Observation
Observation
Observation is the skill of noticing visual, auditory, or other sensory cues that others may not notice. Being able to see moving or hiding figures out of the corner of your eye, hearing hushed whispers in a crowd of chit-chatting townsfolk, smelling alcohol on the breath of someone who is doused in perfume, or even tasting a slight bitterness in a normally sweet drink can all fall under observation.
Observation is a versatile skill that can help a character notice minute things around them. This can apply in two ways: passive observation and active observation.
Passive Observation is a character’s ability to notice detail when they are not actively focusing on trying to observe what’s around them. An example of passive observation could be the ability to notice a subtle yet strange sound on your way home after a long day of work. A low-level observer may not be able to passively notice this noise while a higher level observer probably could.
Active Observation is a character’s ability to observe details when they are consciously taking in their surroundings. When someone is actively observing their surroundings, they are able to pick up on much more information due to them more closely paying attention. An example of active observation could be one is actively watching a subject walk and notices a subtle limp on their left leg. A passive observer may not be able to notice this detail, but when paying attention, it becomes almost obvious.
As a character increases their observation in the lower levels (aka no skill > apprentice > journeyman), the character increases both their passive and their active observation skills. A journeyman observer may be able to passively observe the limp in the man’s leg while an apprentice observer may not. However, at higher levels, passive observation can no longer be increased due to the nature of a character’s attention and observation skill points will no longer be awarded for passive observations. Higher levels of observation are solely dedicated to increasing active observation skills.
A high level of observation does not mean that the character has an eye on the back of their head, that they can notice all details of a character, or they are able to see perfectly things that are being obscured. A high leveled observer is able to notice small details around them if they are in some way actively paying attention. This means a character, even a master, would not be able to notice someone with high stealth sneaking up on them outside of their field of view, notice every detail about another character’s appearance from a few short glances, or be able to see perfectly the figure of someone hiding in the dark. A master observer may be able to see that there is a figure in the dark, but not what or who that is exactly, and they may be able to discern quite a few details about someone’s appearance but over a period of time of active observation.
Also note that the more specific area that your character is trying to observe, the smaller the details you can observe. If you’re observing an entire crowd of people, or you are trying to observe your immediate surroundings you are not going to be able to notice the outfit of one particular person. But if you were to focus on someone’s hat specifically, you could notice the specific details of that hat. This means that at any level, someone with the observation skill could potentially observe a very small, minute detail. However, the speed of which one will notice said detail and how much of their attention they have to dedicate in order to find that detail will depend on the level. If you are not sure what would be reasonable for your character to notice at a particular level, feel free to ask any moderator who all are always willing to help.
Related Skills
At first glance, the Observation skill may seem similar to some other skills, namely Investigation or Deception. To help clarify the differences between these three skills, read the Related Skills section below as well as their skill articles in full. If there is still confusion upon the distinctions, please reach out to a moderator.
- Investigation – Investigation is a great skill to pair with Observation. With Observation alone, a character can’t necessarily draw any decent conclusions from their observations or perform formal research on the topic effectively. With Investigation, a character can connect the dots effectively and supplement their observations with formal research to help back up their conclusion. An example of these two skills working together would be using Observation to notice physical clues at a crime scene and using Investigation to conduct interviews and connect the clues together to form possible suspects.
- Detection – Detection is a complementary skill to Observation. Observation mostly deals with concrete, environmental details, while Detection handles more psychological or non-physical observations. An example of these two skills working together would be a law enforcement officer noticing subtle verbal or physical tics when a particular suspect is questioned with his Observation but uses his Detection to help determine whether or not these tics are simple nervous tics or if they are happening because the person is lying.
- Logic – Observation allows a character to notice details around them, but this does not mean they would remember said details at a later date or remember them with accuracy. If one wanted to remember details for longer, Logic is a great complementary skill for this.
- Stealth – Stealth and observation have an interesting relationship. Observation does not necessarily aid in a character noticing others who are stealthy. Observation can be used to notice what was left behind someone who is sneaking around, but without the Detection skill, an Observer most likely would not think there is anything suspicious in the works or be able to notice someone is specifically trying to avoid being detected. So Stealth in a way can counter a character with high Observation if the said character does not have a good Detection skill.
- Disguise – High-level observers may be able to see the holes in someone’s disguise if they are actively observing them, depending on the level of the disguiser. As such, Observation is a good counter to the Disguise skill.
- Tracking – Tracking encompasses a vast majority of observations related to tracking down a person or an animal. When following footprints for example, following the subsequent footstep, even when obscured by a thick forest floor would fall under the Tracking skill, not Observation. However, Observation can help a tracker find a track initially, allowing them to then use their Tracking skill to follow the track down its path.
Related Equipment
- Glasses/Spy Glasses/Magnifying Glasses – Items that can better enhance your vision can aid in visual observations.
- Funnel – Funnels or other similar items could potentially be used to increase one’s hearing by pulling in sounds towards one’s ear, effectively aiding in auditory observations. Funnels are most commonly used in crowds to hear speech givers or when going to large performance venues like a large opera house to better hear the performance.
Skills Levels
1-25 Apprentice
Apprentice observers are just getting the hang of picking up the details within their surroundings. Their passive observation skills are minimal and they only sometimes can pick up on things that others don’t as long as the detail is significant enough to grab a small amount of attention from the observer. Apprentice observers, for example, can sometimes passively observe subtle but odd noises as long as there isn’t too much other noise around or notice small flashes of light being reflected off of a piece of glass or metal.
Apprentice observers are also working on their active observation skills. When they are actively observing things around them, they can notice details they may have noticed passively much more consistently. However, apprentice observers must focus on one aspect of their surroundings in order to focus on it properly. If they want to actively observe the details of someone’s outfit and notice they have an irregularity in it, the observer may have to sacrifice paying auditory attention and thus miss parts of the conversation happening around them. In vice versa, if someone wanted to try and listen to a hushed sound, they must focus on the sound and thus sacrifice paying attention to their visual surroundings. Noticing small details also takes time for apprentice observers, so in order to notice all the irregularity in someone’s entire outfit, an apprentice has to dedicate a good portion of their time with that person to observe them in order to pick up on the details.
26-50 Journeyman
Journeymen observers have honed their passive observation skills to be much more consistent than the average person. Passive observation at this level is as high as it can get, allowing characters to be able to notice details that somewhat stick out without actively noticing their surroundings. Noticing others who have slight limps, hearing odd noises within a small crowd of people, tasting something off in your drink can all be examples of using Journeyman levels of passive observation.
Journeymen at this level have also been working on their active observation and can now notice small details when they are actively observing their surroundings. While an apprentice observer may be able to actively observe an odd noise within a small crowd of people, a journeyman observer may be able to observe the general direction said noise came from. Journeymen observers still have to dedicate much of their focus to their observations, so if an journeyman observer wants to visually identify details in someone’s appearance, they still will have to forgo some of their auditory attention, etc. So they may not be able to recite exactly what was said in the conversation around them, but they may be able to still understand the very basics of what was said and continue the conversation. Journeymen observers also no longer have to dedicate the same amount of time as apprentice observers to observe the same detail, but they still have to dedicate a few long moments to pick up on the details. To observe as many details as possible about someone’s outfit, a Journeyman does not have to spend nearly all of their time with said person observing them as an apprentice does, but a very decent portion of their time still needs to be set aside for it.
51-75 Expert
Expert observers are observers who have continued to hone their active observation skills. They cannot increase their passive observation any more than that of a journeyman due to the way attention works, but Expert observers are much more used to noticing details in their surroundings. This means when an expert observer is using their active observation, they no longer have to completely forgo their passive observation of their surroundings. An expert observer may choose to actively observe the dark corner of a room, but now they are able to still use their passive perception at an apprentice level at the same time. For instance, if an expert observer is attempting to learn more about someone who is sitting in the corner, they can actively observe said person, but the observer may still end up noticing a subtle scent from someone passing by them
Expert observers can notice smaller details than that of journeymen when actively observing their surroundings. An expert may be able to notice that someone’s ring is shinier than usual or that there is a lack of dust on one item that is on a dusty shelf. Experts also only need a few moments to observe the same kind of details as journeymen and apprentices, thus making them able to pick up on many details much more quickly. To observe all the irregularities in someone’s outfit, an expert needs to dedicate a healthy portion of their time to the task.
76-100 Master
Master observers have mastered active observation. They are so used to noticing details around them that they can actively observe their surroundings as well as passively observe at a journeyman level at the same time. Master observers can actively focus on a particular group of people in a room yet still notice an odd taste in their drink while they passively sipped at it.
Master observers can notice very small details when they are actively observing. Master observers can likely notice when someone’s hair is a wig, they can hear a couple whispering amongst themselves in a crowd (though whether or not they can understand said conversation is determined by their Espionage skill), and they can smell a scent on someone’s breath when they are drowned in cologne. Master observers can also notice details much quicker than other observers. If a master wanted to observe all the irregularities within someone’s outfit, they would only need to dedicate a small portion of their time to the task.