There are many times that the whole group will want to do a skill check, like after a battle when they loot the bodies and search the area. So far, we've had each person do his/her own perception check, but that leads to the PCs always finding everything, since of the 5 of them, somebody is bound to get above a 25 with the bonuses, and at level 5 there isn't anything that's harder to find than that (for the most part).
However, I was just reading the Enthrall spell description, and it says that multiple characters can simultaneously heckle and jeer the orator with a Charisma check from the player with the highest Charisma score, the other players only adding the +2 helping bonus to his/her roll if they succeed in their own rolls. Is this how all group skill checks are intended to be conducted?
No rulebook to hand but I tend to either make everyone roll separately or one person rolls and the others can make a DC10 check to aid another (adding +2 to the final roll). I house rule that a DC20 check from someone who is trained in the skill adds +4.
It's normally up to the players. If each player want's to make their own roll let them. If you think it's becoming too easy for them to accomplish something, increase the DC of the check. In the case of a search you could have an item or piece of information that can only be located with an exceptional roll.
On the other hand if it's a particularly difficult skill check the players may opt to have the PC with the highest skill bonus make the roll and everyone else help out. For each helper the primary PC's adds +2 to their roll. Note that each helper must make a DC 10 skill check in order to be of assistance.
There is sometimes a limit to how many PC can help out. For instance you can only get so many people involved with trying to break down a door.
For your example you could also rule that they have to make a DC x perception check per body they want to search.
If they want to take 20, that should be allowed, but remember to decrease remaining spell durations for the time spend searching. And maybe there are other things depending on time (like the bad guy getting away in a chase or a good cleric arriving on the battlefield who is appalled by their treating of the deceased)
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It depends on the skill in question.
Perception is a prime example where really everyone can make their own check. As long as they don't step on each other's toes it really doesn't matter if the rogue searches the same area the wizard before him already checked. If they do it halfway smart, it won't even take more time.
It's kinda like, when you're searching for your keys and then finally ask your wife if she's seen them. She gets up from her chair, glances around once, points at the cupboard and says "There they are", even though you could have sworn you searched that area like 5 times already. You both individually searched the area, and one of you saw it.
Sense Motive is another one that should be rolled individually. Everyone can get that "gut feeling" that something is wrong, totally independent of the others.
Both should be rolled secretly and from time to time you should give "false positives" (aka the guy who terribly failed the check thinks the guy is lying, while he really tells the truth), so the players can't metagame "But Bob rolled the 25 so what you told him is the truth, and Frank with the natural 1 and the -2 modifier is wrong"
Now talking to someone is a different story however. Usually only one person can speak at a time. I mean sure, all 4 of you can speak at the same time, but it probably will not have the intented effect :)
If that person screws it up, other party members might be able to salvage the conversation somewhat, but they can't just reset it to zero and start over.
So they might throw in a sentence here and there, reinforcing what the main speaker is saying, but they won't hold a whole seperate conversation of their own.
Therefore they add their +2 for Aid Another.
Or generally: If failure doesn't influence the situation, then everyone can roll. Failing to find something doesn't cause it to not be there. If failure however changes stuff, like the disposition of your conversational partner, then Aid Another is usually the way to go.
That seems fair enough. My problem has been that at level 5, at least 2 and usually 3 of them have +11 to +13 to any important roll, so to beat a DC25 check, all 3 of them have to get less than a 12 or 14, which is statistically unlikely (34% for 3 people to not get at least a 14). So it's statistically unlikely that a party of 5 will not get a DC25 perception (or survival), which is the highest on just about anything at that level. It's fine, I guess, just not sure why they have checks in the first place, at that point.
Also, why DC10? That seems arbitrary. Someone with a skill check of exactly 10 can help someone do something with DC30? Nobody's needed to help anybody else in over a dozen play sessions, but if they did they'd have to crit fail a skill they have a few ranks in to not give the +2. Are we really saying the mage with no wilderness experience can useful off-the-cuff advice to the seasoned tracker? What do you guys think about only giving the +2 if the helpers also make the DC of the check?
That seems fair enough. My problem has been that at level 5, at least 2 and usually 3 of them have +11 to +13 to any important roll, so to beat a DC25 check, all 3 of them have to get less than a 12 or 14, which is statistically unlikely (34% for 3 people to not get at least a 14). So it's statistically unlikely that a party of 5 will not get a DC25 perception (or survival), which is the highest on just about anything at that level. It's fine, I guess, just not sure why they have checks in the first place, at that point.
Also, why DC10? That seems arbitrary. Someone with a skill check of exactly 10 can help someone do something with DC30? Nobody's needed to help anybody else in over a dozen play sessions, but if they did they'd have to crit fail a skill they have a few ranks in to not give the +2. Are we really saying the mage with no wilderness experience can useful off-the-cuff advice to the seasoned tracker? What do you guys think about only giving the +2 if the helpers also make the DC of the check?
Keep asking these questions until you figure out what it is you really want to happen.
As a GM, are you wringing your hands because they're not missing treasure?
Are you hoping to nail them with a nasty trap every so often? If so, what do you stand to gain from the lost HP if they just heal it off, and rest if healing taxed them too much?
The whole game is about this give and take over certain rules. In the end, group skill checks favor the finding of traps and treasure because that rewards the players who think to look for such things. The roll makes the players feel like they did it, and that's what drives the game.
It's not strange for you to assume that a roll means failure should occur sometimes, but think about where those failures fit into the ecology of your entire campaign. You shouldn't be using traps just to see them go off, they should have some intended consequence in the context of the adventure. You shouldn't be hiding treasure in DC 50 hidden vaults unless there's a reason — it's foolish prep material the players will never see.
The questions you've asked are good ones, and you really need to consider what you want out of the rules at this point.