Comment from discussion A couple questions about passive skills. As I understand it, they are used when someone is passively doing something rather than actively, so passive perception is used as a baseline for how much a character notices when he’s not actively looking around.
So if a character with a passive perception of 13 is actively looking around for something that can be seen on a perception DC of 10, and he rolls a 2, does he not see it? Or should passive perception be considered the minimum possible value for that character?
Passive Investigation is mentioned in the Observant feat, but I have not seen anything else written on how you passively investigate something, or what situations warrant using this skill. Are there other skills that can be done passively?
Any skill can be used passively – it’s up the DM to apply that as needed.
For perception checks, you passive result is always in effect. If you could see something with a DC 10 check and your passive is 11, you see it without rolling.
Keep in mind, though, that a DM might rule otherwise. Passive checks are a tool that groups can use to speed up the game or move past die results that slow things down or lead to a grind.AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.
So if a character with a passive perception of 13 is actively looking around for something that can be seen on a perception DC of 10, and he rolls a 2, does he not see it? Or should passive perception be considered the minimum possible value for that character?
Passive Investigation is mentioned in the Observant feat, but I have not seen anything else written on how you passively investigate something, or what situations warrant using this skill. Are there other skills that can be done passively?
Any skill can be used passively – it’s up the DM to apply that as needed.
For perception checks, you passive result is always in effect. If you could see something with a DC 10 check and your passive is 11, you see it without rolling.
Keep in mind, though, that a DM might rule otherwise. Passive checks are a tool that groups can use to speed up the game or move past die results that slow things down or lead to a grind.AMA: Mike Mearls, Co-Designer of D&D 5, Head of D&D R&D.