feat Alertness (General)
Alertness (General)
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- Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Listen checks and Spot checks.
- Special: The master of a familiar gains the benefit of the Alertness feat whenever the familiar is within arm’s reach.
What Alertness Does
Alertness is a general feat for characters who depend on noticing danger before it reaches them. Its +2 bonus applies to both Listen and Spot checks, improving the character’s chances of detecting hidden creatures, suspicious movement, distant sounds and other visual or auditory clues.
When to Choose Alertness
- Scouts and sentries: characters who repeatedly make Listen and Spot checks benefit from the bonus throughout an adventure rather than only in one type of encounter.
- Exploration-focused characters: ruins, wilderness travel, night watches and infiltration all create frequent opportunities for perception checks.
- Characters with familiars: the feat’s special rule makes familiar positioning important because the master gains the benefit while the familiar remains within arm’s reach.
- Characters who want broad awareness: Alertness improves two separate skills instead of concentrating on only one.
Familiar Interaction
A familiar can grant its master the benefit of Alertness while it is within arm’s reach. If the familiar moves farther away, that granted benefit is unavailable until the familiar returns. This makes the familiar’s position matter during watches, searches and tense encounters where the master expects trouble.
Using Alertness at the Table
A lookout might use Listen to notice boots on the other side of a door, then use Spot moments later to pick out an ambusher on a rooftop. Alertness applies to both checks. It does not replace either skill; it simply makes a character more reliable whenever those skills are called for.
Related Rules
See the Feats index for other character options. Skill Focus is the natural comparison when a character wants to concentrate more heavily on one skill rather than improving both Listen and Spot.
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