Perception

General Skill (Cunning)

Characters must often maintain a careful awareness of their environment. Subtle cues can hint at imminent danger or unexpected advantage. The Perception skill represents the character's constant, passive state of awareness. This is how a character notices concealed or subtle cues when he is not actively seeking them out. The skill is critical for anyone who faces dangers on a regular basis - whether they are in the wilds of a frontier world or among the urban jungle of a sprawling city.
Note that Perception encompasses all of a character's natural senses. Humans without cybernetic augmentation are limited to five. However, many alien races have additional means to perceive their surroundings.

• If a character is unprepared for a trap or an ambush, they may have an opportunity to make a Perception check to avoid being surprised. Alternatively, this might oppose an attacker's Stealth check.
• Opposed Skulduggery checks are often opposed by a target's Perception.
• Perception may be checked any time the character has an opportunity to notice a subtle clue - an overheard conversation, the stink of a Jawa, or a drug introduced to their beverage.
• Perception can be used in surveillance situations, where the user is trying to observe an unaware target from a distance.

Perception may be opposed by skills used for concealment or might have a difficulty set by the environment. The noise of a loud factory could conceal a conversation just as a spicy drink might prevent a character from noticing a poison.
Extra on a Perception check may be spent to reveal additional details. Perhaps the character recognized the speaker's accent, the pigments involved in a counterfeit artwork, or the number of attackers lying in ambush.
An may be spent to recall additional information associated with the object noticed. Perhaps a passing familiarity with a field of study represents the reason why the character initially realized that something was out of place. A may be spent to notice details that can be useful later, so characters can gain on future interactions with the noticed element.
resulting from a Perception check may be spent by the GM to conceal a vital detail about the situation or environment from the character. A may be spent to cause the character to obtain false information about their surroundings or the target in question.

Visit the General Skills page for details on General Skills, or the main Skills page for a table of all skills.