Niche D20Associated Ability Modifier: Focus
Your senses allow you to notice fine details and alert you to danger. Perception covers all five senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Common Uses
Perception has numerous uses; primarily in noticing creatures and objects. Perception is used as a opposed skill check against stealthy opponents. Otherwise perception is used to notice details within the environment. The DCs to notice these details varies depending on conditions, distance, or how noticeable the detail itself is. The following table is a list of adjustments to the DC of a particular perception check.
Perception checks should be made in secret by the GM as a creature would not be aware if they missed something or not or how well their search was done.
| Detail | Perception DC |
|---|---|
| Hear the sound of battle | –10 |
| Notice the stench of rotting | –10 |
| Detect the smell of smoke | -5 |
| Hear the details of a conversation | 0 |
| Notice a visible creature | 0 |
| Determine if food is spoiled | 5 |
| Hear the sound of a creature walking | 10 |
| Hear the details of a whispered conversation | 15 |
| Find the average concealed door | 15 |
| Read the lips of a creature speaking to glean what is being said. | 25 |
| Hear the sound of a key being turned in a lock | 20 |
| Find the average secret door | 20 |
| Hear a bow being drawn | 25 |
| Sense a burrowing creature underneath you | 25 |
| Notice a pickpocket | Opposed by Sleight of Hand Check |
| Notice a creature using Stealth | Opposed by Stealth Check |
| Find a hidden trap | Determined by Trap DC |
| Modifiers to Perception DC | DC Modifier |
| Distance to the source, object, or creature | +1/10 feet after 50 feet away. |
| Hearing through a closed door | +5 |
| Hearing through a wall | +10/foot of thickness |
| Observing something from higher ground (at least 10ft higher than the creature or object, such as from a watchtower) | -5 |
| Other Favorable conditions | –2 |
| Other Unfavorable conditions | +2 |
| Creature making the check is asleep | +10 |
| Creature or object is invisible | +20 |
| Creature or object is noticeably changing light level (such as emitting an area of light in a darker room or dark in a light room) | -10 |
| Object is larger than you | -1 per 5 foot square it occupies beyond the first. |
| Object is smaller than you | +1 per size below yours. |
Action/Retry
Most Perception checks are made in reaction to something as some sort of stimulus (such as a creature approaching). Intentionally searching for stimulus is a 2 AP action.
When actively searching you can attempt to search again using a separate action; attempting to sense something you missed the first time.