Stealth (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

You are skilled at avoiding detection, allowing you to slip past foes or strike from an unseen position. This skill covers hiding and moving silently.

Check

Your Stealth check is opposed by the Perception check of anyone who might notice you. Creatures whose Perception you beat with your Stealth can't sense you or say where you are. When hidden this way, you gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls, and ignores opponents' Dexterity bonuses to AC (even if they lack such a bonus, which is significant for sneak attack).

You can move up to half your normal speed and use Stealth at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than half up to your normal speed, you take a –5 penalty. It's impossible to use Stealth while attacking, running, or charging, but see Attack and Hide and Breaking Stealth below.

If people are observing you using their primary sense (typically sight), you can't use Stealth, but there are ways to work around this.

• Against most creatures, finding cover or concealment allows you to use Stealth. See senses below.
• If your observers are momentarily distracted (such as by a Bluff check or by being attacked), you can attempt to use Stealth, but you only stay hidden as long as the distraction lasts. To get more lasting stealth, you have to gain cover or concealment.

Special Situations

Ambush

<ref name="*">This is a rules change or questionable interpretation, rather than just editing.</ref>If you use stealth before another creature enters the scene, you are automatically successful and remain hidden until you break your stealth or an enemy spots you. Creatures entering the scene do not get an automatic Perception check to spot you, they must spend an action to do so or move to a position from which they can see you.

Attack and Hide

You can try to hide by moving after attacking, but must end your movement in cover or concealment to do so, which usually gives you a penalty and/or restricts you from making full attacks.

Breaking Stealth

When you start your turn using Stealth, you can leave cover or concealment and remain unobserved as long as you succeed at a Stealth check and end your turn in cover or concealment. Your Stealth immediately ends after you take an action that draws attention, such as speaking to cast a spell<ref name="*"/> or making an attack, whether or not the attack is successful (except when sniping as noted below). If you make more than one attack this way, such as with a full attack action, you gain the benefits on all your attacks. <ref name="*"/>

Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight

Rangers and some other characters gain improved stealth abilities. Camouflage allows you to hide when you move into a square not adjacent to any enemy and while the enemy is distracted.<ref name="*"/> As long as enemies do not move adjacent, you remain hidden - there is no way to move around this virtual concealment. Hide in plain sight is the same as camouflage, but you can use Stealth with any movement, the enemy need not be distracted.

Improved Cover

In some cases, such as attacking a target hiding behind an arrowslit, provides a +10 bonus on Stealth checks.

Invisibility and Total Concealment

If you are invisible or have total cover<ref name="*"/> or total concealment<ref name="*"/>, you gain a +40 bonus on Stealth checks if you are immobile, or a +20 bonus on Stealth checks if you're moving. If the stealth check would have been successful without this modification, you are not noticed at all. If you remain hidden only becasue of this modification, the enemy senses something, bit cannot pinpoint your location.

You suffer normal movement penalties for trying to hide, and can use Stealth while running or charging. In most cases, this Stealth roll can be considered to be automatically successful unless an enemy has a very high Perception. See senses.

Penetrating Stealth

<ref name="*"/>A creature that takes a move action to discern hidden things is allowed a Perception roll against your Stealth to spot you. Your Stealth is not modified for movement in this case - movement modifiers only apply to becoming hidden.

If the cover or concealment that lets you use Stealth is removed or moved around, creatures automatically spot you. In situations where it is there is clearly a risk of this, but it is not clear if opponents can automatically spot you, the GM can award them a Perception check as a free action instead of making it automatic.

<ref name="*"/>As long as your enemies communicate, they are able to point out your location to each other if they know where they are; you are usually either hidden against all enemies or not hidden at all.

Repetitive Stealth

<ref name="*"/> When taking several stealth actions in a row under very similar circumstances, the GM may allow you to take 10 on all rolls after the first. In effect, once you have successfully hid, remaining hidden can be considered routine and not stressful. The GM always has the option of requiring a Stealth check if the situation so merits.

Senses

Most creatures rely on sight for penetrating stealth, but there are some special cases.

Darkvision and low-light vision: darkvision and low-light vision allows creatures to ignore concealment in conditions of poor light, but it is still possible to use sharp shadows against such vision, as contrast between light and dark still affect them.

Alternate Primary Senses: There are some senses that penetrate most cover and concealment. See blindsense, blindsight, and tremorsense. Even in this case you can still hide if you use a distraction, or if you manage to somehow conceal yourself against the sense in question, such as masking your scent against scent-based blindsight or not touch the ground against tremorsense.

Secondary Senses: Even if you are invisible to a primary sense, or it is blinded, most creatures have a secondary sense (usually hearing, but sometimes scent) they can use that to locate you. You are considered invisible if the target can only detect you with a secondary sense. See keen scent, scent.

Sniping

If you've already successfully used Stealth at least 10 feet from your target, you can make one ranged attack and then immediately use Stealth again without becoming visible in between. You take a –20 penalty on your Stealth check to maintain your obscured location. If you make several attacks in a round, you need a Stealth check for each.<ref name="*"/>

Action

Usually none. Normally, you make a Stealth check as part of movement, so it doesn't take a separate action. Using Stealth immediately after a ranged attack (see Sniping, above) is a free<ref name="*"/> action.

Special

• Creatures gain a bonus or penalty on Stealth checks based on their size: Fine +16, Diminutive +12, Tiny +8, Small +4, Large –4, Huge –8, Gargantuan –12, Colossal -16.
• If you have the Stealthy feat, you get a bonus on Stealth checks.

Footnote

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External Links

• Original Stealth rules at d20PFSRD.com
• Stealth Discussion at ENworld