Flying Silently

[Aaron2]

If there a bonus to move silently if you are flying (such as through an Alter Self)?

I noticed that natural flyers (such as Beholders) don't have a Move Silently skill listed.

Aaron

 

[Olive]

If there a bonus to move silently if you are flying (such as through an Alter Self)?

I noticed that natural flyers (such as Beholders) don't have a Move Silently skill listed.

Aaron

I would have thought that they made effectively no noise. I mean, they're not helicopters or anything. But I have no rules basis for this so maybe soemone who knows what they're doing can tell us.

 

[Victim]

Giant Owls gain a bonus to Move Silently while in flight. So move silently definitely applies to flying characters.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I could buy Fly providing such a bonus, since you aren't walking on the ground, and magic is moving you through the air. But the best Alter Self can do is give you large, ungainly wings. Those wings have gotta beat to keep you airborne, and that's going to make noise.

Edit: buy, not by

 

[Sejs]

So move silently definitely applies to flying characters

That fly via natural propulsion.

If the flight is powered without moving parts (beholders, the fly spell, those 'I'm a ball of light' celestials) - it shouldn't make any extra noise.

 

[green slime]

That fly via natural propulsion.

If the flight is powered without moving parts (beholders, the fly spell, those 'I'm a ball of light' celestials) - it shouldn't make any extra noise.

WHAT?!? Those ball of light celestials don't hum?!?

Curses! My evil plan, Foiled!!!

Seriously though, a large object moving rapidly through the air in a dungeon setting will likely stir up dust, cause an unnatural rush of air, and the like.

So for invisible, flying creatures (popular IMC...) you can move silently at half move, same as normal. Of course travelling so fast, there is little most NPCs can do about it anyway (yet).

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Remember that there are penalties for the underground you are walking on - and in the air, you don`t have this problem.

 

[Gwarok]

I would assign a bonus for those that don't have to walk on the ground, but there are other things that can alert something to your presence. Breathing, stuff shifting ever so slightly on you as you start and stop, that sort of thing.

 

[Ender_3]

Other stuff

You also need to take into account that moving silently is not just your footfalls. Moving via the fly spell (180ft double move) moves you along at about 20 MPH, so you'll have some flapping cloth, jingling armor, buckles, weapons, etc. that could all make noise, in the wind or if you stop suddenly.

 

[Darklone]

Similar question, does a Spiked Chain give a circumstance penalty to move silently ?