Use this skill to hear approaching enemies, to detect someone sneaking up on you from behind or to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation.
Check: Your Listen check is either made against a DC that reflects how quiet the noise is that you might hear, or it is opposed by your target’s Move Silently check.
A Listen check can be rolled in secret, so that you don’t know whether not hearing anything means that nothing is there, or that you failed the check.
| Listen DC | Sound |
|---|---|
| -10 | A battle |
| 0 | People talking1 |
| 5 | A person in medium armour walking at a slow pace (10 ft./round) trying not to make any noise. |
| 10 | An unarmoured person walking at a slow pace (15 ft./round) trying not to make any noise |
| 15 | A 1st-level Rogue using Move Silently to sneak past the listener |
| 15 | People whispering1 |
| 19 | A cat stalking |
| 30 | An owl gliding in for a kill |
1 If you beat the DC by 10 or more, you can make out what’s being said, assuming that you understand the language.
| Listen DC Modifier | Condition |
|---|---|
| +5 | Through a door |
| +15 | Through a stone wall |
| +1 | Per 10 feet of distance |
| +5 | Listener distracted |
| +5 | Listener or sound in light sea or moderate river |
| +10 | Listener or sound in light surf, moderate sea or loud river |
| +15 | Listener or sound in heavy surf or thundering river |
| +1 | Per 30 feet of distance underwater (see below) |
| +1 | Per 20 feet of distance over water (see below) |
| +10 | Land creature underwater |
In the case of people trying to be quiet, the DCs given on the table could be replaced by Move Silently checks, in which case the indicated DC would be their average check result.
Background Noise: Adventurers in or around water often have to contend with significant background noise — the sound of the surf, the slap of water on a boat’s hull, the rush and break of wavelets even in calm waters or the rushing of a river or stream. If either the listener or the origin of a sound is in an area of background noise, the DC of any Listen checks increases as shown above. Sounds that pass over or through such conditions are also affected.
Aquatic Modifiers: Sound carries through water extremely well; increase the DC of the listener’s Listen check by +1 per 30 feet instead of +1 per 10 feet for sounds transmitted through water. Sound also carries well over water (for example, a person on shore shouting to someone on a boat); increase the Listen check DC by +1 per 20 feet instead of the normal increment of +1 per 10 feet.
For purposes of the above list, a land creature is a creature that does not possess a swim speed or the aquatic subtype.
Estimate Distance Underground: To those who have learned the ways of sound in the earth’s heart, an echo from the sound of an enemy’s misstep can be sweet music to their ears. Years of training have taught many underground explorers how to tell an enemy’s location and distance from the echoes they hear.
With a successful DC 25 Listen check, you can listen to echoing sounds and determine how far away the individuals making them are, within 10% of the distance between you and those individuals.
Eavesdrop: You can use this skill to clarify overheard conversations. The DCs given above are based simply on hearing someone moving or talking. To understand any conversation that is being spoken near to you (but not directly at you), your Listen check must exceed the DC by 10.
| Environment | DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Next booth in a tavern | +2 |
| Bustling city street corner | +5 |
| Busy tavern | +10 |
| Crowded market place | +15 |
| Riot | +20 |
Defeat Illusion (Epic): By making a DC 80 Listen check, you can automatically detect any illusion with an auditory component for what it truly is. No Will save is required, and you don’t have to interact with the illusion (but you must be able to hear its auditory component).
Action: Varies. Every time you have a chance to hear something in a reactive manner (such as when someone makes a noise or you move into a new area), you can make a Listen check without using an action. Trying to hear something you failed to hear previously is a move action.
Try Again: Yes. You can try to hear something that you failed to hear previously with no penalty.
Special: When several characters are listening to the same thing, a single 1d20 roll can be used for all the individuals’ Listen checks.
You can use Listen to notice the presence of an invisible creature. If you beat the DC by 20 or more, you can pinpoint the location of the invisible creature, though it still maintains total concealment from you (50% miss chance).
A fascinated creature takes a -4 penalty on Listen checks made as reactions.
If you have the Alertness feat, you get a +2 bonus on Listen checks.
A Ranger gains a bonus on Listen checks when using this skill against a favoured enemy.
An elf, gnome or halfling has a +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
A half-elf has a +1 racial bonus on Listen checks.
A sleeping character may make Listen checks at a -10 penalty. A successful check awakens the sleeper.
Source: Player’s Handbook (Page 78), Epic Level Handbook (Page 42), Races of Stone (Page 132), Races of Destiny (Page 149)