The Senses are what creatures utilize to observe and interact with their environment. Senses allow a creature to identify hazards, locate food and shelter, and otherwise explore the world. Most creatures tend to rely heavily on their visual sense, but some have very adept hearing, scent, and tactile senses. Additionally, some creatures senses are more acute than others. Below is a list of the distinguished levels or types of each sense. These lists deal with the main 4 senses (Taste is considered to be mostly attributed to Scent, and therefore is not considered separately). Some creatures have senses that are beyond the normal five. See Supernatural Senses for more details.

Sensory Ratings

In this vast fantasy world, creatures can have senses that are significantly different from a human. In Quest of Destiny, senses are defined using a rating system that describes the accuracy, precision, and detail provided by a sense, in addition to the shape of the field of perception.

In the diverse realms of Quest of Destiny, creatures can possess an array of senses far beyond the scope of ordinary human experience. To encompass this vast sensory landscape, a distinctive rating system is used to determine:

• Level of Detail perceived, gauging the intricacy with which it distinguishes sensory data. Letter codes are used to determine detail:
  • S (Superior): Superior detail perception allows the viewer to see fine details at a distance. This level of detail allows for reading small text, recognizing faces, or observing minute changes in an environment from afar. Example: Eagle's Sight, Dog's Smell.
  • A (Excellent): Excellent detail perception enables recognition of objects, faces, and reading of large text at moderate distances. Fine details might be missed. Example: Human Sight.
  • B (Good): Good detail perception allows identification of large objects, shapes, and movement at a moderate distance. However, small objects, text, or faces may be difficult to recognize. Example: Dog's Vision.
  • C (Poor): Poor detail perception might only allow for the recognition of large shapes and movement. Precise details are generally missed. Example: Rabbit's Vision.
  • D (Very Poor): Very poor detail perception might only allow for detecting changes in light and darkness or large movements. Example: Mole's Vision.
• The Spatial Accuracy of the sense, defining how well it pinpoints the origin of a sensation. Letter codes are used to determine accuracy:
  • H (High): High spatial awareness allows for a precise understanding of the location, distance, and spatial relation of objects. This enables accurate targeting and movement in relation to objects. Example: Human Sight.
  • M (Medium): Medium spatial awareness provides a fair understanding of objects' locations and distances but might be less precise. Spatial relation of objects might be slightly inaccurate. Example: Human Hearing.
  • L (Low): Low spatial awareness provides a limited and vague understanding of the location and distance of objects, making it difficult to target or move accurately in relation to objects. Example: Human Smell.
• The scope of the sense's Field of Perception:
  • Omn (Omnidirectional - Circle): Represents near-complete coverage of the surroundings with little to no blind spots. Creatures with this field of view can perceive their environment in all directions (Area is a circle). This can provide significant advantages in detecting threats, preventing flanking maneuvers, and overall situational awareness. Example: Human Hearing
  • Wid (Wide - Half-Circle): Represents a broad awareness of the surroundings, covering an arc of about 180 degrees (Area is a Half-Circle). This field of view provide creatures a balance between forward-focused attention and peripheral awareness. Example: Human Eyesight
  • Nrw (Narrow - Cone): Corresponds to a tightly focused sense arc, typically 90 degrees or less (Area is a Cone). This field of view offers creatures a highly focused awareness in the direction of their primary activities. Example: Owl's Vision
  • VNar (Very Narrow - Line): The most focused field of view, representing a direct line of sensory attention (Area is a Line). Creatures with this field of view have extreme focus in a singular direction. This can be beneficial for certain tasks or engagements but limits overall situational awareness. Example: Human Taste, if smell is counted separately

Senses are described using abbreviated codes with the Level of Detail first, Spatial Accuracy second, and Field of Perception last. The following examples describe an average human's senses:

• Vision(A/H-Wid)
• Hearing(B/M-Omn)
• Olfactory(B/L-Nrw)
• Tactile(B/H-Omn)
• Taste(D/L-VNrw)

Vision

Usually resulting from having eyes, most creatures have a visual sense. Described below are the different types of the visual sense. All forms of vision allow a creature to establish Line of Perception. Unless otherwise noted, a creature has normal vision.

Normal Vision – Vision in the normal light spectrum.

Colorblind - Similar to Normal Vision, except that these creatures can only see in Black & White.

Superior Vision - A creature that has Superior Vision relies heavily on its sense of sight, using it to navigate the world and identify objects and creatures. This sense is powerful enough to distinguish fine details and see over larger distances. Superior Vision can be used to distinguish between different creatures, and sometimes even between individuals, at a distance. Creatures with Superior Vision gain a +2 Racial bonus to Spot checks and Awareness.

Inferior Vision - Creatures with Inferior Vision can perceive the world around them visually, but in a diminished capacity. Creatures with minor vision cannot easily perceive fine details, like the differences between individuals of a species. Their vision lacks distinction and appears blurry at a distance; they can only functionally perceive objects within a limited range. Creature's with Inferior Vision suffer a -2 penalty to Spot checks and Awareness.

Special Forms of Vision

Low-Light Vision – A creature with Low-Light Vision has eyes that are particularly adept at seeing through shadows. Creatures with Low-Light vision can see in dim light as easily as they see in bright light. Several common humanoid races have Low-Light Vision, such as Elves and Gnomes.

Darkvision – Creatures with Darkvision have sight so acute they can see in perfect darkness out to a distance of 60ft (unless otherwise specified). Darkvision is colorless and only reveals shapes and textures. For example, a dyed emblem on a tunic does not look any different than a plain tunic, nor does a black tunic look any different than a white tunic. Object that are further away appear more dim, with objects at the range limit almost completely black. While utilizing their Darkvision, a creature can recognize another creature using Darkvision by the faint glow emanating from their eyes. Several common humanoid races have Darkvision, such as Dwarves and Half-Orcs.

Infravision – Creatures with Infravision are able to see into the infrared spectrum. Creatures and objects that produce heat stand out in particular from their environment. Infravision is blurry and makes it hard to determine the exact distance and shape of objects it sees. The intensity of a heat signature determines the color of the object, with blues and violets the coolest signatures and oranges and reds the hottest. Ambient temperature can significantly affect Infravision, with hot environments able to make a creatures heat signature. Creatures with Infravision can also see normally.

Ultravision – Creatures with Ultravision are able to see into the ultraviolet spectrum, allowing them to view details about the world that are invisible to creatures with other types of vision. This type of vision is common among creatures of the Everdeep, where the radiation emitted by some objects gives off a glow. In such environments, creatures with Ultravision can see crisply.

Vision controls the Sensory Skill Spot.

Hearing

The auditory sense determines a creature’s capacity for perceiving vibrations in air. It’s possible for an ear to receive vibrations through other substances, but that media must be placed near to or in direct contact with the ear (ex. through water or solid substances like stone). Described below are the different types of the auditory sense. Unless otherwise noted, a creature has normal hearing.

Normal Hearing - Like a typical human’s hearing, normal hearing ranges between 50 hz and 18000 hz (depending on the individual).

Superior Hearing - A creature with Superior Hearing is able to perceive fine details in sound and is able to locate the source of sounds in a three-dimensional environment. Creatures with Superior Hearing gain a +2 Racial bonus to Listen checks and Awareness.

Inferior Hearing - A creature with Inferior Hearing can perceive basic sounds and generally cannot perceive the location of that sound in three-dimensional space. Creatures with Inferior Hearing suffer a -2 penalty to Listen checks and Awareness.

Special Forms of Hearing

Blindsense - Blindsense is a powerful form of hearing that allows a creature to determine the shape of its environment through sound waves (i.e. echolocation). It works in all directions simultaneously, so it can be very difficult to sneak up on a creature with blindsense. Blindsense can be used to establish Line of Perception and grants a +2 Racial bonus to Listen checks and Awareness.

Hearing controls the Sensory Skill Listen.

Scent

The olfactory sense determines a creature’s capacity for recognizing and identifying odors. Described below are the different types of the olfactory sense. Unless otherwise noted, a creature has normal scent.

Normal Scent - Creatures with Normal Scent are able to generally identify odors and their location. They may be able to identify specific strong odors that are familiar to them. Creatures with Normal Scent do not have access to the Scent skill.

Superior Scent - Creatures with Superior Scent can identify subtle distinctions between odors and locate the source of the scent in a three-dimensional environment. Superior Scent grants a creature access to the Scent skill.

Inferior Scent - Creatures with Inferior Scent can identify only major distinctions between odors and generally cannot locate the source of an odor in a three-dimensional space. Creatures with Inferior Scent do not have access to the Scent skill.

Special Forms of Scent

Tracking-scent - A creature with Tracking Scent can identify a minute residual scent and follow it back to its origin. Tracking Scent can be used to establish Line of Perception out to 50ft, allows a creature to utilize the Scent skill, and grants a +2 Racial bonus to Scent and Awareness.

Scent controls the Sensory Skill Scent. Taste is considered a form of scent.

Tactile

The Tactile sense allows a creature to experience the world around it through what it touches. Described below are the different types of the touch sense. Unless otherwise noted, a creature has normal touch.

Normal Touch - Creatures with Normal Touch are able to distinguish the relative shape and texture of objects. This may allow them to identify objects that are extremely familiar to them. Creatures with Normal Touch do not have access to the Touch skill.

Superior Touch - Creatures with Superior Touch are able to distinguish between objects by touching or feeling them, this may even allow them to identify specific objects that are familiar to them. Creatures with Superior Touch gain access to the Touch skill.

Inferior Touch - Creatures with Inferior Touch are able to determine only large distinctions between objects by texture and temperature and cannot identify specific objects. Creatures with Inferior Touch do not have access to the Touch skill.

Special Forms of the Tactile Sense

Tremorsense - A creature with Tremorsense is able to detect vibrations through a substance, such as stone, dirt, or water and determine the source of vibrations in three-dimensional space. Tremorsense can be used to establish Line of Perception, allows a creature to utilize the Touch skill, and grants a +2 Racial bonus to Touch and Awareness.

Touch controls the Sensory Skill Touch.

Losing Senses

Certain Injures and Status Effects may cause you to lose, either permanently or temporarily, access to one of your senses. When this happens, you typically also suffer a penalty to your Awareness Score and often a penalty to Attacks (due to a reduction in your ability to Perceive targets). When you are subject to such an effect, such as Blindness or Deafness, the specific penalties are detailed by each effect.