Stealth¶
Stealth is a contest of cover, movement, and awareness. A successful attempt creates a concealment quality; nearby observers and later searches try to overcome it. Your wounds, the room, and the people watching all matter.
Stealth¶
HIDE seek cover in the current room
UNHIDE step into view
Stealth training leads the attempt, with Grace and Insight helping. A successful attempt stores its quality, so a barely successful hide is easier to pierce than a clean disappearance. The game tells you whether you failed outright, were noticed while moving into cover, or got away unseen.
Leg injuries make quiet footing harder. A badly damaged leg can prevent hiding altogether; lesser wounds reduce the quality of the attempt.
Attacking, casting, or taking an ordinary movement action reveals you.
Sneaking¶
SNEAK toggle stealthy movement
SNEAK <direction> attempt one concealed step
Moving unseen is harder than remaining still. Each concealed step tests your Stealth again; if it fails, you arrive exposed. A successful sneak also avoids leaving the ordinary trail that trackers can follow.
Searching¶
SEARCH look for concealed people and hidden ways
SEARCH <corpse> recover a defeated creature's loot
Awareness leads a search, with Resolve and Insight helping. Searching can expose hidden characters and reveal concealed exits. Darkness does not stop you listening for a lurker, but it does make hidden architecture harder to find.
Creatures that just lost sight of their quarry remain alert and are harder to evade immediately.
Ambush¶
AMBUSH <target>
AMBUSH <target> <location>
An ambush trades patience for a dangerous opening:
- The defender is treated as more exposed for the first strike. Better Ambush training pushes that opening farther, while experienced targets resist the effect.
- The defender's active defenses are reduced for that strike.
- A landed critical is one grade harsher.
- Striking from cover adds recovery time, and aiming at a body location adds more.
There is no flat Attack bonus. The advantage comes from compromising the defender and worsening the wound if the blow lands. An aimed ambush can hit the chosen location, miss the aim but still swing normally, or fail before the weapon is committed. In every committed attack, you leave hiding.
See Combat for stances, active defenses, critical grades, and recovery.
Tracking¶
Anyone who leaves a room in the open leaves sign for a short time. A successful sneak does not.
TRACK inspect signs in the room (requires 5 Survival ranks)
TRACK <name> follow the freshest matching trail
TRACK describes the direction and age of the signs it finds. Following a specific trail uses Survival, assisted by Awareness and Insight. Fresh tracks are forgiving; older tracks rapidly become difficult. Success moves you along the recorded route, while failure lets the trail go cold.
Sleight of Hand¶
STEAL <person> lift coins
STEAL <item> FROM <person> take a named object
STEAL ITEM FROM <person> try for any carried object
Sleight of Hand and Finesse lead the attempt, with Grace helping. The mark's level and Awareness oppose you, and particular objects may be harder to remove than coins.
A quiet success is known only to you. If caught, the mark becomes hostile and remembers you; crimes committed under local law can also put you on the regional wanted roll.
Stolen objects are marked as hot. Honest merchants refuse them. A fence buys hot goods at a reduced price, trades with wanted characters, and returns fenced pieces to circulation as clean secondhand stock. The first fence can be found on Emberford's flotsam bank.
Training at a glance¶
| Skill | What it does | Helpful attributes |
|---|---|---|
| Stealth | Concealment and concealed movement | Grace, Insight |
| Ambush | Makes the opening from cover more punishing | — |
| Awareness | Finds hidden people and ways; assists tracking | Resolve, Insight |
| Survival | Leads tracking | Grace, Insight |
| Sleight of Hand | Steals coins and carried objects | Finesse, Grace |
Rogues and Bards favor Guile; Rangers know it as a familiar discipline. No calling owns stealth outright. See Skills & Training for affinity-based training.