If people are observing you using any of their precise senses (typically sight), you can’t use Stealth against them. (For more information on precise senses, see Perception.) Effects such as blur and displacement, which leave a clear visual of the you within the perceiving character’s vision, aren’t sufficient to use Stealth, but a shadowy area or a curtain work nicely. The hide in plain sight class ability allows a creature to use Stealth while being observed and thus avoids this whole situation.
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’s impossible to use Stealth while attacking, running, or charging.
If your observers are momentarily distracted (such as by a Bluff check), you can attempt to use Stealth 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.
If you’re invisible, you gain a +40 bonus on Stealth checks if you are immobile, or a +20 bonus on Stealth checks if you’re moving. You get a bonus or penalty on Stealth checks based on your size: Fine +16, Diminutive +12, Tiny +8, Small +4, Medium +0, Large –4, Huge –8, Gargantuan –12, Colossal –16.
Your Stealth check is opposed by the Perception check of anyone who might notice you. Creatures that fail to beat your Stealth check are either unaware of you or aware of your presence (see below) and treat you as if you had total concealment.
In general, there are four states of awareness that a creature can have with regard to another creature using Stealth.
Unaware: On one end of the spectrum, a sneaking creature can succeed at Stealth well enough that the other creature isn’t even aware that the creature is present. This state allows the sneaking creature to use abilities such as the vigilante’s startling appearance. This is also true of a creature that has previously been made aware of the creature’s presence or location (see below) but is currently unable to observe the sneaking creature. In those cases, the sneaking creature can’t use abilities such as startling presence.
Aware of Presence: The next state is when the perceiving creature is aware of the sneaking creature’s presence, though not of anything beyond that. This is the state that happens when an invisible creature attacks someone and then successfully uses Stealth so the perceiving creature doesn’t know where the attacker moved, or when a sniper succeeds at her Stealth check to snipe. A perceiving creature that becomes aware of a hidden creature’s presence will still be aware of its presence at least until the danger of the situation continues, if not longer (though memory-altering magic can change this).
Aware of Location: The next state is awareness of location. This happens when a perceiving character uses an imprecise sense, such as hearing or tremorsense, to discover what square a hidden or invisible creature inhabits.
Observing: The final state is when the perceiving character is able to directly observe the sneaking character with a precise sense, such as vision. This is generally the result when the perceiving character rolls higher on its opposed Perception check than the sneaking character’s Stealth result while also having line of sight to the sneaking character and the ability to see through any sort of invisibility or other tricks the sneaking character might be using.
| Stealth task | Requires | Time | Retry | DC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hide from opponent | — | — | No | Opposed by Perception |
| … while moving at up to full speed | — | — | No | (–5 to check) |
| … while invisible | — | — | No | (+20 or +40 to check) |
| … after distraction | — | — | No | (–10 to check) |
| … behind a creature one size larger than you | — | — | No | (–10 or –20 to check) |
| … under a creature two sizes larger than you | — | — | No | (–10 or –20 to check) |
| … after sniping | — | Move action | No | (–20 to check) |
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 make an attack roll, whether or not the attack is successful (except when sniping, as noted below).
Sniping: If you’ve already successfully used Stealth at least 10 feet from your target, you can make one ranged attack and then immediately take a move action to use Stealth again. You take a –20 penalty on your Stealth check to maintain your obscured location.
Hide Behind Creature: 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.
If you have the Signature Skill feat, the rogue’s edge ability, or another ability that grants you the skill unlocks for this skill, you gain access to the following abilities when you have sufficient ranks.
5 Ranks: Reduce the Stealth penalty from sniping by 10.
10 Ranks: Stealth check penalties for moving quickly are halved, including the ability unlocked at 5 ranks, moving full speed, and reaching concealment after creating a distraction.
15 Ranks: If you attack after successfully using Stealth, your target is denied its Dexterity bonus against all attacks that you make before the end of your turn.
20 Ranks: If you attack after successfully using Stealth, your target is denied its Dexterity bonus against all attacks that you make before the beginning of your next turn.
The text on this page is Open Game Content, and is licensed for public use under the terms of the Open Game License v1.0a.
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SECTION 15