Skills/Stealth

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.

Hide
Your Stealth check is opposed by the Perception check of anyone who might notice you. To stealth you must not be in line of sight from the creature you’re attempting to stealth from, or must have cover or concealment from that creature. Creatures that fail to beat your Stealth check are not aware of you and treat you as if you had total concealment. You can move up to half your normal speed and use Stealth at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than half but less than your normal speed, you take a –5 penalty. It is normally impossible to use Stealth while attacking, running, or charging.

While you may be able to stealth from one creature, if another spots you, an enemy may be able to warn their ally of your approach and point you out if they have the chance (as per perception).

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. You may make a stealth check if you’re outside of concealment at the end of your turn but gain a -5 penalty on your stealth check to do so. Your Stealth immediately ends after you make an attack roll, whether or not the attack is successful (except when sniping as noted below). If you do not move or attack during your turn, you generally do not need to make another stealth check to maintain your stealth, unless you’re performing an action that would potentially be loud or distracting (usually loading a crossbow or a firearm could be done carefully enough to not draw attention, but attempting a perform check with an instrument might potentially interrupt your stealth; GM discretion)

Create a Diversion to Hide
You can use Bluff to allow you to use Stealth. A successful Bluff check can give you the momentary diversion you need to attempt a Stealth check while people are aware of you. This is generally via a normal bluff check, though the type of diversion may influence its success, and generally a foe you’re attempting to hide from is not normally wanting to believe you.

Hide behind other Creatures
Large bodies that break your opponent’s line of sight can sometimes be just as useful as darkness for hiding your position.

Special: Normally the soft cover provided by other creatures is not sufficient to allow you to attempt a Stealth check. Soft cover provided by creatures at least one size category larger than you does allow you to attempt Stealth checks against other creatures not already aware of your presence at a –10 penalty. If the creature providing the cover knows which square you occupy and is trying to avoid concealing you, this penalty increases to –20.

You can also hide from a creature by staying under its own body if it is at least two size categories larger than you and you are in its space. Such attempts also take a –10 penalty, which increases to a –20 penalty if the creature is aware you are in the area. If the creature moves away from you, you are automatically revealed, unless you have readied an action to move with it.

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. You take a –10 penalty on your Stealth check to maintain your obscured location.

Action
None unless sniping. Normally Stealth checks are as part of movement, or at the end of your movement, requiring no additional action. If you do not move during your turn you do not need to make an action to stealth or maintain stealth. However, using Stealth immediately after a ranged attack (see Sniping, above) is a move action.

Modifiers
Magic If you are invisible, you gain a +40 bonus on Stealth checks if you are immobile, or a +20 bonus on Stealth checks if you’re moving.
 * Size Creatures gain a bonus or penalty on Stealth checks based on their size: Fine +16, Diminutive +12, Tiny +8, Small +4, Medium +0, Large –4, Huge –8, Gargantuan –12, Colossal –16.
 * Being Observed If people are observing you using any of their senses (but typically sight), you can’t use Stealth. Against most creatures, finding cover or concealment allows you to use Stealth. If your observers are momentarily distracted (such as by a Bluff check), you can attempt to use Stealth. While the others turn their attention from you, you can attempt a Stealth check if you can get to an unobserved place of some kind. This check, however, is made at a –10 penalty because you have to move fast.