Sense Rolls

"Sense rolls" include Vision rolls, Hearing rolls, Taste/Smell rolls, and all rolls to use special senses such as Scanning Sense and Vibration Sense.

To notice something using a given sense, roll against your Perception score, modified by the applicable Acute Senses advantage: Acute Vision for Vision rolls, Acute Hearing for Hearing rolls, and so on.

Comprehension Rolls: A successful Sense roll means you noticed something. That is often sufficient, but in some cases, the GM may require a second roll to understand what you have sensed; e.g., to realize that the "owl hoot" you heard is really an Indian warrior, or that the faint scent you noticed belongs to the flower of a man-eating plant. This roll is against IQ for details that anyone could figure out, or against an appropriate skill if the significance would be lost on anyone but an expert.

Danger Sense: If you have the Danger Sense advantage and fail a Sense roll or comprehension roll to notice something dangerous, the GM will secretly make a Perception roll for you. On a success, you sense the danger anyhow!

Vision

Make a Vision roll whenever it is important that you see something.

Modifiers: Any Acute Vision bonus; +3 for Hyperspectral Vision; modifiers for the size and range of the target (see Size and Speed/Range Table); -1 to -9 in partial darkness. In total darkness, Vision rolls are impossible without special advantages or technological aids. To spot something in plain sight – e.g., a car coming toward you on the road – roll at +10. This does not apply to attempts to spot hidden objects, read text, identify faces, etc.

When you try to spot something that is deliberately hidden, the GM may treat this roll as a Quick Contest against a concealment skill (Camouflage, Holdout, etc.), and may allow – or require – a skill such as Observation or Search to replace Perception for the roll.

Note that the curvature of a planet blocks vision beyond the horizon. The normal horizon on an Earth-sized planet is about three miles for an observer five to six feet in height. The GM should increase this for taller observers or those in elevated positions. There is no horizon in space!

Useful Advantages: Night Vision cancels -1 in partial darkness penalties per level, and Dark Vision lets you ignore darkness penalties. Peripheral Vision gives you a Vision roll to see anything that is not absolutely, positively, directly behind you – and 360° Vision lets you see even that! Telescopic Vision cancels -1 in range penalties per level.

Limiting Disadvantages: Bad Sight gives -6 to Vision rolls to spot items more than one yard away if you are nearsighted, or items within one yard if you are farsighted. Restricted Vision prevents you from noticing anything that isn't in the direction you are looking. Blindness means you can see nothing!

Hearing

Make a Hearing roll whenever it is important that you hear a sound. The GM will often require a separate IQ roll to make out speech, especially in a foreign language.

Modifiers: Any Acute Hearing bonus; +4 for Discriminatory Hearing; -4 for Hard of Hearing. The GM may make this roll easier or harder, depending on the loudness of the sound, surrounding noises, etc.

The range at which you can hear a sound at no penalty is given on the table below. For each step by which you are closer than this, apply +1 to the roll, while for each step by which you are more distant, apply -1. For instance, to hear normal conversation at 8 yards would require a roll at -3.

When you try to hear someone who is attempting to move silently, the GM may treat this roll as a Quick Contest against his Stealth skill. If you are actively listening for such activity, the GM may allow you to substitute Observation skill for Perception.

Useful Advantages: Parabolic Hearing allows you to hear distant sounds as if they were nearby. Subsonic Hearing and Ultrahearing can detect sounds that are inaudible to normal humans.

Limiting Disadvantage: If you suffer from Deafness, you can hear nothing!

Hearing Distance Table
Sound	Range (yards)
Leaves rustling	1/4
Quiet conversation	1/2
Normal conversation	1
Light traffic	2
Loud conversation	4
Noisy office	8
Normal traffic	16
"Quiet" rock band	32
Heavy traffic	64
Jet takeoff	128
Very loud rock band	256
Metallica	512

Taste/Smell

Taste and smell are two manifestations of the same sense. Make a Taste roll to notice a flavor, or a Smell roll to notice a scent.

Modifiers: Any Acute Taste and Smell bonus; +4 for Discriminatory Smell or Taste (as applicable). The GM may modify this roll for a particularly strong or weak taste or odor, and may apply a penalty if it is specifically disguised.

Useful Advantages: In addition to giving a bonus to your roll, Discriminatory Smell and Discriminatory Taste can reveal sufficient detail to allow you to identify people, locations, and objects with precision equivalent to hearing or vision for a normal human.

Limiting Disadvantage: No Sense of Smell/Taste means that you cannot taste or smell anything.