Hey everyone, there might be an obvious answer to this but I'm tying myself in knots over it. Checked the latest official FAQ and did a google search to no avail, so if this has been resolved before I apologise... I was giving a close read to the rules for Hide and Move Silently vs. Spot and Listen, and noticed something that seems to be inconsistent. In the Hide description (p76), it says:
"You can move up to one-half your normal speed and hide at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your normal speed, you take a -5 penalty."
Which is basically identical to Move Silently (p79):
"You can move up to one-half your normal speed at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your normal speed, you take a -5 penalty."
But, I started asking myself, what does "normal speed" actually mean? Your normal walking speed out of encounters, which is your Speed per round? Or your normal speed in an encounter, which is your Speed per action? (per PHB p162) That's when it got confusing. In Hide (p76) it says:
"For example, Lidda has a speed of 20 feet. If she doesn't want to take a penalty on her Hide check, she can move only 10 feet as a move action (up to a maximum of 20 feet in a round)."
So this example clearly states that half-speed means half of your encounter speed; it is the same as your normal walking speed out of encounters, equalling your Speed per round. But over in the entry for Listen (p78) it says in the table:
"Listen DC 10: An unarmored person walking at a slow pace (15 ft./round) trying not to make any noise... the indicated DC would be their average check result (or close to it)."
So the unarmored person is using Move Silently without penalty. They are specified as walking at a quarter of their encounter speed, which is half their normal walking speed out of encounters. Why are they going so slow? If the Lidda example counts, then they can walk twice as fast (30 ft. per round) and still avoid a penalty.
So which of these two examples is right? Or is there something I'm missing?
"You can move up to one-half your normal speed and hide at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your normal speed, you take a -5 penalty."
Which is basically identical to Move Silently (p79):
"You can move up to one-half your normal speed at no penalty. When moving at a speed greater than one-half but less than your normal speed, you take a -5 penalty."
But, I started asking myself, what does "normal speed" actually mean? Your normal walking speed out of encounters, which is your Speed per round? Or your normal speed in an encounter, which is your Speed per action? (per PHB p162) That's when it got confusing. In Hide (p76) it says:
"For example, Lidda has a speed of 20 feet. If she doesn't want to take a penalty on her Hide check, she can move only 10 feet as a move action (up to a maximum of 20 feet in a round)."
So this example clearly states that half-speed means half of your encounter speed; it is the same as your normal walking speed out of encounters, equalling your Speed per round. But over in the entry for Listen (p78) it says in the table:
"Listen DC 10: An unarmored person walking at a slow pace (15 ft./round) trying not to make any noise... the indicated DC would be their average check result (or close to it)."
So the unarmored person is using Move Silently without penalty. They are specified as walking at a quarter of their encounter speed, which is half their normal walking speed out of encounters. Why are they going so slow? If the Lidda example counts, then they can walk twice as fast (30 ft. per round) and still avoid a penalty.
So which of these two examples is right? Or is there something I'm missing?