[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Rooms are so big that you need separate skills for different things (on top of basic Perception for things sitting out in the open):

• Architecture for hidden features of the room itself.
• Carpentry to notice something odd with the woodwork.
• Criminology to find macroscopic evidence left behind by a criminal.
• Electrician to spot something strange about the lights or wiring.
• Forensics to discover traces of blood, explosives, fibers, etc.
• Masonry to identify unusual stonework.
• Observation to "case the joint."
• Tracking to pick up on footprints on the floor.
• Traps for traps and secret doors.

These do overlap some, of course. The GM could allow a single Detective! roll for all of it, I suppose, but as that skill implies, this would be cinematic. Real detectives ask forensic scientists, firemen, the locksmith, etc. to take a look for a good reason. A detective might have Criminology and Observation, and maybe Tracking (if he works outdoors a lot) or Forensics (if he works in a lab some of the time). He would have Search, but for patting down suspects, not for poking in cupboards. They're not really closely related.

Your forgot Housekeeping or Artist (Interior Dectorating) for Spointing an out of place item