A Perception check lets you spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something. It measures your general awareness of your surroundings and the keenness of your senses. For example, you might try to hear a conversation through a closed door, eavesdrop under an open window, or hear monsters moving stealthily in the forest. Or you might try to spot things that are obscured or easy to miss, whether they are orcs lying in ambush on a road, thugs hiding in the shadows of an alley, or candlelight under a closed secret door.
Notice Something
| Detail | DC |
|---|---|
| Hear the sound of battle | –10 |
| Notice the stench of rotting garbage | –10 |
| Detect the smell of smoke | 0 |
| 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 |
| 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 | 5 |
| Notice a pickpocket | Opposed by Deception |
| Notice a hidden creature | Opposed by Stealth |
| Find a hidden trap | Varies by trap |
| Identify the powers of a potion through taste | 15 + potion‘s caster level |
| Perception Modifiers | DC Modifier |
| Distance to the source, object, or creature | +1/10 feet |
| Through a closed door | +5 |
| Through a wall | +10/foot of thickness |
| Favorable conditions1 | –2 |
| Unfavorable conditions1 | +2 |
| Terrible conditions2 | +5 |
| Creature making the check is distracted | +5 |
| Creature making the check is asleep | +10 |
| Creature or object is invisible | +20 |
| 1 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might increase the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might reduce a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent. 2 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent. | |
Perception has a number of uses, the most common of which is an opposed check versus an opponent’s Stealth check to notice the opponent and avoid being surprised. If you are successful, you notice the opponent and can react accordingly. If you fail, your opponent can take a variety of actions, including sneaking past you or attacking you.
Perception is also used to notice fine details in the environment. The DC to notice such details varies depending upon distance, the environment, and how noticeable the detail is. The following table gives a number of guidelines.
Deliberate Search
Finding things that are hidden, such as secret caches of treasure, concealed doors, and deadly traps requires deliberate searching. These things are intentionally too well hidden to be discovered by casual observation or happenstance.
You can also deliberately search to try to better observe things that are usually passively noticed, and guardsmen make a living doing just that. A deliberate search requires a move action. When searching an area for traps and other hidden items, each move action searches only one 5-foot square, often requiring multiple checks to search an entire room.