Base DC: Check result of forgery or disguise + conditions
Check Result:
- DC+5 and above: You recognize if it is a fake and can even point out several places they went wrong, if you’re into mocking people who try to slip one by you. You automatically succeed at convincing others that it is a counterfeit.
- DC+0 to DC+4: You realize if the thing in front of you is a fake. If you attempt to convince someone else that it is a fake, they gain a +4 bonus on their check.
- DC-1 to DC-5: You believe something is off about the document or individual, but don't have any strong evidence to point at. You may retry this check or simply wait for your target to slip up and reveal themselves.
- DC-6 and below: You believe that it’s genuine, and can not retry this check unless you have new reason to suspect the object. Note that if you make this check on an authentic object you will still get this result, so you shouldn’t discount it just because you think something is up. Sometimes you’re just paranoid.
Notice
You have eyes, ears, and various other sense organs that allow you to notice things going on in your world. While you are always assumed to be paying some attention to the world, and thus taking 0 with the ability, actually making a check with this ability implies that you are focusing on your senses to take your surroundings in. Actively using this ability requires a standard action. The DC to notice or detect something is dependent on the type event it, and modified by local conditions like distance and interposing objects. You gain a bonus or penalty to this check based upon your circumstances, and may rush your attempt. Sample DCs are listed above, as are the conditions that provide a penalty to your check.
A notice check uses all of your relevant senses. You do not roll multiple times in a round for multiple senses. If you get a bonus to a particular sense, then that bonus applies to this ability whenever that sense would help you notice the event.
Special: Some creatures have enhanced senses, like tremorsense, blindsense, blindsight, and scent. These senses are not generally checked whenever a regular sense is checked, due to their enhanced precision, and ignore most types of concealment or stealth. Against creatures or objects that show poorly to these senses, however, these sense are checked to determine whether the creature can detect the target or not. The results for these abilities are listed in the check results below, as a special entry.
Base DC: Event DC, + conditions
Check Result:
- DC+5 and above: You notice the event very clearly, and can make out fine details about it that others might have difficulty with.
- DC+0 to DC+4: You notice the thing in question, and are rather clear about what it is.
- DC-1 to DC-5: You noticed... something. You’re not sure of any details, but there was definitely something there. If it’s still there next round you may be able to find out more with another check.
Special: If the thing in question is shows poorly against an enhanced sense, they have full concealment against that sense. This applies to you in general unless you can locate them more exactly with another sense. - DC-6 and below: You didn’t notice a thing.
Special: If the thing in question is shows poorly against an enhanced sense, they do not register for those senses at all. The enhanced sense doesn't even help you locate what square the target is in, the target may as well not even exist unless you can sense it in another fashion.
Rank 8 Uses
See the Invisible, Hear the Silenced
By focusing on one of your senses, you can ignore illusory sensation and instead notice the reality beneath. You can pierce illusions affecting only one sense at a time: sight, smell, taste, touch, or hearing. You can not pierce illusions with multiple senses at a time with this ability. Attempting to pierce illusions is a standard action; the DC for this check is 15 + caster level of the illusion, and your check is modified based on your circumstances. A special exception is made for being distracted, however, and you do not suffer that penalty when you use this ability.
This check is valid against all illusions that interact with the selected sense while you maintain your focus, and so your check is compared against the DC of any effect in range. Any illusion with a DC lower than your check is treated as an illusion for your selected sense. Since it only works against a single sense at a time, this is mostly useful for piercing single sense illusions like invisibility or silence. Against anything affecting more senses, a save is really your only option. Even though one sense recognizes the falsehood, your other senses are still firmly convinced that the sensation is real. This means you can’t simply ignore multi-sense illusions that you have partially pierced. Piercing an illusion counts as interacting with it, however, and you may then attempt a will save to disbelieve as per normal rules. Since you know that it is an illusion, you gain a +4 bonus on this save.
Base DC: 15 + caster level, + conditions
Check Result:
- DC+0 and above: The chosen sense pierces the illusion and understands it to be such. The illusion is persistent, however, and you must spend a swift action every round following to maintain the level of focus, carrying your check result into each new round. You must spend another standard action if you would like to attempt a new check.
- DC-1 and below: Whether it was cast by someone more skilled than yourself or you simply lack the necessary concentration, you fail to pierce the illusory sensory component for the illusion. There is nothing stopping you from retrying next round if you want though.
Rank 10 Uses
Discern Transformation
Magical transmutations of objects can be forgeries as well, since they could revert to their original form at some point in the future. You can discern these magical alterations, in both people and objects. Like the discern fraud ability, this is a full-round action. The DC is 15 + caster level, and the check results are the same as for the mundane ability.
Base DC: 15 + caster level, + conditions
Check Result: As Discern Fraud ability.
Rank 14 Uses
Sight Beyond Sight
Perception is strong with you, so strong that you can pierce illusions affecting all of your senses at once. Even without focusing your senses can pierce an illusory veil, even those that wouldn’t normally allow a save. Using this ability actively is a standard action; the DC for this check is 15 + caster level. You are assumed to be always "taking 0" with this ability, however, so it is possible that you will just see right though the illusions of less trained casters. Once an illusion is shattered for you with this ability, it remains so. Unlike the See the invisible, Hear the Silenced ability, this ability only targets a single illusion at a time when used actively. It targets every illusion you experience when used passively while "taking 0".
Base DC:15 + caster level, + conditions
Check Result:
- DC+0 and above: You recognize the illusion for what it is, and effectively disbelieve it.
- DC-1 to DC-5: You recognize that something is odd with the sensation, and that it might be an illusion, but are unable to actually pierce it. You may focus and retry, however.
- DC-6 and below: You fail to pierce the illusion, and may not attempt to do so again with this ability for at least 1 hour. You may still defeat portions of the illusion with the See the invisible, Hear the Silenced ability, however.
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