Hide In Plain Sight - 1/4 Cover or Concealment

[dreaded_beast]

In 3.5, some PrCs have the Hide in Plain Sight requirement being 1/4 Cover or Concealment.

So what does this mean exactly?

I can't for the life of me figure out what would constitute 1/4 cover or concealment.

Does this mean if the character is standing next to a 1 foot high rock, he can use Hide in Plan Sight, since this could conceivably be cover?

Or do nearby shadows count as 1/4 concealment? And how close does the character have to be to either the cover or concealment to use the Hide in Plain Sight ability?

Is this superior to Hide in Plain Sight that requires shadows (Shadowdancer) or is it equal or less?

 

[Trainz]

I would say that if the character is within his base movement (often 30') of the cover/concealment, that it is allowable.

Also note that ANYTHING is good to hide within. Any piece of furniture, shadows (but you need an object to create a shadow from the light source), your 1 foot rock in your example...

Basically, if you're standing in the middle of a featureless 100' by 100' room, you're SOL. Else, there's probably something for you to hide behind.

Even a featureless 20' by 20' room... usually, rooms have a door. If you're in it, chances are one of the doors is still open. You could either hide behind it, or use the shadow it casts.

I would recommend to be somewhat lax with this rule, unless it is clearly evident that the current situation totally forbids hiding of any sort.

 

[KarinsDad]

I like using the Blur spell with Hide in Plain Sight.

You can be standing in the middle of the 100x100 empty room and still be hidden.

 

[Spatula]

Looks like they forgot to remove that when they removed the varying degrees of cover concealment. In the 3.0 PHB, 1/4 concealment is defined as light fog, moderate darkness, or light foliage. 1/4 cover is a human standing behind a 3 ft. wall.

Does this mean if the character is standing next to a 1 foot high rock, he can use Hide in Plan Sight, since this could conceivably be cover?

If the character was small, and behind the rock.

Or do nearby shadows count as 1/4 concealment? And how close does the character have to be to either the cover or concealment to use the Hide in Plain Sight ability?

The character would need to be behind the cover or inside the concealing shadows (or whatever). Otherwise, the character doesn't have cover or concealment.