Stealth
Stealth is the art of being unnoticed. This is accomplished by camouflaging or hiding from sight, remaining quiet, and otherwise concealing yourself from your opponent's senses (such as staying downwind of creatures with Scent). Characters trained in Stealth are able to sneak into superior positions and gain Surprise on their opponents. Stealth further allows a character to scout without being noticed.
Additionally, creatures may choose to travel stealthily while traveling overland. When they do so, their overland movement is reduced by 50%. If the stealthy traveler would encounter an ambush or random encounter during its travel, it may make use the Hide ability at the beginning of the encounter as a free action.
If a creature is actively looking for your character while he's hidden (or acting Stealthily), the creature will make an Sensory Skill check (i.e. Spot, Listen, etc) and compare it to your character's Stealth check (you may choose to use your prior roll or roll again).
- Become Hidden from an opponent with the Hide ability.
- Take actions while Hidden with the Stealthy Action ability.
- Travel stealthily to avoid or gain surprise on ambushes and random encounters.
| Each 10ft of Distance | +1 |
| Dim Lighting | +5 |
| Noisy Environment | +5 |
| Bright Lighting | -5 |
| Quiet Environment | -5 |
| Noisy Underbursh | -5 |
These modifiers are cumulative. For example, low-lighting and a distance of 100ft from an opponent will grant a +12 bonus to Stealth checks.
| Whispering | -5 |
| Noisy Movements (i.e. Sprinting, Climbing, Jumping, Tumbling, etc.) | -10 |
| Speaking Above Whisper | Auto-Failure |
| Attacking | Auto-Failure |
| Casting | Auto-Failure |
Certain powers and abilities can reduce these penalties or allow checks that would normally automatically fail to instead be made at a penalty.
Being Hidden
You are considered hidden from an opponent when it is either unaware of you, or you are actively trying to hide from the opponent and it is unable to perceive you. If the opponent is aware of you, then to gain and maintain Hidden status, you must make successful Stealth checks against your opponent's Awareness and maintain Superior Concealment against your opponent.
While Hidden from an opponent, it grants you Advantage. Additionally, an opponent cannot target you with attacks if you are Hidden from it, except to make a Wild Swing (and you may be subject to attacks that target an Area).
If you choose to take an action without utilizing the Stealthy Action ability, your Hidden status immediately ends (though you may still maintain some sort of Concealment). Some actions cause you to automatically fail your Stealth check, therefore ending your Hidden status, unless you utilize special powers or abilities to mitigate that failure.
Additionally, at any point while you are Hidden, an opponent who is aware of you may make a Sensory Skill check versus your Stealth to attempt to discern your location (see Locating Creatures with Concealment for more information). If the creature is able to discern your location, you are typically still considered to have Concealment against the creature, which puts the opponent at a penalty to its attack roll.
Distracted Creatures
Typically your character must have Superior Concealment against a creature to Hide from it. But if a creature is unaware of you and distracted (and similar circumstances determined by the GM) it is possible to stealth around that creature without having Concealment. For example, if two creatures are actively arguing with each other, it may be possible to move past them unperceived due to their distracted nature. Likewise, if a creature is focused on a specific task, a character may be able to move behind them unperceived.
Hiding from Creatures with Inhuman Senses
Concealment is granted to a target whenever you have difficulty perceiving it. A target has Partial Concealment any time it is partially obscured from your senses, such as in low-light conditions (unless creatures have low-light or better vision), in light fogs and mists and other hazy conditions. An attack made against a creature that has Partial Concealment has Disadvantage. Attacks that target an area, however, never suffer penalties from Concealment.
When your opponent has Partial Concealment:
- It is difficult to see, hear, or otherwise sense, but you still have Line of Perception to the opponent.
- Attacks that target the opponent have Disadvantage. This does not apply to attacks that target all creatures in an area.
- You may not take Opportunity actions on the creature.
Superior Concealment is granted when a creature is almost entirely concealed from its opponents, such as in darkness (unless opponents have means of seeing through that darkness, such as Darkvision), in dense fogs and mists, while invisible, when its opponent is Blinded, etc. You do not threaten creatures with Superior Concealment and your attacks against it suffer two Disadvantages (assuming you can determine the creature's location).
When your opponent has Superior Concealment:
- It is very difficult to see, hear, or otherwise perceive. You do not have Line of Perception to the opponent.
- Attacks that target the opponent have two Disadvantages (attacks that target all creatures in an area are unaffected). You must know or determine the opponent's location (see Locating Creatures with Concealment).
- You do not Threaten the opponent, nor can you take Opportunity actions against it.
- It gains an Advantage when making attacks on you.
- It may attempt to become Hidden.
A creature becomes Hidden when it can not be located by its opponent. A creature that is Hidden cannot be targeted by attacks, except with a Wild Swing. A creature can attempt to attack a Hidden Target by targeting the location where the Hidden creature was last seen (especially if that creature was within a target's melee reach). If the target remains in that location, the attacking creature still has two Disadvantages on the attack. As usual, attacks that target an area are unaffected by the Hidden condition, but the target's location is not known to the attacker when determining the outer limits of the area.
When a creature is Hidden:
- It cannot be targeted by attacks, except with a Wild Swing which suffers two Disadvantages (attacks that target an area are unaffected).
- You do not Threaten the creature, nor can you take Opportunity actions against it.
- It gains an Advantage on you and other opponents it is Hidden from.
See Locating Creatures with Concealment for more information.
Concealment and Senses
Gaining concealment against creatures with beyond human-like senses is generally more difficult. For example, a creature with Blindsight has Line of Perception to nearby creatures regardless of visual conditions. Likewise, a creature with Tremorsense can determine a character's location as long as he is touching the ground and may require a PC to fly or levitate to gain concealment. Also, keep in mind that creatures typically have more than one sensory ability and it may be necessary to overcome more than one sense to gain concealment. Ultimately, it is up to the GM to determine if any creature has Line of Perception to you.
Size Modifiers to Stealth
A creature's size modifies its Stealth check, according to the table below:
| Size | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Fine | +16 |
| Diminutive | +12 |
| Tiny | +8 |
| Small | +4 |
| Medium | 0 |
| Large | -4 |
| Huge | -8 |
| Gargantuan | -12 |
| Colossal | -16 |