The standard rules are to use passive checks in some scenarios. For example if you use the Hide action, you need to beat an opponent's passive perception with your stealth roll.
However, I find passive checks to be not worth it. There are two possibilities: you memorize your players' passive scores, or you ask your players for their passive scores every time they need to pass a check.
Asking for their score eliminates the advantage that a passive check has that players won't know there was something they missed when they fail and detect nothing. It also slows down the game more than an active check. With an active check, you ask one person to make a check, maybe asking for a volunteer, and the player who thinks they have the best bonus usually volunteers. With passive checks, you need to ask everyone. Besides, players have fun rolling dice, so if you're interrupting the flow of the game anyway, may as well let them have their fun.
On the other hand, to memorize or make note of their scores, you have to know at least a few numbers: passive Perc, Ins, and Inv. You only really need to know the best value of each and which player has it (except in situations of temporary stat adjustment, where it may change). But it can change as players level up, so you have to constantly collect player sheets to update your notes.
What do you use, passive or mostly active checks? Do you have any house rules that solve some of the above problems with passive checks?
Mixed? Probably overthinking your question as all things can be turned into a "passive check" since Ins/Perception/Insight is just "10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check" for their skills (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/using-ability-scores#PassiveChecks). More specifically I do use those three, and rarely there might be one extra of another skill. Which is why I say mixed because I don't use passive checks for every single skill. Needing to constantly change the DM notes of player passives scores might be an exaggeration or they're leveling up too much (or given too many items), which is something the DM can address.
I use both. And I use passive skills for more than the 3 suggested too, like “Passive Stealth” for example.
Whenever the PC is actively trying to do something I use active scores, whenever they aren’t I use passive scores. And I ask them for the scores as needed and simply expect them to not metagame.
Also, they all use DDB character sheets and as DM I can view them whenever I want.
The standard rules are to use passive checks in some scenarios. For example if you use the Hide action, you need to beat an opponent's passive perception with your stealth roll.
However, I find passive checks to be not worth it. There are two possibilities: you memorize your players' passive scores, or you ask your players for their passive scores every time they need to pass a check.
Asking for their score eliminates the advantage that a passive check has that players won't know there was something they missed when they fail and detect nothing. It also slows down the game more than an active check. With an active check, you ask one person to make a check, maybe asking for a volunteer, and the player who thinks they have the best bonus usually volunteers. With passive checks, you need to ask everyone. Besides, players have fun rolling dice, so if you're interrupting the flow of the game anyway, may as well let them have their fun.
On the other hand, to memorize or make note of their scores, you have to know at least a few numbers: passive Perc, Ins, and Inv. You only really need to know the best value of each and which player has it (except in situations of temporary stat adjustment, where it may change). But it can change as players level up, so you have to constantly collect player sheets to update your notes.
What do you use, passive or mostly active checks? Do you have any house rules that solve some of the above problems with passive checks?
Mixed? Probably overthinking your question as all things can be turned into a "passive check" since Ins/Perception/Insight is just "10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check" for their skills (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/using-ability-scores#PassiveChecks). More specifically I do use those three, and rarely there might be one extra of another skill. Which is why I say mixed because I don't use passive checks for every single skill. Needing to constantly change the DM notes of player passives scores might be an exaggeration or they're leveling up too much (or given too many items), which is something the DM can address.
I use both. And I use passive skills for more than the 3 suggested too, like “Passive Stealth” for example.
Whenever the PC is actively trying to do something I use active scores, whenever they aren’t I use passive scores. And I ask them for the scores as needed and simply expect them to not metagame.
Also, they all use DDB character sheets and as DM I can view them whenever I want.
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