I recently have been playing a new character who I want to be specialized in exploring dungeons (disarming traps, discovering secret doors, etc). I started by having him be a variant human and taking the Dungeon Delver feat starting out. Then I made him a Rogue, putting my expertise into my Thieve's Tools and Perception. We recently reached level 3 and I took the Mastermind archetype.
I am trying to plan ahead for how I should handle the ASI at level 4 so as to enhance my characters exploration and discovery power without being redundant. Here are my thoughts so far:
1) Take the ASI - My character has odd number scores in Wisdom and Constitution, so if I took a +1 to both, I could increase my scores. This would of course boost my toughness as well as my Perception and Insight, which are both useful
2) Take the Magic Initiate Feat - I find this to be a tempting route as well as I could use the three spells I get to add more versatility and utility to my character. Spells that come to mind would be cantrips like Mending, Message, or Minor Illusion and spells that seem helpful would be Alarm, Identify, Grease, or Snare. Detect Magic would be useful as well, but another party member already has that spell. The main issue here is that I can only use the 1st level spell once per day and I will still have to have the material components (a pearl worth 100GP may be hard to come by for casting Identify).
3) Take the Observant Feat - Like the ASI, if I take Observant I would get a huge boost to my Wisdom score and Passive Perception/Investigation skills. This is great, but part of me thinks it would be better to save for later. I feel at our current level the bonuses I would have to my passive scores may be overkill.
4) Take the Ritual Caster Feat - Like Magic Initiate, this would grant me the ability to learn some utility spells I could use while exploring and has the benefit that I could cast the spell multiple times between rests because I am casting them as a ritual. Also, should I discover other rituals while exploring, I could potentially copy them into my book. The downside here is that i) I dont get any cantrips and ii) I still need to be able to produce the necessary material components for the spells.
What do you think? Are there any other good choices for exploration that I may have missed? In case it seems obvious, I have already decided I don't really want the Keen Mind feat.
Any input or recommendations are appreciated.
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Normally I’d suggest the ASI, but increasing your constitution doesn’t do anything for your conception so I’d suggest Observant. Keep in mind, your Passive Investigation and Perception are intended to be the lowest you can roll on those two checks so Observant will turbo charge your active checks too.
Keep in mind, your Passive Investigation and Perception are intended to be the lowest you can roll on those two checks so Observant will turbo charge your active checks too.
Isn't the calculation for Passive scores given by 10+applicable modifiers? That is to say, it shouldnt be the lowest I could get, but moreso an average roll. Also, the +5 granted by Observant are only to my Passive scores, so the only bonus to my active checks will come from the +1 to Wisdom
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Observant seems like the perfect choice. The only caveat I would offer is that it's only as good as your DM makes it. That isn't to say your DM would intentionally sabotage it for you, but if they don't take your feat into consideration when describing rooms and situations, then you may never know what you aren't knowing.
Keep in mind, your Passive Investigation and Perception are intended to be the lowest you can roll on those two checks so Observant will turbo charge your active checks too.
Isn't the calculation for Passive scores given by 10+applicable modifiers? That is to say, it shouldnt be the lowest I could get, but moreso an average roll. Also, the +5 granted by Observant are only to my Passive scores, so the only bonus to my active checks will come from the +1 to Wisdom
This depends on the DM. Some think "if you roll a perception check lower than your passive number, the passive takes over and catches it anyway." Some DMs say "if you roll a perception check that's an active check; the passive number is irrelevant and you roll what you roll." You have to know which you're dealing with to evaluate your options there.
I recently have been playing a new character who I want to be specialized in exploring dungeons (disarming traps, discovering secret doors, etc). I started by having him be a variant human and taking the Dungeon Delver feat starting out. Then I made him a Rogue, putting my expertise into my Thieve's Tools and Perception. We recently reached level 3 and I took the Mastermind archetype.
I am trying to plan ahead for how I should handle the ASI at level 4 so as to enhance my characters exploration and discovery power without being redundant. Here are my thoughts so far:
1) Take the ASI - My character has odd number scores in Wisdom and Constitution, so if I took a +1 to both, I could increase my scores. This would of course boost my toughness as well as my Perception and Insight, which are both useful
2) Take the Magic Initiate Feat - I find this to be a tempting route as well as I could use the three spells I get to add more versatility and utility to my character. Spells that come to mind would be cantrips like Mending, Message, or Minor Illusion and spells that seem helpful would be Alarm, Identify, Grease, or Snare. Detect Magic would be useful as well, but another party member already has that spell. The main issue here is that I can only use the 1st level spell once per day and I will still have to have the material components (a pearl worth 100GP may be hard to come by for casting Identify).
3) Take the Observant Feat - Like the ASI, if I take Observant I would get a huge boost to my Wisdom score and Passive Perception/Investigation skills. This is great, but part of me thinks it would be better to save for later. I feel at our current level the bonuses I would have to my passive scores may be overkill.
4) Take the Ritual Caster Feat - Like Magic Initiate, this would grant me the ability to learn some utility spells I could use while exploring and has the benefit that I could cast the spell multiple times between rests because I am casting them as a ritual. Also, should I discover other rituals while exploring, I could potentially copy them into my book. The downside here is that i) I dont get any cantrips and ii) I still need to be able to produce the necessary material components for the spells.
What do you think? Are there any other good choices for exploration that I may have missed? In case it seems obvious, I have already decided I don't really want the Keen Mind feat.
Any input or recommendations are appreciated.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Normally I’d suggest the ASI, but increasing your constitution doesn’t do anything for your conception so I’d suggest Observant. Keep in mind, your Passive Investigation and Perception are intended to be the lowest you can roll on those two checks so Observant will turbo charge your active checks too.
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Isn't the calculation for Passive scores given by 10+applicable modifiers? That is to say, it shouldnt be the lowest I could get, but moreso an average roll. Also, the +5 granted by Observant are only to my Passive scores, so the only bonus to my active checks will come from the +1 to Wisdom
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Observant seems like the perfect choice. The only caveat I would offer is that it's only as good as your DM makes it. That isn't to say your DM would intentionally sabotage it for you, but if they don't take your feat into consideration when describing rooms and situations, then you may never know what you aren't knowing.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
This depends on the DM. Some think "if you roll a perception check lower than your passive number, the passive takes over and catches it anyway." Some DMs say "if you roll a perception check that's an active check; the passive number is irrelevant and you roll what you roll." You have to know which you're dealing with to evaluate your options there.