If my party and I are engaged in combat with a group of foes, and more enemies join into the fight by emerging from out of the nearby woods to attack my party, when and at what distance from the new enemies do the party members get a chance to detect them using passive perception? Or do we simply automatically detect them when they enter combat? What if they are trying to use Stealth deliberately to sneak up on us?
[RPG] When can I make a perception check to detect new enemies entering a combat
combatdnd-5e
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Passive perception is exactly that, passive. It's what the PCs are always using when not actively searching for something and doesn't use a roll of the die.
To determine if you should use passive perception or allow a player to roll, listen to what they say their PCs are doing. If they say they are standing watch, keeping an eye out or something similar, they are actively searching so they can make a wisdom (perception) check, otherwise they are using their passive perception.
Although, it's kind of an experience call as the DM and depends on what the PCs are actually doing and whether or not the DM gives them the benefit of the doubt. In the case of the video, one guy said he was keeping a look out, thus actively searching and two of them were scouting off to the side of the road so the DM ruled they were also searching, rather than just wandering off into the bushes for no real reason, and allowed those three PCs an active wisdom (perception) check, whilst the others would be using their passive perception.
RAW the Rogue does receive the benefits of Expertise to his passive.
A passive check is a special kind of ability check that doesn’t involve any die rolls. Such a check can represent the average result for a task done repeatedly, such as searching for secret doors over and over again, or can be used when the DM wants to secretly determine whether the characters succeed at something without rolling dice, such as noticing a hidden monster. Here’s how to determine a character’s total for a passive check: 10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check. - Player's Handbook P.174
The player has invested in making this character good at this, this is not a bad thing.
Rogues in general are supposed to be good at this type of thing, hence the proficiency bonus class feature and the player specifically spent a feat on making his passive perception better. The player could've spent this on another feat to specialize in another area (or gain a combat ability). This is a good thing, while it may make it difficult for the Rogue to be surprised by a trap or an ambush you should in no way try to outmaneuver this.
Don't worry, there are downsides to the Rogue for this.
To reliably spot traps and ambushes the rogue will need to be at the head of the marching order so that he has clear sight lines. Rogue's are not particularly hardy and the party as a whole is inviting more risk for this reward. Likewise while he is extremely excellent at spotting physical dangers, the Rogue will not be able to detect magic wards and other dangerous enchantments and may equally blunder into them.
Ways to handle his detection of a trap or an ambush
You are correct in assuming that only that PC has seen the trap/enemy. Unless he has some mode of telepathic communication he will need to speak out and announce the threat to everyone. The best way to handle this sort of thing is to pass notes or send text messages to the player(s) able to see/detect the issue and leave it to them to react and tell someone else. Intelligent enemies will see/hear the rogue warning the party and the combat should start immediately (no surprise round though).
The PC does not become omniscient of the trap upon detecting it.
The PHB itself is very, very vague on what information is received when a PC detects a trap. However, the DMG does have a nice little section about traps, their detection, and disarming them:
If the adventurers detect a trap before triggering it, they might be able to disarm it, either permanently or long enough to move past it. You might call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check for a character to deduce what needs to be done, followed by a Dexterity check using thieves' tools to perform the necessary sabotage...
...In most cases, a trap's description is clear enough that you can adjudicate whether a character's actions locate or foil the trap. As with many situations, you shouldn't allow die rolling to override clever play and good planning...
...Foiling traps can be a little more complicated. Consider a trapped treasure chest. If the chest is opened without first pulling on the two handles set in its sides, a mechanism inside fires a hail of poison needles toward anyone in front of it. After inspecting the chest and making a few checks, the characters are still unsure if it's trapped. Rather than simply open the chest, they prop a shield in front of it and push the chest open at a distance with an iron rod. In this case, the trap still triggers, but the hail of needles fires harmlessly into the shield. - Dungeon Master's Guide p. 121
Essentially though whether trap disarming is simply a dex check, a series of checks, and/or involves serious RP is up to you as a DM. I would encourage the open-ended approach the book suggests as it adds complexity and makes trap checking and disarming a more engaging process. Sitdown with the party OOC and discuss what the table as a whole thinks should happen for trap checks and move forward based on that consensus.
Best Answer
From what I understand, your party is in combat, you hid from your actual opponents behind an obstacle (wall, barrel, boulder or such) and you want to know how and when you can know if an additional enemy is coming to attack you from behind, right?
1) On any of your turns, you can use an action to Search, in order to detect something in your surroundings. It's then up to the DM to determine if you can hear or see (or even smell and feel) something, taking account of the circumstances (distance, ambient noise, light, breeze, etc.) In the course of doing so, he can ask you to make a perception check. There is no "standard" distance for percieving enemies.
2) You don't make passive perception checks. It's a score the DM uses when he wants to know if you beat the possible stealth check of an enemy. Once again, the DM's task is to take account of the circumstances which can help or hinder your perception (advantage, disadvantage, etc.) and decide if you're caught offguard or not.