From Stanley Woo - Quality Assurance:
"Ok, I got a PM from fuzzy_shortyking about this, so I thought I'd scour the old BioWare programmer list for people who'd worked on NWN. After three or four attempts, I managed to snag the inimitable Brenon "Kilimanjaro" Holmes, who was able to give me the low-down on Detect Mode and all of its secret, inner workings. We tried to involve Craig "Uncanny Frankie Valli" Welburn in the conversation, but the network gods we worship were not appeased by our offering of stale Doritos and croissants. Here's the breakdown I received from Mr. Holmes, which is probably about as "official" as any info gets. He went through old NWN code and everything!
Passive (default) mode[]
- Trap detection radius: 5ft
- Trap detection rate: 6 seconds (every round)
- Trap detection roll: d20
- Spot/Listen roll: d10
Active (Detect) mode[]
- Trap detection radius: 10ft
- Trap detection rate: 3 seconds (twice per round)
- Trap detection roll: d20
- Spot/Listen roll: d20
Stealth checks[]
- Player detects stealth: 5 times per second
- Player rolls for hide/move silently/spot/listen: 6 seconds
- NPC detects stealth: 4 seconds
- NPC rolls for hide/move silently/spot/listen: 6 seconds
Hopefully, that will clear something up."
Alternate perspectives[]
The above listed notes do not specifically state stealth and detection mechanics from NWN1 carry over, in whole or in part, to NWN2. To the extent and possibility that there may be differences, readers who have a lingering curiosity and/or doubts about the above may consider reading the talk page on this subject.