Little doubt about passive perception

[tailsk1]

Hello guys,
If I'm trying to hide from a NPC and I make a Stealth Check, the DM need to compare it to the passive perception of the NPC or can he make a Perception Check?
And a similar situation, if I'm trying to steal something from a NPC, I make a Sleight of Hand check and does he compares it to the passive perception or what?

If you can tell me the page of the book it is written I appreciate


Thank you very much.

[Azaran]

Personally, i'd roll the NPCs perception against the success of your stealth roll to see if he notices you, I wouldn't use passive perception at all. That's probably just me though

The book says to compare the stealth check against the passive wisdom score (so 10 + attribute modifier) I just find it more fun and more random to roll. (if you go into the phb in the library, and search for passive wisdom under reference manual, makes it a bit easier to find the entry)

At the end of the day, it's up to your DM as to how he/she interprets the rules, what makes the most sense and above all, what is more fun and less emersion breaking.

Also, be warned, for I, along with a few other DMs of the past have instakilled rules zealots for pushing the book too much

[Nickademus]

Passive skills are generally used when the character/creature isn't aware of the need to make it (such as when a PC is sneaking around). Active checks are usually something the PC or NPC is actively deciding to do due to a need they are aware of. If the PC does something to make noise while stealthing, the NPC might feel the need to make an active Perception check to see what the noise was. Otherwise the NPC just uses its passive Perception to indicate if it heard the PC.

[Zacchaeus]

Hi tailsk1 welcome to FG and to the community.

You'll find the answers you seek on p176 of the PHB or if you are looking at the FG version in Chapter 7/Using Ability Scores/Dexterity.

It is as Nickademus says. 5e has an excellent system which uses both a passive ability and an active ability score for Perception and for some others. This gives the DM many more options when characters are sneaking around or doing something nefarious like trying to steal from an NPC. If the monsters in a particular dungeon are not aware of the PC then it is absolutely the case that passive perception should be used as the comparison variable when the PC is using their sneak skills. The monsters aren't actively listening or looking for the players so they should only get to pick up on the PCs presence if the PCs make a lot of noise. You can think of this as a sort of Difficult Class for the stealth check. In the same way that a PC might try to break down a door; they roll against the DC of performing that task. The door doesn't make any kind of roll.

On the other hand once the monsters hear or become aware of the PCs then they will be switching to search mode and will be actively looking for them or listening out for noises they might make. This then becomes a contest as to who can sneak the quietest against who can hear best, so quite properly both sides make a roll and compare that result.

For Sleight of Hand the PC must also make a roll to see if they succeed. There is nothing which says that the person who you are stealing from is required to make any kind of perception check, passive or otherwise. This is becasue the Sleight of Hand check must be against a difficulty class which will be assigned by the DM. If you are trying to sneak up behind a lone goblin in order to steal a key from his belt and you are in a dark cave and you don't have darkvision then the DM is likely to assign a massively high DC for the task. On the other hand if you are trying to filch a money belt from a rich Noble in a busy city street the DC might be a lot lower. In neither case does the person need to make a perception check; the success or failure of your Sleight of Hand check will determine whether they see you or become aware of what's happening.

[JohnD]

Don't worry about what the DM needs to do or how they need to do it; just play your character and enjoy the game.

[Trenloe]

It's nice when players make an effort to understand the rules - makes the game smoother for everyone. Welcome to the FG forums tailsk1.

[tailsk1]

Thank you all for the answers, helped me a lot
i'm new to the game, just trying to know what is right according to the book. But the main rule seems to have fun

Have a good day

[JohnD]

Exactly; have fun. You don't know how great it is playing when your head isn't full of rules, memorized pages from the rulebook, knowledge of 99% of the creatures you face.