[Social Engineering] Why can't Observation be used to covertly judge approachability?

[PK]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

In which case shouldn't the sequence of rolls go something like:

1. Roll Acting, Savoir-Faire or Streetwise to blend in.
2. Roll Observation to not break cover when gathering intelligence, while blending in.
3. Roll Per-based roll against a relevant skill to gather intelligence.

NDD, you seem to still be misunderstanding this key fact: Observation is the "Per-based roll against a skill to gather intelligence." That's what Observation does. The fact that it lets you do so without being obvious is an incidental benefit.

So the sequence is, assuming that you're casing a place (not trying to emotionally size up a person):

1. Roll Acting, Savoir-Faire, or Sreetwise to blend in.
2. Roll Observation to gather intelligence, and to do so in a way that will not break cover.