What do I see/hear/find?

A very common question in gaming. Whether the player is trying to discover something, or the ref needs to know how much their characters are aware of, this mechanic is probably the second most used mechanic in just about any RPG, (the first of course are combat rolls.) But how should it work? If a player makes a roll, and it come up poorly, the character is unaware of whatever it is, but is the character? If it is very successful, should they always find the well hidden murder weapon? Should a ref roll it secretly and just tell the players what their characters see/hear/taste…

In the last post, we talked about drama and conflict. This mechanic seems to work against that. I have heard of refs that have everyone roll several Perceptions/Notice checks before game starts, and he then uses these as the players rolls as things come up. I have seen referees use notice checks simply to create tension, allowing them to roll and tell them that they have determined nothing to be going on, or if they fail, then lead them astray. I have also seen Refs create, or games with, a passive perception mechanic that will inform what the character espies even without searching. Of course, any application of the perception mechanic must be played without Player Knowledge, only using the Characters Knowledge in-game. So, lets talk about its use. Does it take a player out of “immersion” to roll and fail? Does it lead to meta-gaming no matter the result?

As far as immersion or meta-game, I don’t see its use as anymore than any other dice roll. The player knows there is a randomization mechanic that informs the characters play. So, a perception roll is no different from a Shoot M-16 roll, in that respect. But the simple fact that the ref called for a perception check informs something about the situation, doesn’t it? By telling the players which ones are allowed a perception and which ones aren’t may as well. So, why doesn’t the ref always roll the checks for all the players? Well, doesn’t that interfere with the players choice? What if they wanted to roll different dice? What if there is a re-roll mechanic? How does that work, when the ref rolls, or for that matter, when the players all roll a set of Pre-perception checks? What about when this check is being used to solve a mystery and look for clues? Does the roll presuppose that the character has checked everything they can thing of? What about when the player thinks of someplace/thing that the ref did not? Can they force a re-roll because they are checking under the carpet beneath the desk?

Let me make some suggestions based on how this mechanic might be used. Sometimes it might be a simple opposition mechanic; one character hides with whatever bonuses and penalties due, and the other person tries to find them. Perhaps it is a simple “My roll is better, so I win this!” system. But what if they both roll horribly? One tries to hide by rolling around in a pile of leaves, but the other looks around by seeing why the dead trees are rustling. Obviously they both failed? Does success, in this case go to the one who failed the least? Fortunately, this particular mechanic is usually well covered in whatever rule set you are using, so we don’t really need to break it down anymore. What about the ref calling for a notice as people walk into a bar? Well, this question, like in previous discussions, is Why? Is the intent just to notice some particular detail? Is the detail important to the ongoing story, or just add color or flavor? If it’s not important, leave it out, unless someone asks about it. If it’s important, is it important like they game stalls if they don’t see it? Let them see it! OR, have an in-play trigger that will allow them to find it. “We know that our contact reported that he saw a bloody hand print on a Vase in here, last night, so I am looking at each of the visible vases, as well as in them to see what I see,” AHA! A knife…a very particular knife is found in one of the vases by the stairs…

What about treating the players as the omniscient audience? Let them know what is coming up, with the realization that if the dice fail them, the characters will suffer the consequences! This is a decent technique that could be used in a system with a re-roll mechanic. The player can make a meta-game decision, based on the Meta-mechanic of dice and rerolls! Is the fact of not noting what ever it is worth the resource to either automatically notice or the chance of still failing to note, depending on the mechanic. RefMentor!!! You can’t tell the players about an ambush! It ruins the character involvement! I hear your plea’s on this, and it took me a long while to wrap my head around the concept. So, let me provide an example from a system that you know I love; Savage worlds: The players have been tracking down a mobster, but have failed a number of streetwise tests, so now the mobster is aware that they are on his trail. So, he sets up an ambush outside of one of the players house. A car full of 6 guys with Tommy-guns. The players return from an evening of revelry, which the mobster knew they were at, and upon arriving at home, they are given a notice roll, but with them slightly tipsy, and the darkness, and the nondescript car, none of them pass, so they fail to notice and the thugs open up full auto, given them about no chance of survival. They have benny’s to re-roll, but maybe I am just going to tell them that the neighbors cat is out again, so they may forego spending the last of this resource. But if they are told, when you arrive at home, there is an ambush by 6 thugs armed with sub-machine guns. If you fail to notice, they will open up with surprise and other bonuses. If you notice them, then they lose surprise…Now they know the value of expending that resource! Keep in mind that this is no different than any other Player vs Character knowledge situation. And like any of these other situations, like knowing a target number to roll, or the identity of the masked man…The Players AND the Ref need to make certain that this meta-knowledge is not used!

Perception checks are sometimes used to give a player additional information about something. For instance, everyone sees there is mud on the step just outside where the man was killed. But a notice will provide more information, depending on how good their result was. So, what can they learn from this mud. Maybe a shoe size or type, maybe it is unique to a specific location nearby or maybe something about the gait can be seen. So the ref might assign value levels; a good success can determine the shoe size, and excellent success will determine the mud comes from a nearby coal mine, and a truly outstanding success shows that the prints were made by a person with a noticeably shorter leg, or perhaps club foot! This is a pretty good system if you are not short-changing the person who took local soil as a skill!

As I stated in the beginning, this is a mechanic that is much over used, to the point that very few characters will forgo some expertise in it. However, this discussion has granted a few problems with this over use. What is the fix? Simple! Make the roll count! Like so many of the rolls that players make it should make a difference. If they have the time to examine things in detail, give them whatever information is available. Decide if there is complimentary, but not required, information that might be discovered with a roll. If the roll is failed, the players and their characters still have a way forward, but it won’t be as easy as it could have been. If the information is required for them to go forward, give it to them. But if you wish to, make a failed roll get them into other trouble rather than not finding the required information. Perhaps, just as they find it, a trio of guards walks by and challenges them to put their hands up and back away from the safe, or the failure triggers a cohort getting the information back to the bad guy that the characters now have it! Or perhaps they only got a copy of the front side of the headpiece, rather than both so that when they start their dig, they are in the wrong place (of course, you will need to come up with a way to get them back to the right place…probably just as their food is running out! Don’t make a notice/perception/hearing roll result in them noticing that the fire is going out…unless there is no reason it should! But, as in the last example above, don’t use a notice in place of another, more appropriate skill. If your game does not have myriad skills, a perception check might always be the best way to find out information that is hidden. But if you have many skills at your disposal, use the perception, with these presented caveats, and whatever analysis skills to determine their import!

Now, credit where credit is due: The whole idea of giving the players the information that their characters don’t know for the purpose of the meta-mechanic is not my idea. I first heard it on the Savage Worlds GM podcast. Check them out, if you are playing or interested in playing Savage Worlds!

RefMentor wishing you only better games!