virgileso
2013-07-30, 03:07 PM
http://www.cardinalfang.net/episodes/season_two/images/how_not_to_be_seen.jpg
These are a set of house-rules/guidelines for adjudicating stealth in my current AE game, and I'm wanting your opinion as to egregious concerns, especially in comparison to the normal rules.
Hide & Move Silently are merged into one skill, Stealth. Spot & Listen are merged into one skill, Notice. Modifiers originally tied to just Spot or Listen apply to Notice, using the greater of the two, so long as the sense can be used; so Spot bonuses do not apply against invisible targets, thunderstones negate Listen bonuses, etc.
A free action, part of movement. Compare to the point-of-view of any potential observer. Stealth is impossible against someone directly observing you until line of sight is broken (or the Bluff check for a distraction to dive for cover), and your initial roll upon entering stealth remains until you attempt to re-stealth against an observer that's spotted you. All potential observers make a reactive Notice check, which they retain until they take a move action to Observe to get a reroll. Changes to the DC based on the circumstances apply instantly, and can make a stealthy subject change to noticed by the observer.
Until the observer's Notice result exceeds the subject's Stealth result, they are unaware and flat-footed to the subject. If conditions change to make the observer aware, they remain flat-footed until the end of the action.
{table]Notice Modifier Observer Status
-1 per 10' Distance
-10/1ft thickness Wall
-5 Closed door
-5 Distracted, overpowering sensory information
-10 Asleep
-20 Pinpoint subject with total concealment
+10 Observe, subject without cover or concealment
+4 Observe, knows who to look for[/table]
{table]Stealth Modifier Subject Status
-5 Moving greater than half speed
-20 Attacking, running, charging
-30 Attacking observer
+20 Total concealment
-20 Carries light source, auto pinpoint
+/-2 Favorable/unfavorable conditions[/table]
If a subject has total concealment, such as invisibility or no line of sight with the observer, then an observer can only roughly know their direction; pinpointing will give the precise square. If the subject is completely immobile, including no breathing, then the bonus from total concealment increases by +20 and the observer requires an observe action along with a 10 point penalty to their own stealth attempts.
Use common sense applications of sensory bonuses, such as bonuses to Spot not applying while asleep.
Beyond Sight & Sound
Ripping off Pathfinder, Notice can be used for senses beyond Spot/Listen. However, the standards use a human baseline, which is rather abysmal and therefore doesn't require the level of detail the others do. If a sense is acute enough to be a special ability, like a bat's blindsense or a beast's scent; then they can use it as a normal sense (out to the range limit) with a +8 bonus, and usually ignore cover or concealment as dependent on the sense.
{table]DC Detail
-10 Stench of rotting garbage
0 Smell smoke
10 Determine if food is spoiled
25 Sense a burrowing creature underneath you
15+caster level Identify the powers of a potion through taste[/table]
These are a set of house-rules/guidelines for adjudicating stealth in my current AE game, and I'm wanting your opinion as to egregious concerns, especially in comparison to the normal rules.
Hide & Move Silently are merged into one skill, Stealth. Spot & Listen are merged into one skill, Notice. Modifiers originally tied to just Spot or Listen apply to Notice, using the greater of the two, so long as the sense can be used; so Spot bonuses do not apply against invisible targets, thunderstones negate Listen bonuses, etc.
A free action, part of movement. Compare to the point-of-view of any potential observer. Stealth is impossible against someone directly observing you until line of sight is broken (or the Bluff check for a distraction to dive for cover), and your initial roll upon entering stealth remains until you attempt to re-stealth against an observer that's spotted you. All potential observers make a reactive Notice check, which they retain until they take a move action to Observe to get a reroll. Changes to the DC based on the circumstances apply instantly, and can make a stealthy subject change to noticed by the observer.
Until the observer's Notice result exceeds the subject's Stealth result, they are unaware and flat-footed to the subject. If conditions change to make the observer aware, they remain flat-footed until the end of the action.
{table]Notice Modifier Observer Status
-1 per 10' Distance
-10/1ft thickness Wall
-5 Closed door
-5 Distracted, overpowering sensory information
-10 Asleep
-20 Pinpoint subject with total concealment
+10 Observe, subject without cover or concealment
+4 Observe, knows who to look for[/table]
{table]Stealth Modifier Subject Status
-5 Moving greater than half speed
-20 Attacking, running, charging
-30 Attacking observer
+20 Total concealment
-20 Carries light source, auto pinpoint
+/-2 Favorable/unfavorable conditions[/table]
If a subject has total concealment, such as invisibility or no line of sight with the observer, then an observer can only roughly know their direction; pinpointing will give the precise square. If the subject is completely immobile, including no breathing, then the bonus from total concealment increases by +20 and the observer requires an observe action along with a 10 point penalty to their own stealth attempts.
Use common sense applications of sensory bonuses, such as bonuses to Spot not applying while asleep.
Beyond Sight & Sound
Ripping off Pathfinder, Notice can be used for senses beyond Spot/Listen. However, the standards use a human baseline, which is rather abysmal and therefore doesn't require the level of detail the others do. If a sense is acute enough to be a special ability, like a bat's blindsense or a beast's scent; then they can use it as a normal sense (out to the range limit) with a +8 bonus, and usually ignore cover or concealment as dependent on the sense.
{table]DC Detail
-10 Stench of rotting garbage
0 Smell smoke
10 Determine if food is spoiled
25 Sense a burrowing creature underneath you
15+caster level Identify the powers of a potion through taste[/table]