Sleight of Hand (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Innocuous Spellcasting

When you cast a spell or use a spell-like ability, you can attempt to conceal verbal and somatic components among other speech and gestures, and to conceal the manifestation of casting the spell, so others don't realize you're casting a spell or using a spell-like ability until it is too late.

The attempt to hide the spell slows your casting slightly, such that spells that normally take a standard action to cast now have a casting time of one round, and spells that normally take longer than a standard action take twice as long. (Swift action spells still take a swift action.)

To discover your ruse, a creature must succeed at a Sense Motive or Spellcraft check (the creature receives an automatic check with whichever of those skills has the highest bonus) opposed to your Sleight of Hand check. Your check suffers a penalty equal to the level of the spell. If the spell has verbal or somatic component, you suffer a -5 penalty for each. Since you are concealing the spell's manifestation through other actions, others observing you realize you're doing something, even if they don't realize you're casting a spell. If there is a verbal component, they still hear speak loudly but don't notice the spell woven within. Really suspicious creatures might find this sufficient provocation to take action.

Apply modifiers to the creature's check as if it was a Perception check, regardless of what skill was used.

Circumstance	Perception modifier
Observer is distracted (busy, in melee)	-5
Observer is asleep	-10
Distance	-1 per 10 ft.
Against an event behind an obstacle (corner, screen)	-5
Against improved cover or behind a closed door Halve this modifier if adjacent to a known door or cover.	-10
Against total concealment (invisible, full cover) Assumes distractions, like a city street or busy room. In a quiet setting or when another sense could reveal the character this modifier is reduced to -10, or even less in an absolute quiet.	-20

If an opponent fails its check, your casting also does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and an opponent that fails its check can’t use readied actions that depend on realizing that you’re casting a spell or using a spell-like ability, or readied actions such as counterspelling that require identifying the spell you’re casting. Spells such as fireball that create an additional obvious effect (aside from the manifestation of casting that all spells and spell-like abilities share) still create that effect, though it might still not be obvious who cast the spell unless it emanates from you. A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack.

In an opponent succeeds at the check, they realize you are casting a spell. Depending on the situation and their attitude to you, an initiative check might be in order. Because of the increased casting time, your spell is usually not finished until the beginning of your first turn.

Conceal Spell Feat A character with the Conceal Spell feat can either use the rules outlined in that feat, or take a +10 bonus on Sleight of Hand checks to use innocuous spellcasting as outlined here. If an opponent fails its check against a character with Conceal Spell, their casting does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Bard A bard or skald can use any Perform skill instead of Sleight of Hand for this.

Divine Caster A divine caster can use Diplomacy or Intimidate instead of Sleight of Hand for this.

Psychic Caster A psychic caster can use Bluff instead of Sleight of Hand for this.

Plant Object

You can put a small object into another creature's gear. This is essentially the opposite of taking something unnoticed and uses the same rules. You can plant an object in a location instead of on a person, this uses the same rules as the hide object action.

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