Passive Wisdom (perception) is common and we use it often. But I read on this forum that there are other passive stats. My Question is now what other passive stats exist and when should you use them?
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2\$\begingroup\$ @Vigil While the question is there, the only answer does not address it and it is a second question anyway. I say we keep this open to focus on this aspect. (Maybe remove the question from there?) \$\endgroup\$– SzegaApr 8, 2019 at 10:52
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2\$\begingroup\$ @Szega I agree mostly, however I think the answer there does (partially) address the second question so it would be a painful edit, probably to both question & answer. I'm unsure what the usual way to handle such a case is. \$\endgroup\$– VigilApr 8, 2019 at 11:00
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2\$\begingroup\$ I've raised a meta-question about this here: rpg.meta.stackexchange.com/q/9005/42959 \$\endgroup\$– VigilApr 8, 2019 at 12:36
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2\$\begingroup\$ I think part of the issue is also that the title of the other question doesn't reflect its primary question, but rather its secondary one. \$\endgroup\$– V2Blast ♦Apr 8, 2019 at 20:56
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1\$\begingroup\$ For others' reference: the older question has been edited to be more focused and this question has been accordingly reopened now that it's no longer a duplicate. \$\endgroup\$– V2Blast ♦Apr 9, 2019 at 23:07
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1 Answer
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All exist
Passive checks or scores are not limited in any way.
A passive check is a special kind of ability check that doesn't involve any die rolls. (PHB 175)
Is the only description we get, with the way to calculate them in the next paragraph.
In the absence of any limitations, all ability checks have a passive version technically, even though most of them are not used that way.
The PHB gives sparse guidance on usage, bringing up only two cases: average of a repeated task and for making the result of a check hidden from the players. This is vague. I use and recommend the following guidelines:
If there is a chance for success and failure, but no active effort is made and necessary, it is a passive check.
It takes no effort to look out of your skull, thus we use passive Perception. But if you start searching and look under boxes, you made an active effort at it and should roll a "normal" check. You don't have to crank-start your brain to reach conclusions, use passive Investigation. But you can cross-reference your notes in a library and that would call for a "normal" check.
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2\$\begingroup\$ May be worth highlighting consequences of failing as well? E.g. for Perception and Investigation checks there isn't really a consequence of failing other than not noticing something. But for, e.g. Athletics checks, there is usually a more important consequence of failure, so it makes more sense to do a normal check for this (which is why passive checks are rarely called for outside of Perception and Investigation despite the rule being general as you noted). \$\endgroup\$– PJRZApr 8, 2019 at 11:43
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1\$\begingroup\$ If you could give an example of a passive Athletics check or a passive Acrobatics check, that would be awesome (and helpful). \$\endgroup\$ Apr 8, 2019 at 13:23
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\$\begingroup\$ @PJRZ What sort of check you make is not dependent upon the perceived importance of the result. If failure is not impactful, you should not make any check. And I also contest your statement that not noticing something is not an impactful consequence. \$\endgroup\$– SzegaApr 8, 2019 at 13:35
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\$\begingroup\$ @KorvinStarmast I will think about it, but not all skills lend themselves well to passive checks (and that's fine). Also, there is significant overlap with Dex and Str saves. \$\endgroup\$– SzegaApr 8, 2019 at 13:38
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1\$\begingroup\$ @Szega - that was also what I was trying to get at (but maybe didn't explain myself well). Athletics doesn't lend itself to a passive check because the player immediately knows the immediate and obvious consequence of the failure (and, as you say, its a more "active" skill so it's more exciting to ask for a dice roll rather than a DM just noting the passive score and giving a binary "yes you make it" or "no you don't" for these kind of things) \$\endgroup\$– PJRZApr 8, 2019 at 13:47