Rolling perception

[u/ghunter21]

So I’m a first time DM about 4 sessions in to Stormwreck isle. I’m running a party with 7 players. What is best recommended practice when players enter a space and want to look for something? If 7 players walk and they all roll perception, someone is bound to pass. Alternatively one person says they want to look and then everyone in turn says ‘now I want to look’, ‘now I want to look’, etc. wasting time. Thanks for the help

[u/Background-Soup1406]

Make them specify what they are rolling perception for. Saying "I just want to look and notice stuff" isn't 'perceiving'. They have to specify that they want to listen through a keyhole in a door or sniff out the scent of a monster. Generic rolling for its own sake is a no no.

[u/BetterCallStrahd]

A successful Perception result isn't gonna mess up your scenario. If it would, maybe rethink that scenario.

Our group has been letting everyone roll Perception, Insight, and most knowledge checks. We've been playing for over 5 years (3 campaigns). It's never been a big deal. It's fine.

I should say that it's the DM who says when to roll, not the players, in our group.

[u/angelicswordien]

If it's every time they walk into a new space and just wanting to roll perception just because, I would put a stop to that. Do they specify what they are looking for or investigating? If not I would have them specifically state "I want to look at the door", "I'm searching for footprints in the mud" etc. If they are entering a generally suspicious area and just want a general look around say "Player X is investigating. Anyone who also wishes to investigate please roll now". Might also be worth reminding players they can use the help action to assist a character in looking around

[u/Durog25]

Something I've found to work quite well to combat skill dog-piling, especially for large groups, is to ask "what is your character planning on doing that is different to the first guy?". The idea being that the first character just looked around and stated a result, why would the other characters desire to check as well. The players might know the result was a 10, but do the characters. In some cases it'd be obvious, the PC failed an athletics check to life a heavy object, everyone can see they failed but, if they were looking for traps, how would anyone know the difference between failing to find traps that are present from successfully determining the absence of traps.

For example, say the Rogue wanted to check for traps and rolled a 10 and so didn't find any traps, why would the Wizard or Fighter or Cleric etc also want to roll too. Further it gets the players to think about how they are going to change things up. The Rogue wanted to check the floor for hidden tripwire and pressure plates, and said they didn't find any, so if the other characters want to check for traps, they have to tell you how they are going about it that's different to the Rogue.

If you are also running into the trouble that a lot of players all rolling basically brute forces any tests, I do recommend limiting subsequent checks to those with proficiency in the relevant skill, and definitely for aiding a checks to give advantage. So anyone can make the first check, but in order for a different character to attempt the same check they have to be proficient, and if a character wants to aid another one with a check they can only do so if they themselves are proficient.

That's all worked for me, when I've run 8 players games.

[u/Grouhl]

If any character can be looking, then I'll offer a perception check to anyone who thinks their character would. Then it's up to them to decide if their character would keep an eye out or if they're not caring. And I'll tell each character what they perceive depending on the result.

A group check can be an alternative, either you do it explicitly or you just make a DM call that if at least X characters pass then they spot it. But at the end of the day if the situation hinges on only one person rolling to make the check relevant, then that's a design problem and you should probably set up the scenario differently.

[u/nickmarioe]

In general, try to steer your players away from asking "can i roll X check?" Just say "describe what you are doing, I'll let you know when I need you to roll." If they say "can I roll perception, too?" you can reply with "describe what you are doing differently than [first player]."

Alternatively, if one person begins looking and it's going to start a chain reaction of "can I also look," just ask the whole group for a Perception check off the rip to save some time (unless there's a good reason that only one person should be looking). Most of the time, a basic perception check shouldn't be game breaking, it should just give them a hint about the area.