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. You are effectively invisible against them. 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). Attackers don't know where you are, and must guess at a square to attack in.

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.

Check Modifiers

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.

Once you are successfully hidden and can see all your opponents, you can take 10 on Stealth checks as long as nothing unexpected happens. Since unaware observers generally take 10 on their Perception checks and are often distracted as well, it is possible to remain in Stealth indefinitely unless something untoward happens, such as a patrol.

Perception distractions: As noted below, a character with an enemy closer to you than you are counts as distracted and allows you to hide, but this is not distracting enough to give a Perception penalty. An enemy in melee suffers a -5 distraction penalty to Perception. An outflanked enemy suffers a -10 distraction penalty to Perception.

Creature using Stealth is...	Stealth modifier
Size Modifier	See text
In combat or speaking	–20
Moving at half speed, or moving around vigorously, like spells with somatic components	–5
Running or charging	–20
Absolutely motionless, taking only free actions	+20
Behind an obstacle (door)	+5<ref name="Per"/>
Behind an obstacle (improved cover)	+10<ref name="Per"/>
No line of sight - invisible, total cover, or total concealment	+20<ref name="Per"/><ref name="Invisible">If senses other than sight can detect the character, such as in a quiet room, this bonus can be reduced to +10 or even less. The modifier is always +20 against pinpointing the character, .</ref>
Some distance away	+1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per">This is really a modifier to Perception.</ref>
Observer is distracted (in melee)	+1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per"/>
Observer is seriously distracted (outflanked)	+1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per"/>

A failed stealth check means opponents pinpoint you, but see the footnote under invisibility. <references/>

Conditions For Going Into Stealth

To hide using stealth, you need to satisfy two conditions, you need to be under cover or concealment, and all observers need to be distracted.

Distraction

An observer is distracted if one of the following applies:

• The creature has a visible enemy (likely one of your allies, but not necessarily so) closer than you are.
• The creatures is being distracted by a Bluff.
• You have total cover or concealment against the creature.

Note that a distraction is only required to hide when you are currently being seen. If an opponent can't see you because you are currently hidden, you don't need a distraction.

Cover or Concealment

In order to hide, you need to have cover or concealment against all potential observers. See cover and [1] in the combat rules.

Special Cases

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 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.

Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight

Rangers and some other characters gain improved stealth abilities. Camouflage means you always have concealment for the purpose of Stealth. You can use this virtual concealment with Stealth, but it confers no other advantages.

Hide in plain sight means you can always use Stealth, as if you had cover and all observers are distracted.

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 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. Camouflage is a great asset here.

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 pass this check, you were never visible, and targets have no idea where you are.

You cannot snipe with primitive firearms, ray spells, elemental effects, or other effects that are loud or overly obvious.

Action

Usually none. Normally, you make a Stealth check as part of movement, so it doesn't take a separate action. You can use stealth as part of a 5 ft. step.

External Links

• Original Stealth rules at d20PFSRD.com
• Stealth Discussion at ENworld
• Stealth development article at Paizo Blog

Discussion Sources

• http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pt9j&page=2?Stealth-Errata
• http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2jufj&page=16?List-of-Errata-in-Pathfinder-Core-Rulebook#788
• http://paizo.com/products/btpy88yj/faq?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Core-Rulebook#tabs
• http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q8oq?6-questions-about-Stealth
• http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q8q0?Stealth-and-Sneak-attack#41
• http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/skills/stealth.html#_stealth
• http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/perception

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