Optimizing Perception on a deaf character


Advice


Basically I'm looking for easy ways to (preferably permamently) gain abilities to enhance non-hearing based Perception. The character has an extremely good Perception mod. but not hearing gives him a blind spot which I'd like to cover as much as possible with other senses.
I think that basic Scent and Tremorsense should help me a lot. They don't even need to have a great range, 5 feet should be enough, just having them should do the trick.
Any abilities that overcome sight's limitations would also be great.


I am not sure what you are looking to overcome. The big problem someone who cannot hear is communication. Sight is the primary sense in humans. People who are deaf tend to be more visually aware and get in the habit of looking around more because they cannot hear.


Mysterious Stranger wrote:
I am not sure what you are looking to overcome.

Loosing half of Perception's usefulness through giving it more usefulness by gaining other ways to percieve.

Quote:
The big problem someone who cannot hear is communication.

That's not an issue.

Quote:
Sight is the primary sense in humans. People who are deaf tend to be more visually aware and get in the habit of looking around more because they cannot hear.

I'm aware. This helps me, how?


The oracle deaf curse reduces and eventually eliminates initiative penalty. It also gives scent and tremor sense.

Warrior poet gains blindsense 5ft+ 5/5 samurai lv as a move action for 1 round.

Ambush Sense gives a bonus to perception for the surprice round, and a dodge bonus to AC. both bonuses = trap sense bonus.

Dwarfs and Oreads gain tremorsense as feats.

Sylps and Ifrits, can ignore clouds and/or smoke as feats.

Being a divination wizard helps a lot.

there are more but you can probably find them by searching.


Maybe something outside of the box... Bonded Mind. Share the feat with someone, or something, that can still hear and has a good perception skill. If a familiar, you can make use of the empathic link to sense danger from its emotion, lock eyes with it, and trade a non-verbal message on the source.


Unfortunately the familiar will have a significantly lower Perception mod. than the character. Also I'd prefer for the character to be self-sufficient when it comes to Perception.


Anarchy_Kanya wrote:
Unfortunately the familiar will have a significantly lower Perception mod. than the character. Also I'd prefer for the character to be self-sufficient when it comes to Perception.

The familiar is always going to be better at sound based perception checks than the character, since the character automatically fails them.

But, aside from my suggestion, I can't give you any more advice.


DeathlessOne wrote:
The familiar is always going to be better at sound based perception checks than the character, since the character automatically fails them.

That's true, but if I'll manage to enhance the character's other senses he won't need the familiar's subpar Perception. Besides I don't feel like it's worth the trouble to gain a-sorta-kinda hearing if it's going to be relatively weak compared to anything else that I could get.


Okay a few more items.

Vigil cap will give a bonus to reactive sight checks.

Robe of eyes will give all-round vision, 120ft darkvision, and can see invisible/ethereal, and +10 perception. However, you cannot avoid gaze attacks, and can be blinded for 1d3 minutes by a mere light spell (2d4 minutes with daylight spell).

One eye open feat help with perception while sleeping (not sure how it works when deaf).

Orcs, Half-orcs, and catfolks all have ways to gain scent.

Winterbite gives a bonus to scent based perception.

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