Difference between revisions of "Stealth (Apath)"

	Unofficial rules compendium
	Contents 1 Check 1.1 Check Modifiers; ; 2 Conditions For Going Into Stealth 2.1 Distraction; 2.2 Cover or Concealment; ; 3 Special Cases 3.1 Breaking Stealth; 3.2 Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight; 3.3 Senses; 3.4 Sniping; ; 4 Action; 5 Footnote; 6 External Links 6.1 Discussion Sources; ;
	Contents 1 Check 1.1 Check Modifiers; ; 2 Conditions For Going Into Stealth 2.1 Distraction; 2.2 Cover or Concealment; ; 3 Special Cases 3.1 Breaking Stealth; 3.2 Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight; 3.3 Senses; 3.4 Sniping; ; 4 Action; 5 Footnote; 6 External Links 6.1 Discussion Sources; ;

Revision as of 16:12, 16 December 2013

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.

If you have improved cover, you get a +10 modifier on Stealth checks.

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.

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.

[b]Perception distractions[/i]: 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 no actions	+20
Behind an obstacle (door)	+10
Behind an obstacle (improved cover)	+10
Behind an obstacle (stone wall)	+15
Some distance away	+1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per">This is really a modifier to Perception.</ref>
Target is distracted (in melee)	+1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per"/>
Target is seriously distracted (outflanked)	+1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per"/>

Against an invisible creature, a successful Perception check notices that the creature is there, but only a margin of success of 20 points pinpoints it's exact position. If there are distractions to the observer's secondary senses, they need a margin of 10 just to notice a presence. If there are no secondary sense indications at all, they need a margin of 20.

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.

Footnote

External Links

Original Stealth rules at d20PFSRD.com
Stealth Discussion at ENworld

Discussion Sources

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 === 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).
+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 [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/special-abilities#TOC-Invisibility 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.
-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 |Attack and Hide ]] and [[#Breaking_Stealth|Breaking Stealth]] below.
+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.
-If people are observing you using their primary sense (typically sight), you can't use Stealth, but there are ways to work around this.
+==== Check Modifiers ====
-* Against most creatures, finding cover or concealment allows you to use Stealth. See [[#Senses|senses]] below.
+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 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 ===
+If you have improved cover, you get a +10 modifier on Stealth checks.
-==== Ambush ====
+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.
-<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 ====
+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.
-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 ====
+[b]Perception distractions[/i]: 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.
-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 ====
+{| class="wikitable"
-Rangers and some other characters gain improved stealth abilities.
+|valign="top"| Creature using Stealth is... ||valign="top"| Stealth modifier
-[http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger#TOC-Camouflage-Ex- 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.
+|-
-[http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger#TOC-Hide-in-Plain-Sight-Ex- Hide in plain sight] is the same as camouflage, but you can use Stealth with any movement, the enemy need not be distracted.
+|valign="top"| Size Modifier||valign="top"| See text
+|-
+|valign="top"| In combat or speaking ||valign="top"| –20
+|-
+|valign="top"| Moving at half speed, or moving around vigorously, like spells with somatic components ||valign="top"| –5
+|-
+|valign="top"| Running or charging ||valign="top"| –20
+|-
+|valign="top"| Absolutely motionless, taking no actions ||valign="top"| +20
+|-
+|valign="top"| Behind an obstacle (door) ||valign="top"| +10
+|-
+|valign="top"| Behind an obstacle (improved cover) ||valign="top"| +10
+|-
+|valign="top"| Behind an obstacle (stone wall) ||valign="top"| +15
+|-
+|valign="top"| Some distance away ||valign="top"| +1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per">This is really a modifier to Perception.</ref>
+|-
+|valign="top"| Target is distracted (in melee)||valign="top"| +1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per"/>
+|-
+|valign="top"| Target is seriously distracted (outflanked)||valign="top"| +1 per 10 feet<ref name="Per"/>
+|-
+|}
-==== Improved Cover ====
+Against an invisible creature, a successful Perception check notices that the creature is there, but only a margin of success of 20 points pinpoints it's exact position. If there are distractions to the observer's secondary senses, they need a margin of 10 just to notice a presence. If there are no secondary sense indications at all, they need a margin of 20.
-In some cases, such as attacking a target hiding behind an arrowslit, provides a +10 bonus on Stealth checks.
-==== Invisibility and Total Concealment ====
+=== Conditions For Going Into Stealth ===
-If you are [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/special-abilities#TOC-Invisibility invisible] or have [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Cover total cover]<ref name="*"/> or [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Concealment 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. 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|senses]].
+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.
-A character that makes a lot of noise (such as by fighting or casting a spell with verbal components) forfeits the Stealth bonus and automatically calls attention, but must still be located normally. Adjacent characters automatically locate her.
+==== 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 [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/bluff 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.
-==== Penetrating Stealth ====
+==== Cover or Concealment ====
-<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.
+In order to hide, you need to have cover or concealment against all potential observers. See [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Cover cover] and [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Concealment] in the combat rules.
-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.
+=== Special Cases ===
-<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.
+==== 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.
-==== Repetitive Stealth ====
+==== Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight ====
-<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.
+Rangers and some other characters gain improved stealth abilities.
+[http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger#TOC-Camouflage-Ex- 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.
+[http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger#TOC-Hide-in-Plain-Sight-Ex- Hide in plain sight] means you can always use Stealth, as if you had cover and all observers are distracted.
 ==== Senses ====
@@ Line 53: / Line 79: @@
 [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/special-abilities#TOC-Blindsight-and-Blindsense blindsense, blindsight], and
 [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rules#TOC-Tremorsense-Ex- 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.
+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 [[#Invisibility|invisible]] if the target can only detect you with a secondary sense.
@@ Line 60: / Line 86: @@
 ==== 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="*"/>
+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. Using Stealth immediately after a ranged attack (see [[#Sniping|Sniping]], above) is a free<ref name="*"/> 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.
-===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 ===