(IC) Quickleaf's Rime of the Frostmaiden

[Neurotic]

Scout forward. Lumrolur goes into the dark, shadow within shadow.

Ooc: I'm on a business conference, please roll for me

 

[Quickleaf]

Scout forward. Lumrolur goes into the dark, shadow within shadow.

Ooc: I'm on a business conference, please roll for me

Lumrolur advances to the front of the group, gingerly stepping towards the edge of the light source when suddenly a flagstone drops an inch underfoot and there's a loud grinding sound. At the end of the long hallway a spark glints in the darkness like a flint and steel about four feet off the ground. Lumrolur - thanks to his deep gnomish superior darkvision - sees a sparking mechanism inside the engraved dwarven mouth activating but nothing seems to happen.

GM: @VLAD the Destroyer Logrim recognizes this as one of his uncle Jorlen's fire traps, but it might be depleted of fuel. Lumrolur perception save dc 13: 1D20+4 = [6]+4 = 10 Ok. You're looking at that thinking "but Lumrolur has a +6 Perception!!!!" So this is a low-stakes situation – the trap is defunct – but since I think everyone hasn't looked at my all of my House Rules (nor do I expect you to remember them all), I wanted to show how I'm using Perception as a special saving throw. I know folks have been dropping Perception rolls to "notice stuff"...and honestly I've just been ignoring those rolls to describe whatever I'd describe/foreshadow to you anyway. I'll post the house rule in spoilers (this has always been in my document in the OOC), but basically Perception is a special save vs being Ambushed or Taken Off Guard By A Trap. That's it. Like all my house rules, if consensus is "we don't like that" or "we like the default" or "that's cool but can we change this bit", then you've just got to let me know in the OOC. However, my assumption is that all my house rules apply unless I'm told otherwise. Using my house rule, Lumrolur's Perception save would be +4 = Proficiency (automatic for all adventurers) +2 Would have proficiency (apply higher of Wis/Int) +2 IF we stick with this house rule, unchanged, then you would shift your Expertise from Perception to another skill.

Spoiler: Perception Save House Rule

Perception Saves: Perception is no longer a skill that PCs actively use. Instead, it is a saving throw which helps with noticing ambushes (avoid surprise) and traps at the last minute (quick reaction as the trap is triggered). It has no associated ability score by default, but all PCs apply their proficiency bonus – a minimum competence of all adventurers is awareness of hidden dangers. Think of it as a “hidden danger saving throw.” A PC who would gain Perception as a “skill” due to their race, subclass, background, or feat can apply either their Wisdom or Intelligence modifier to their Perception saving throw. When a character takes time to explore an area or uses the Search action, the GM says what they discover. The GM is forthcoming and offers clues that foreshadow hidden things.

There are a few considerations about how this interacts with other rules:

Advantage – If anything would grant you advantage on a Perception check, you instead gain advantage on your Perception saving throw.
Bardic Inspiration can be applied to Perception saves.
Dim light imposes disadvantage on Perception saves relying on sight.
Expertise cannot be applied to Perception saves.
Feat (Dungeon Delver) grants advantage on Perception saves against traps, and advantage on Investigation checks to determine a secret door’s mechanism of action (instead of on Perception & Investigation checks to notice secret doors).
Feat (Observant) grants advantage to Investigation checks and Perception saves made in well-lit conditions (instead of +5).
Feat (Skulker) negates disadvantage on Perception saves due to dim light.
Magic Items vary in whether they apply to Perception saves: Cloaks of Protection and Rings of Protection do not. However, a Luck Blade, Robe of Stars, Rod of Alertness, Staff of Power, and Stone of Good Luck does apply the save bonus to Perception.
Paladin’s Aura of Protection does not apply to Perception saving throws; the paladin’s aura is about resolve, not foreknowledge or awareness. Rangers may select Aura of Awareness instead of Hide in Plain Sight and Vanish; this aura grants a bonus to Perception saves.
Spells that boost saving throws, like Bless, can be applied to Perception saves.

EXPLAINING THE PERCEPTION SAVE
This house rule is intended to:
1) Separate GM description, asking questions, and players trying things from Danger perception.
2) Remove need for GM to track passive perception.
3) Distinguish Perception and Investigation. Perception is your instinctive response when something has gone pear-shaped and you’re in immediate peril. Investigation is figuring out how things work, such as the mechanism of action for a trap or secret door.
4) Circumvent habits of some players who ask to roll Perception, and encourages engaging with the fiction.
5) Rein in rampantly high Perception checks, to keep them more in line with lower Stealth scores of monsters and trap save DCs.

 

[Neurotic]

I would argue you can apply expertise in the same way as for 'normal' skills - reaction time of trained soldiers or sportsman is faster than rhise of 'normal' people. Their perception speed foes up too, they notice things, analyze etc...reflexively, non-thinkingly, they do and pnly later can they explain - in the same way you could have expertise apply to perception.

That said, if you say I need to switch, I will, I'm on a conference now so I can do it for the weekend

 

[happylace]

Alma blinks at Zeth. She nods, taking in the information. Fair enough. In that case, she can understand why he feels set off course. She feels herself tense every time she catches a flash of fire from Aric's direction. She squints, mouth set in a tight line. Looking decidedly uncomfortable.

Jack blinks, twice, in astonishment at Aric's handling of the undead remains. He's without words, but just for a moment.

Then, he glances at the smoldering heap with a mischievous grin, some thoughts taking shape. "Well, if we're turning undead to cinders, why not be efficient about it? Once the keepsakes are somewhat charred, let's just stash them in Logrim's bag of holding. Ensuring the bones are safely stowed away will let us properly dispose of them later. No need to linger for a full cremation now. We can reduce them to ash and dust when time is less pressing!"

"And besides," Jack gives Aric a knowing look, "there's going to be plenty more zombies to come, so maybe we ought to just cremate them all at once later on." Jack purses his lips, contemplating, "Or maybe we'll come across some vast chasm down here, and then we'll just toss them down. Or, better yet, some lava pools!" Jack's eyes alight at the thought of passing by some lava during their jaunt through the underdark. He's never had a chance to see real lava pools. They're probably just a few rooms deeper, he muses.

Focusing again on the matter at hand, Jack chuckles a bit while fluttering a step closer to the flickering fire that engulfs the zombie remains. "Lingering over a bonfire of zombies is hardly my idea of a cozy setting. I've got campfire tales aplenty, but let's keep the march moving. We've got places to get to, after all."

"You want to collect and store all of the remains we find? There are an average of 206 bones in a human body. This is cumbersome and pointless. Burning them here is just as good as burning them elsewhere."

She begins to follow the others out of the room, leaving Aric to his work. When the trap is triggered and a dying spark briefly lights up the darkened hallway, she flinches again. Fingers flexing, ready to cast. "Please be cautious," she warns tightly.