Does True Seeing see some who is using Hide in Plain Sight

[IanB]

That's not my position. My position is that the term "hide" may simply denote the act of actively going into hiding, unless the rules contain text that unambiguously identify the term as inclusive of remaining hidden. As such, I would like to see all ambiguity removed by identifying said text if it exists.

Lidda is getting ready to surprise Krusk with a birthday present.

She enters the Iconic Lounge and hides behind a sofa. Nobody else is in the room. Does she make a hide check now?

Jozan enters the room on his way to the garderobe. He now has an opportunity to Spot Lidda. Does she make a hide check now? If she made one before, does she make a new one to oppose Jozan's spot check?

Krusk enters one round later. He now also has an opportunity to Spot Lidda. Does Lidda make a new hide check to oppose Krusk, or does she use her prior hide result?

If she uses her prior hide result, it seems obvious that the hide skill includes "remaining hidden." After all, that's exactly what she's doing.

 

[Thanee]

...the hide skill includes "remaining hidden." ...

The Hide skill just determines how well you have hidden yourself, when you attempt to hide.

As long as you do not move from your hiding place, you keep that result and remain hidden there; as long as noone spots you, obviously.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Dheran]

I think too many people are trying to extend the Shadowdancer/Assassin HiPS description past what's written to try to make a more "comprehensive" model of the mechanics. This, to me, is a big mistake. These extensions just create more contention (such as whether "manipulated shadow" is an illusion) and are counterproductive since the goal is to just answer a single question.

Here's my take at answering. The Supernatural Hide in Plain Sight lets you Hide when you're near a shadow. Supernatural abilities are suppressed in an Antimagic Field but don't otherwise have any observable magical properties (unlike spell-like abilities). Check Table 8-1: Special Ability Types on page 290 of the DMG and you'll see that, except for their behavior in an Antimagic Field, Supernatural and Extraordinary abilities are treated identically. Supernatural HiPS does not, by the RAW, create illusions. There is no visible effect described in the rules for when a character starts hiding.

True seeing does not help the viewer ... spot creatures who are simply hiding

You don't need Supernatural ability to be able to remain in hiding without cover/concealment. The Move between Cover use of Hide (in Complete Adventurer) lets anyone who's hidden move up a number of feet equaling their ranks in Hide away from cover or concealment and still stay hidden. Since True Seeing can't help spot those characters who are moving around out in the open using a simple Hide check, why should it be able to spot characters who are out in the open after a Hide check provided by HiPS? It shouldn't.

The short answer: True Seeing doesn't help against hidden characters, Hide in Plain Sight or not.

 

[Dheran]

She enters the Iconic Lounge and hides behind a sofa. Nobody else is in the room. Does she make a hide check now?

Definitely not. Hide is an opposed check. Making half of an opposed check early would require precognition about the conditions that will apply when the check is opposed later by someone's Spot skill. Suppose, for instance, that the next person to enter the Iconic Lounge is using a Ring of X-Ray Vision. Lidda doesn't have the cover that she thought she did. Or maybe it's simply that Krusk took longer than expected to arrive, Lidda fell asleep in the interim, and one of her feet is now sticking out in the open because she didn't remain perfectly still.

You can't "freeze" characters in place for more than a single round, and you can't know the future. You make opposed checks when they're opposed, not before.