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My question is this: should passive or active perception be used for spotting traps? If you use passive, then the DM knows ahead of time whether or not a PC will spot a trap as no die roll is involved (eg. if the highest passive perception is 13, and the DM makes the spot trap DC 14, the PCs will not see it). I would like to avoid railroading PCs by knowing ahead of time which traps they will see and which they will or won't see. Another problem with passive perception is that you have a 50% chance of getting lower than your passive perception every time you make an active perception check, so you are actually better off never looking for things, and just hoping you notice them.

In summary, when should I use passive perception and when should I use active perception?

Thomas Markov
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TheDragonOfFlame
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  • Does this question on when to use passive vs active answer your question? – NotArch Oct 23 '20 at 17:19
  • @Kirt Please don't answer, even partially, in comments. – NotArch Oct 23 '20 at 17:27
  • Railroading generally refers to when a DM has a plan of action for the PCs and adjusts things in the world to force them to make 'decisions' the DM approves of. I'm not sure simply knowing which traps a party will automatically see and which they would have to search for fits the common definition of Railroading, since foreknowledge of how PC's might react does not imply forcing them to react a certain way. You may want to expand this part of your question to better define what you think might happen and why it is a problem for you. – Kirt Oct 23 '20 at 17:32
  • In the question @NautArch links, you may want to pay particular attention to enkryptor's answer, as it may address your concerns over whether it is better for PC's to not search. – Kirt Oct 23 '20 at 17:35

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