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The only place i can find this rule is under the environment section in the gamemastering chapter ..certain ones like forest list changes to this rule (a -2 per 10 ft for sound based perception checks instead of the standard -1 per 10ft)...is this the rule or leftover language from a previous version ...if it is a rule where can it be found?
hun ...no one seems to know ...lets get some faq clicks then
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It appears three times in the Core Rulebook, and every instance refers to sound-based Perception DCs.
Seems clear to me. Some sounds are tougher to hear in certain environments, and those DC modifiers are given to us.
Pathfinder had a similar rule for Perception checks in general, but Starfinder does not appear to.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure there is no such rule explicitly stated. Makes Sniping incredibly difficult, to a point where an imposed distance-based perception penalty had to be given to a sniper NPC as a special ability in one of the APs.
No.
Perception isn't a "vision" dependent ability. You don't take penalties because you are unable to 'see' a specific distance. Instead, the GM should adjust the DC based on the circumstances.
For example, if you are in a jungle and there are enemies hiding 100 feet away, the GM should adjust the DC of the check based on the environmental factors. Sometimes this makes it impossible for characters to succeed on a check. At other times you could impose a penalties on the DC of the check if the NPC's are doing dumb things.
Here are some examples:
If your character has no low-light or darkvision capabilities and you are hunting an enemy in darkness, I would make most of the perception based checks harder by 5 or 10 depending on the amount of light or tactics they used to/or not to overcome the darkness.
If you are in a bustling city, I would increase the DC of Perception based checks depending on how many people were around, distractions, etc.. OR.. lower them if your players role-play well and describe tactics they use to more attentively attune themselves to their task. For example, if a player says to me.. "I scan the crowd for my enemy" then I would impose a penalty based on crowd size or not if it's small enough. If they said however, "I scan the crowd for a Vesk wearing blue metallic armor who is attempting to blend in" I would instead lower the DC as this is a far more explicit and in terms of the game means that the player isn't wasting a lot of time scrutinizing everyone they see.
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Those suggestions are, of course, houserules.
There are no general Perception penalties for distance, except for certain environments where there is instead a maximum distance one can perceive.
While giving penalties based on circumstances is certainly within GM purview, what the OP is asking is whether there are blanket penalties for distance listed in the Core Rulebook.
The only such penalties written are for a handful of environments, and even then only for sound-based Perception checks.