That’s what passive perception and hidden rolls are for, but I don’t remember if DnD still has that. I mostly play Pathfinder. So in this example, the rouge forgets to check the door. But as a DM, I asked the player beforehand how thorough their character is, and if they automatically check every door in exchange for a time penalty. If there’s no “pressure” like chasing or being chased, I assume they check every door if that’s the kind of thing they usually do, and roll for them if they forget and there’s something there. Obviously a careless rogue wouldn’t do this, and maybe they wouldn’t check somewhere they don’t expect traps like a manor party, so it depends on the character and situation. Like if they seem nervous and alert they would probably check for traps everywhere.
My players trust me to be fair in this regard and it really made the whole thing a lot smoother.
It worked for us. We had a few moments like “you didn’t check for traps so now you take damage” and they said “well obviously my character would have” and I was like “y’know what you’re right. You’re playing your character, and if you were actually in that world you probably would have checked for traps because you did so the last 100 times.”
Similar how in real life you’re not conscious of every little thing you do, most of it is muscle memory.
That’s what passive perception and hidden rolls are for, but I don’t remember if DnD still has that. I mostly play Pathfinder. So in this example, the rouge forgets to check the door. But as a DM, I asked the player beforehand how thorough their character is, and if they automatically check every door in exchange for a time penalty. If there’s no “pressure” like chasing or being chased, I assume they check every door if that’s the kind of thing they usually do, and roll for them if they forget and there’s something there. Obviously a careless rogue wouldn’t do this, and maybe they wouldn’t check somewhere they don’t expect traps like a manor party, so it depends on the character and situation. Like if they seem nervous and alert they would probably check for traps everywhere.
My players trust me to be fair in this regard and it really made the whole thing a lot smoother.
That kinda just seems like you’re playing the game for them.
It worked for us. We had a few moments like “you didn’t check for traps so now you take damage” and they said “well obviously my character would have” and I was like “y’know what you’re right. You’re playing your character, and if you were actually in that world you probably would have checked for traps because you did so the last 100 times.”
Similar how in real life you’re not conscious of every little thing you do, most of it is muscle memory.