Hi everyone,
I'm preparing to run a Doomsday Dawn scenario and one thing I am struggling with is when do characters notice a hazard?
If a character walks into a room with a hazard, lets say a pit trap, or one that is not meant to be noticed immediately - is it better to wait for PC's to indicate that they are looking for traps? Or do you do a perception roll from everyone right from the get go? a secret roll?
Secondly, if characters approach an area where there are enemies that are hiding, and the enemies then try to launch an attack, as I understand all that would change is that I would do the initiative roll with stealth for the monsters and perception for the PCs right? There is not surprise in this playtest?
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It's my understanding that it's based on what Exploration tactics the individual PCs are using. On pages 330 and 331 of the Playtest Rulebook it says, under Searching tactics,
To be absolutely certain of having a chance to detect any hazard or secret before walking into it requires an overland Speed no more than 100 feet per minute (1 mile per hour). If the group moves faster than that, a searching character should get a chance to attempt a Perception check to detect any secret that’s in a place that stands out (such as near a door or a turn in a corridor), but not one that’s in a more inconspicuous place (like a random point in a long hallway).
My interpretation would be if there are a couple of PCs who are in Searching tactics during exploration, and they are moving at no more than 100 feet per minute, I would give them secret perception roles, as per the beginning of the Searching section on page 330. If they are moving at most half speed, I would roll for the more obvious trap and secret door locations. Any faster, and I would skip the rolls completely.
You Seek meticulously for hidden doors, concealed hazards, and so on. You normally move at half Speed and make an educated guess as to which locations are best to check. In order to guarantee a chance to detect any hazard or secret before walking into it, you must move at a travel Speed of no more than 100 feet per minute. You can slow down to that travel Speed if thoroughness is necessary.
Secondly, if characters approach an area where there are enemies that are hiding, and the enemies then try to launch an attack, as I understand all that would change is that I would do the initiative roll with stealth for the monsters and perception for the PCs right? There is not surprise in this playtest?
That's how I would do it.
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There's no surprise round per se, but hazards can ready a reaction that triggers before initiative is rolled and I don't see why monsters can't either.
The way I do it is every time the players walk into a room (and they aren't using the Seek action) I secretly roll a Stealth check for the monster/hazard and compare it against the PCs passive perception DC which is 10+Per. If the players then decide to actively roll to search I ask how they move about the room first to see if they set off any traps or monster attacks and then have them roll against it's passive stealth DC.