Use this skill to notice bandits waiting in ambush, to see a rogue lurking in the shadows, to see through a disguise, to read lips or to see the monstrous centipede in the pile of trash.
Check: The Spot skill is used primarily to detect characters or creatures who are hiding. Typically, your Spot check is opposed by the Hide check of the creature trying not to be seen. Sometimes a creature isn’t intentionally hiding but is still difficult to see, so a successful Spot check is necessary to notice it.
A Spot check result higher than 20 generally lets you become aware of an invisible creature near you, though you can’t actually see it.
Spot is also used to detect someone in disguise, and to read lips when you can’t hear or understand what someone is saying.
Spot checks may be called for to determine the distance at which an encounter begins. A penalty applies on such checks, depending on the distance between the two individuals or groups, and an additional penalty may apply if the character making the Spot check is distracted (not concentrating on being observant).
| Condition | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Per 10 feet of distance | -1 |
| Spotter distracted | -5 |
Count Troops: With a DC 10 Spot check, you can make a rough estimate of the number of creatures in a formation. If the group contains two hundred fifty individuals or less, you can guess their numbers to the nearest ten. If the group has more than two hundred fifty individuals, you can estimate their numbers to the nearest hundred. For example, a group of eighty-six gnolls would be estimated as ninety, and a horde of four hundred twenty-seven barbarians would be counted as four hundred. This skill use only applies to groups of one thousand individuals or less.
Locate Commander: You can pick out an officer or commander with a DC 20 Spot check.
Locate Artillery: A DC 25 Spot check gives you the approximate range (within 30 feet) to any sort of artillery firing into the battlefield, whether the source is a siege engine or a spellcaster. The DC of this Spot check is not modified by distance.
Notice Invisibility (Epic): You can use Spot 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).
| Task | DC |
|---|---|
| Notice presence of active invisible creature | 20 |
| Notice presence of unmoving, living invisible creature | 30 |
| Notice presence of inanimate invisible object | 40 |
| Notice presence of unmoving, unliving invisible creature | 40 |
Defeat Illusion (Epic): With a DC 80 Spot check, you can automatically detect any illusion with a visual 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 see it).
Read Lips: To understand what someone is saying by reading lips, you must be within 30 feet of the speaker, be able to see him or her speak, and understand the speaker’s language. (This use of the skill is language-dependent.) The base DC is 15, but it increases for complex speech or an inarticulate speaker. You must maintain a line of sight to the lips being read.
If your Spot check succeeds, you can understand the general content of a minute’s worth of speaking, but you usually still miss certain details. If the check fails by 4 or less, you can’t read the speaker’s lips. If the check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion about the speech. The check is rolled secretly in this case, so that you don’t know whether you succeeded or missed by 5.
| Task | DC Modifier |
|---|---|
| Read lips while moving at up to full speed | +20 |
| Pronounce unfamiliar language | +20 |
Pronounce Unfamiliar Language: This use of the skill allows you to repeat the speech of an observed creature while reading its lips, potentially allowing a comrade to translate the speech. It doesn’t grant you any ability to understand the language spoken.
Action: Varies. Every time you have a chance to spot something in a reactive manner you can make a Spot check without using an action. Trying to spot something you failed to see previously is a move action. To read lips, you must concentrate for a full minute before making a Spot check, and you can’t perform any other action (other than moving at up to half speed) during this minute.
Try Again: Yes. You can try to spot something that you failed to see previously at no penalty. You can attempt to read lips once per minute.
Special: A fascinated creature takes a -4 penalty on Spot checks made as reactions.
If you have the Alertness feat, you get a +2 bonus on Spot checks.
A Ranger gains a bonus on Spot checks when using this skill against a favoured enemy.
An elf has a +2 racial bonus on Spot checks.
A half-elf has a +1 racial bonus on Spot checks.
The master of a hawk familiar gains a +3 bonus on Spot checks in daylight or other lit areas.
The master of an owl familiar gains a +3 bonus on Spot checks in shadowy or other darkened areas.
Source: Player’s Handbook (Page 83), Epic Level Handbook (Page 44)