Drew
Explorer
I've been thinking about Hide and Move Silently in actual game use, and I wanted to compare experiences and see how others actually do things. I'm looking to justify the existence of these as separate skills, rather than combining them into a Stealth skill opposed by a Notice skill. I'm looking to see if there is a true gamist reason for keeping these skills separate.
To get things rolling, how do you handle the following:
1. Lidda is sneaking through the woods. She spots a lone orc guard leaning against a tree in a clearing. Lidda decides to creep up behind the orc and stab him in the back. This is a Move Silently check, right? What if the orc is looking in Lidda's general direction. Does that change things to a Hide check, render Lidda's sneaking impossible, require two checks, or what?
2. Lidda is sneaking up on a hobgoblin fortress. There are hobgoblins on the ramparts on general alert. As Lidda creeps up to the fortress, do you call for Hide, Move Silently, both?
3. Lidda is scouting ahead of the party down the dungeon corridor. There is an ogre in a room at the end of the hall in a brightly lit room. If Lidda successfully Moves Silently down the hall, can she get the drop on the Ogre? Do you require a second Move Silently, a Hide check, or do you just assume the first covered things? What if she fails the Move Silently check down the hall. The ogre now knows SOMETHING is moving down the hall. Does Lidda have any chance of sneaking into the room now?
What if the room were shadowy? Would you give her a Hide check to keep to the shadows and sneak up on the monster? If you would, what advantage does the Ogre get for hearing Lidda?
To get things rolling, how do you handle the following:
1. Lidda is sneaking through the woods. She spots a lone orc guard leaning against a tree in a clearing. Lidda decides to creep up behind the orc and stab him in the back. This is a Move Silently check, right? What if the orc is looking in Lidda's general direction. Does that change things to a Hide check, render Lidda's sneaking impossible, require two checks, or what?
2. Lidda is sneaking up on a hobgoblin fortress. There are hobgoblins on the ramparts on general alert. As Lidda creeps up to the fortress, do you call for Hide, Move Silently, both?
3. Lidda is scouting ahead of the party down the dungeon corridor. There is an ogre in a room at the end of the hall in a brightly lit room. If Lidda successfully Moves Silently down the hall, can she get the drop on the Ogre? Do you require a second Move Silently, a Hide check, or do you just assume the first covered things? What if she fails the Move Silently check down the hall. The ogre now knows SOMETHING is moving down the hall. Does Lidda have any chance of sneaking into the room now?
What if the room were shadowy? Would you give her a Hide check to keep to the shadows and sneak up on the monster? If you would, what advantage does the Ogre get for hearing Lidda?