<5-ft. Reach Attacks from the Darkness

[KarinsDad]

Hawks don't have any move silently rating... though I think it should be up there with the Owl...

That's because they always launch off with that darn scretching sound. If they could just keep their beak shut...

Just kidding. The fact that do not have Move Silent skill is purely an oversight on the part of whomever designed them. Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Falcons, should all have Move Silent. All predatory swooping birds glide in or fall on the attack as opposed to flapping their wings. A lot of them also thermal glide when hunting their food.

Even Bats have Move Silently and they are actually quite noisy at close range because they constantly flap their wings.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Even Bats have Move Silently and they are actually quite noisy at close range because they constantly flap their wings.

They keep flapping and making course corrections because their primary prey species, moths, keeps fluttering around in an attempt to evade bats. If the moths would glide more, the bats would, too.

You are correct that bats are not particularly good at gliding.

 

[Stalker0]

This example can be applied to a lot of different cases.

Ex. To guys are fighting it out in a darkness spell when suddenly it ends. Is the next guy to immediately swing get bonuses or has the victim reacting that quickly?

I think the only remedy is a good house rule. Like, if you have only 10 ft radius of light from where your standing, attacks out of the darkness count as invisible. If you have larger than that, you can react in time to not lose your dex bonus. I would think that move silently vs listen checks should be applied in this situation too.