Handbooker Helper: Passive Abilities
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- The inimitable Sumalee Montano is here for the latest Handbooker Helper with everything you need to know about passive abilities in 5th Edition D&D!
Featuring doodles by our friend Wendy: / wendydoodles
Subtitles provided by Critical Role Translate: bit.ly/2Ib8aBk
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Sumalee's voice is the most soothing thing... I have to clean, but... so calming.......
yea i was just thinking someone should hire her to do some fairy tail audio books kids would go right out
She sounds like the voice from the smite champion videos
I know. Just want to listen to her blab on and on as I fall asleep. Like...read me a book or something. I could listen to her all day.
Cleaning can wait . . .
Her voice is so smooth she could change her name to Smoothalee... 😎
> I'll see myself out
I'm glad it's just the general consensus that Sumalee is an absolute gem
Yeah man
Hey man, I like your first name
omniscient xt What the fuck are you on about?
She has the most gentle presence in the world. When she was on CR she was a much needed comfort and gentleness they all needed at the time of her arrival
Also, she's so sweet in real life too. When she thank everyone and was so greatfull, it was so sweet, and she thought they weren't on air, so it was her true response.
@@triccele She liked one of my tweets and ended up following me after i posted about my experience with Ghost of Tsushima
Add +5 to your Inner Peace because of Sumalee's voice
"You can't read your DM's mind."
Don't underestimate Taliesin Jaffe's power
that ding on the flex was perfect.
I read this not even 2 seconds before it happened
Nobody like this comment use me. It s at 420
I see so many D&D memes that are like "My DM told me to roll Perception out of nowhere, and then told me I didn't see anything, but now I know something's up!" It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I want to get a megaphone and scream from the rooftops: "THAT'S WHAT PASSIVE PERCEPTION IS FOOOOORR!!"
*Grabs a megaphone and gets on another rooftop*
"BUT PASSIVE PERCEPTION IS BORING"
The trick is to use that to your advantage as sometimes you just want to set the players on edge and asking for a random perception check is often a great way to do that
But that's.... Metagaming...
@@eddiemate
Except, it's not.
Players get at least the same sense of accomplishment from being told that their choices during creation and advancement have just paid off as they do from being told that a random die roll has.
Just to take the classic example of a trapped corridor, the real fun of the trap is when the PCs realise something's up and it becomes an encounter. Otherwise, it's just, "You just got shot by an arrow trap. Roll [whatever] to take half damage."
_That's_ boring.
On the other hand, if you ask for a roll and they roll low, they're now convinced that the corridor is deadly. They just don't know how or why.
That's _frustrating._
On the other hand, pointing at the players whose characters' passive Perception is above a certain benchmark and telling them, "You, you and you notice that the left-hand wall of this corridor is pierced by small, regularly-spaced holes."
Now the players know something's up and have to use their PC's abilities, some creative thinking or a combination of the two to find out what that something is and how the party is going to deal with it. Essentially, you've created a dramatic question that must be resolved during the scene: an encounter.
More generally, passive scores are great for packaging exposition inside a "Your character is awesome." moment. So if one PC has a high INT and proficiency in History, you might point to the player and say, "This looks familiar to you. The design of a Gryphon buggering a Dwarf was the coat of arms of one of the Lost Empire's most feared regiments."
@@Loswaith
You can get the same effect by just asking the players what their passive score in something is, then giving them the old, "Okay, good to know."
Her voice literally cured my headache.
I've heard a lot of DMs complain that passive scores somehow harm the game by removing the randomness of calling for a roll. But passive scores actually solve the problem of players knowing what the roll was and descending into a spiral of paranoia when they roll low. That is, if you call for a WIS (Perception) roll and they roll a 3, the players are going to assume they missed something important and the game will grind to a halt while they try to find out what they missed.
Whereas if you just point to the players who's Passive WIS (Perception) is high enough to notice the thing and tell them they notice the thing, it's not like the _players_ find this unsatisfying. On the contrary, the players of the PCs with the high passive scores tend to feel a little surge of validation at selecting that proficiency.
Then everyone gets to the actually fun bit of the PCs _dealing_ with the thing that got noticed.
Weirdly enough I don’t think I have ever run into an issue with a dm disliking my character’s high perception. And I do always have the highest perception. It’s one of my favorite skills to put the work into. I tend to even put expertise on it too which heightens my passive. I usually find my dms will take advantage of me being able to notice things rather than ding me for focusing on this skill. Then again, maybe this is because it makes sense with the character I play and the way I play them. I also will dump charisma so, just because I notice something, doesn’t mean I can communicate it. The other players also seem to enjoy my ability here. As for context, I usually play a ranger and sometimes a rogue. As I usually take a role of scouting ahead, I find this is a very useful skill and relevant to my class and making them shine.
Love Sumalee! We need her back as a guest in the future!
I hope she and her family are still taking care of the graveyard and that they go back someday to figure out wtf is up with that forest and she gets to guest again that'd be so good :o
If she comes back as a guest i just hope that her family is okay.
This is why I like taking the Observant feat. Aside from a +1 to INT or WIS and being able to read lips (especially if you know their language), +5 to Passive Perception and Passive Investigation makes you that much more aware of your surrounding even when you're not THAT focused. It worked for Vex'ahlia in Campaign 1 as that feat came into play quite a lot; even at level 11 her PP was 20+. Combine that with her having expertise in Perception later on (for a combined PP of *30*), and you got a half-elf ranger/rogue who definitely has keen eyes and even keener senses.
So yeah, Observant is very good for passive abilities.
my DM absolutely hated passive scores because of this issue. i had a cleric who at lvl 1 had 23 passive perception due to 20 wisdom, human variant, and human variant allowing me to acquire Observant. My friend ended up with an average 17 passive intimidation, while my other friend who is a monk had around the same in passive stealth. It only got worse as we leveled however due to my proficiency going up and, if needed, enhance ability which allowed me another +5 to perception because of the advantage it gave. We settled on no passive scores and i now have permanent addvantage on Perception and Investigation checks.
@@NR2GOODTV this is a prime example of the flaws associated with rolling stats. You aren't even allowed to get a 16 (before racials) with point buy
@@v1Valvanerth Which is the prime example of the flaws associated with point buy. Point buy essentially forces cookie cutter class & race combs so that you can have that +3 bonus. Since fighters get the most ASIs as they level, it's not surprising that Human Fighters are the most common race & class combination on D&D Beyond.
Does that mean more Nila???? pllllz
... I mean I just love her she's so amazing!!
I'm just sitting here waiting for Darin to make his triumphant return...
Her firbolg was beyond awesome.
My smell bag said: "YES". ❤️
Nila needs to show up again she's such a sweetheart
this could have been recorded way back when Sumalee was in the game. Remember Laura's HBH? it aired way after she gave birth but she was still pregnant in it. not that i wouldn't love the return of nila, she was astonishing!
YAY!! Sumalee is forever welcomed back!!! So happy to see her!!!
FIRBOLG MOM
Facts
if she comes back on, between her and cad....2 firbolg mums
This actually made a lot of sense! I'll incorporate more of the passive scores into my games. Thanks Handbooker Helper!
Be wary tho when your pc's make a character that end up having passive perception of 23 upto 28 and end up having to warp everything you wish to hide in another plane of existance for them not to notice it
@@bene5594 how the hell do you achieve a +18 on a perception modifier?
@@nirobu Expertise, high wisdom, observant feat
@@nirobu perception expertice rouge at level 4 or more with 14 WIS gives you 10(base)+6(proficiency times 2)+2(WIS mod)=18 pasive perception
@@lordilluminati5836 that's an 18 passive perception. I was talking about the 28 passive perception that ben was talking about. That means a +18 modifier to perception which i thought was impossible since expertise would give you at most +12 proficiency bonus with the maximum +5 wisdom modifier, until @Hoopster 151 reminded me that Observant grants +5 to passive perception too. So, i guess +22 modifier for perception would be the max? If it is, that's one perceptive rogue
This series officially isn't just for players anymore. As a DM, I've never considered passive insight. I always keep track of passive perception, but not insight.
When I run my Ravnica and Waterdeep games, I'm definitely gonna use that. It'll
I've been interested that dndbeyond shows you your passives for perception, insight and investigation. Reading up on where passive investigation would come up (it's like that eureka insight moment that comes out of nowhere) has been an interesting journey... now I just have to convince my GM in the game where I have a 23 passive investigation to check that more :P
So many DMs really don't know about passive abilities - I might have to send it to mine!
We need Sumalee to narrate for a meditation app. Her voice is so calming
Yes! All the yes!
Was also going to say this.
I want her to read a bedtime story
@@xLadyDangerx she would be wonderful for bedtime stories lol
Yay Critter Mom!!
sumalee is the sweetest ever I hope Nila comes back at some point
I just want Sumalee to keep talking forever 😍
So good to see her back!!
I love her so much!! One of my all time favorite guests, she played Nila with such passion!!
I require more Sumalee.
I love Sumalee and Nila so much !!!
( Breaths deeply in the smell bag )
... I smell... Saffron... and cardamom. This will be an excellent lesson. >):^]
never thought i could be soothed by Arcee's voice
My absolute favorite role of hers was Arcee in Transformers Prime. She always lends a soothing air to her roles but still manages to be badass when needed.
I’ve got a monk that my DM is frustrated with because he has a passive perception of 29. Level 15 is a lot of fun.
Y'all should be plane hopping and taking out lesser dieties at that level, your passive perception should be the thing your DM is least concerned with lol
We have already prevented a lesser evil Deity from killing a god to take its place. And perception is one of the most used skills in the entire game, as far as my experience. So I don’t see how passive perception could ever be the least of a DM’s concerns. I catch every trap before we set it off. Ambushes never happen. Basically, I disagree with your assertion that it is unimportant just because we are high level.
@@levishackelton4437 That doesn't sound remotely fun at all, and a pretty huge wet blanket for a DM trying to build a world and challenge for you to participate in.
Please give her a show. I don't care what it's about, I could listen to Sumalee talk about anything for hours!
What's left of Lorenzo's gang are the only ones to dislike this.
william heinrich oh buddy there’s no one left
Hawkeye Gough hahahaha
Those 16 people are just wannabes xD
There seems to be a small group that just go around to every CR vid and downvote it. Sad.
Truly pitiful! What could people hate about little 5 minute tips? If you don't like something, just don't watch.
And if all else fails, hit it with lightening. Again. And again. AND AGAIN! O3o
Sumalee is arguably one of the best additions to the Critical Role guest cast, and I for one am insanely happy to see her in this episode of Handbooker Helper.
Can’t wait to see if she makes a reappearance. :)
I''m watching this with my chin in my hands, hearts in my eyes because I love Sumalee so much! She has this incredibly calming, soft, kind presence.
I wish she could come back to guest but--- Nila is hopefully happily at home with her family and never leaving, huh?
She has such a divine charisma that I could watch/hear her read the ingredients of my laundry detergent & I would still be fascinated
i was literally watching ep 27 when she comes up as a guest and the moment they introduced her i got this notif, im scared. anyways great content we love
Her calming and gentle nature was just what the audience and players needed at that moment
that's the episode after... *sob*
@lucieeatssnekkers There there. The earth will remember him.
Happens to me all the time with this show. was watching both campaigns, and timed it so that I was in both underwater sequences at the same time.
Ah, passive stealth... For that character who keeps sneaking up on the other characters without even trying.
I must have good passive stealth irl then... I can literally walk casually up to someone sometimes and startle them... Lmao.
Hahaha
Sean Nemo the most ridiculous I could come up with is a Rouge or other home brew class that allows expertise, put that on stealth with either +5 or higher dex bonus and you become passively stealthy enough to sneak around anyone who isn’t actively looking for you.
Then by max level, that would be a 27 without advantage, which is really easy to get with magic items. So around 32 by 17th level or whenever the last proficiency boost is.
@@RikkuTakanashi Me too! I'm glad it's not just me
Haha! I accidentally do this to a friend irl and she screams every single time.
I've been playing DnD 5e for a little over a year now and these videos still manage to sneak in a couple of things that teach me something.
It made me so happy to see Sumalee!!
Sumalee has the best energy, what a peaceful and calming person!
Can Sumalee just speak to me about everything please? her voice is so relaxing ❤️
My favorite thing about this? Sumalee had never played D&D before being on Critical Role. She loved it so much that now she's teaching us.
I just love Sumalee's soothing and calm demeanor. I'd love to have a chat with her.
At 2:16 is that supposed to be Taliesin???
The hairstyle and head shape would suggest it is!
@@Heritage367 he's also the one that breaks the game and ruins Matt's plans the most
And the black nails
@@Nata_Hanabi oh yeah that's 100% Taliesin
Really, who else would it be, if not the Immortal One?
Best part of my week!
Love learning about things I don't understand!
I so hope we will see more of Nila in the future, she's my favourite guest character so far (although all have been great).
Great episode, btw! Also; props to whoever does the doodles/animations, they're fantastic as always. Mindreader Taliesin was great :D
This was extremely helpful, and Sumalee is so awesome and chill. Thank you!
Loving the production of these videos!! Sumalee's voice, the little art details, the background music, the short and understandable descriptions! They're all so perfect
Sumalee should do waaaay more of these. Her voice is perfect for explaining things in a soothing manner
Omg, I missed Sumalee's voice so much I really hope she returns her appearance in crit role was sooo good.
The happy smell bag is back!
Great vid and definitely a great reminder for us newer DMs to keep this in mind. Thanks Handbooker Helper! 👍🏻
Damn this was awesome! I am an old hand DM at Pathfinder and 3.5 D&D and have only recently started DMing 5e, this has helped me so much. Plus Sumalee is so awesome and her voice so soothing my brain absorbed the info that much faster :P.
i love that drawing of tal using telepathy to read matt's mind
I could listen to her read/describe anything and it would be lovely. I actually learned something today about passive abilities too, so yay!
Also Passive Investigation is useful, makes it so you sometimes find things without actively looking for them or performing unrelated tasks like finding a note in a book that you happen to be reading.
Came here just to watch Sumalee explain something I'm already familiar with, but I had totally forgotten about the advantage/disadvantage change for passives. So it was doubly worth watching :D
Other Player: "It's too easy to roll under your passive perception! It should always be higher if you're actively looking!"
Me: "That's not how it works for ME in real life."
Thank you so much for this episode specifically. I've been wracking my brain when to use passives, and thus video explained it perfectly!
Sumalee has one of the most soothing voices that I've ever heard she could do asmr or guided meditation recordings
Her calm voice makes me think 'this is what a hug would *sound* like'. Great job Sumalee!!! Looking forward to your return on CR!
This is actually a fascinating video. I genuinely appreciate it.
The smell bag is a great touch. Fun to see Sumalee doing a Handbooker Helper, and hopefully we'll get to see her again in the campaign.
My God this woman's voice is divine, I've never heard something so soothing before
As much as I wasn't a massive fan of her character, she is amazing. Such a calming voice and this video really laid out what passive abilities are like. So great!!!
Sumalee love added here! Lots of love for all the iconic characters you've portrayed over the years!
Hands down the most useful one yet (and great editing!) I like how it was also oriented towards DMs
Such a soothing tone... need more Sumalee narrations to listen to
Can I just say, the animations on these are perfect? The little cartoon Matt and Taliesen had me giggling. XD
Sumalee is amazing! I'd love to see her guest again, M9 go visit Nila!
Giriffraffe - Well, if nothing else, she’s part of Caduceus’ story arc now, so we should be able to at least look forward to seeing her when that’s explored.
...Barring any...unfortunate auto crits or failed death saves, that is...
But that neeeeever happens.
So something for which to look forward!
*It is surreal to have the voice actor for Transformers: Prime Arcee doing a D&D tips video!*
I could listen to Sumalee talk about D&D forever. Am hypnotised.
There's just so much zen in her voice. Just listening to her speak makes me at ease. What a blessing to have.
So far this is my favorite. The witty jokes in this one got me smiling like no other.
This is hands down the best explanation for this rule I have seen yet and will be linking it to ALL my players.
I got teary-eyed watching this because you can feel how passionate Nila is about her new hobby, and she's so calming.
This is a great video for DM's - write down the PC's important passive abilities, to better incorporate them into the story. *adding a sticky note to my DM screen right now*
I just her back playing again, those episodes where just breath takingly beautiful.
This is the most calming episode of Handbooker Helper I have watched
More Sumalee! I could listen to her read the entire handbook.
Her voice is so soothing
I've been playing for years and I'd never understood passive scores so clearly until now.
Love how it was Talisen reading Matt's mind. If anyone had that ability, it would be them.
I don't even know what the video's about, but my god, hearing Sumalee speak is like audio butter, it's so smooth
I was literally JUST thinking about passive scores other than perception. Thanks, Sumalee!
The way I use passive abilities is that they are taken into account when the players are in a non stressful situation such as walking into the mayor's mansion or performing menial labour to earn gold. However in a stressful situation such as combat or a tense argument they must roll.
I would argue that passive perception should still apply(unless the stressful situation you're is active combat, which would tunnel your focus), but the rest definitely makes sense.
And don't forget to get that sweet sweet Observant feat that gives you a permanent +5 to both passive perception and investigation scores. Oh, and it lets you read lips. I'm sure your DM will love you for having a passive perception 23 at level 5.
This was incredibly helpful! I've always wanted to use passive ability scores for things besides perception and investigation, and now I have some direction
Definitely easier for mental traits, also allowing people with proficiency in something or a related background/history to have an easier dc is also good.
Amazing, I have no real idea what the video was about but I am entertained and happy I've watched it.
And for the dm, the passive value of any check could save time by letting them succeed without a roll. Keeps the session moving.
I would listen to this woman read a phone book. Also this is a really well written and informative video. Great job.
Gentle and informative. Big love for Sumalee!
I fucking love Sumalee's roleplaying, she was so wholesome and great on CritRole!
I could listen to Sumalee read the Dictionary and I'd still be engaged, her voice is so soothing!
I feel so calm when she talks :)
Sumalee! I always love seeing her pop up around Critical Role.
I'm so glad the smellbag made a cameo. It wouldn't have felt complete without it.
Sumalee is just the sweetest. I love her. I love her so much
Best explanation for Passive to date!
My favorite critical role guest!
Her voice is awesome and so calming.
One of the best episodes of this so far