Template:Sneaking/Hiding

Sneaking/Hiding (Stealth)

Assassins and thieves will often wish to creep up on their targets or set ambushes without being detected. For the combat applications of doing so, see Unexpected attacks. Outside of combat, avoiding detection requires an opposed roll of (Dexterity + Stealth) as a standard action against the observer's (Perception + Awareness) as a reflexive action. Poor conditions might impose an external penalty on the Stealth roll, such as well-lit open areas without many spaces to hide. Conversely, good conditions such as darkness and/or dense cover provide bonus dice. In general, the difficulty should not increase by more than two, nor should any bonus rise above three. If the Stealth roll wins, the character remains undetected. If the Awareness roll wins, the observer notices the character. Organized search parties or sentries gain the advantage of limited cooperation, but otherwise every observer independently compares her successes to the hiding character's. Anyone who succeeds may raise an alarm. Highly alert individuals such as those who have heard an alarm are at +2 difficulty to sneak up on. Once a character has failed a reflexive Awareness roll to notice a hidden character, he does not receive a reroll unless the concealed character does something that risks drawing attention to himself.