Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Million Dollar TTRPG Crowdfunders
Most Anticipated Tabletop RPGs Of The Year
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
ShortQuests -- Pocket Sized Adventures! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed for 1-2 game sessions.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
I never realized how Darkvision negates Hide
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Steverooo" data-source="post: 1088752" data-attributes="member: 9410"><p>Yes, it is (to me, at least, considering that I have done it on many occasions). YMMV (that's "Your Mileage May Vary", to any non-abbreviators).</p><p></p><p>Hiding from someone in broad daylight is easy. If it weren't, how could you tail anyone? Look again at the "Hide" skill description in the 3.5e PHB, page 76: "Use this skill to sink back into the shadows and proceed unseen, to approach a wizard's tower under cover of brush, or to <em>tail someone through a busy street without being noticed.</em>" (emphasis added)</p><p></p><p>So what are all those people doing out on the street, making it busy, at night? Hasta be night, otherwise it wouldn't be shadowed, rihjt? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f644.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll eyes :rolleyes:" data-smilie="11"data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> Only other explanation is that the people making the street busy, themselves, provide the Concealment... (or that tailing is just old, inconsequential flavor text that needs to be removed, and that rogues can't actually do this)!</p><p></p><p>Naturally, neither of those "solutions" is great. People might provide cover/concealment, but if so, it would work in combat, too! Saying you can't tail is just dumb...</p><p></p><p>Hiding from someone on a bright, sunny day is easy. So is tailing them. I have done it; indoors, outdoors, and even on a ten-speed bicycle... All you have to do is to get right up behind them, move quietly, and stay out of their line-of-sight if they turn. (Naturally, if they suspect they're being followed, it becomes much tougher; say +10 to tail while unaware, -10 once they know something's there). This is the first way to hide without concealment. There ARE others!</p><p></p><p>One of the more obvious (if not easiest) is to be flat against the ceiling. While this only works if you are behind or very close to the critter you're hiding from, people rarely look up, they <em>look around</em>. Unfortunately, 3e (and 3.5) doesn't allow for such tactics, due to their "no facing" rule (which is why "Backstab" also became "Sneak Attack")!</p><p></p><p>As for Backstabbing (excuse me, Sneak Attacking) someone who <em>does</em> turn, and who <em>is</em> looking around, see a typical stealth book, such as <u>The Art of Invisibility</u>, by Ashide Kim...</p><p></p><p>Y'see, even the best-sighted Humans have little better than a 180-degree field of vision, and most folks have less. Now while it may be nearly impossible to sneak up on a Beholder (except from below), it is perfectly possible to sneak up behind someone, where they can't SEE you! No Hide required, just move quietly. It happens, in bright sunlight, all the time. See any good military training manual, under "Sentry Stalking", or such-like.</p><p></p><p>Once close to a "target" (and I mean, like, right behind them!), a well-versed operative can turn WITH them, so that, even if they DO turn to look behind them, the operative will STILL be outside their visual range, and therefore "invisible".</p><p></p><p>Again, this can't be done with 3.5e rules. It just works in real life! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>Next trick; Camouflage! In the "good old 1e days", camouflage wasn't a 13th level special ability given only to one class (Hide was)! It was an integral part of the Hide skill. <em>In order to Hide in Shadows, you were assumed to be dressed in dark clothing!</em> Nowadays, the best you can hope for is a measley +2 Circumstance Modifier (assuming the GM will even give you <em>that</em> much, and not simply tell you "Sorry, you have to be a 13th level Ranger, to do that!") <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f644.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":rolleyes:" title="Roll eyes :rolleyes:" data-smilie="11"data-shortname=":rolleyes:" /> </p><p></p><p>So, to "fix" things, I'd allow Hide to be used in any light, and camo to be an integral part of Hide. When moving down a well-lighted corridor, I'd assume the Hider was moving slowly (built into the rules since 3e), was dressed appropiately, and was using the "tricks of the trade", freezing into an odd shape when the target looked their way.</p><p></p><p>Can a Doppleganger or Mimic hide in a well-lit room? SURE it can (if it has even half a brain). Assume the shape of a chair, dead body, etc. Can a Wizard cast an illusion of a wall and hide in the brightly-lit room? Of course! Can any foolf pull a sack over themselves, lie quiet, and be "hidden in plain sight"? Why sure! The real question with a skilled PC is: Is magic superior to skill? I vote No!</p><p></p><p>"The Tricks of the Trade" I won't get into, but the eye can be fooled. That's how camouflage works. You want to hide at night, one of the things you learn to do is to break up the body's outline, so that you don't present a man-like shape. Bending at the waist, using a cloak, using camo to blend into the wall, etc. 3(.5)e allows for none of that. These, too, should all be integral parts of the Hide skill.</p><p></p><p>For whatever it's worth, though, I don't believe that the architects of 3.5e intended to make Rogues unable to Backsta -uh, "Sneak Attack" - in shadows. Technically, I guess (maybe!) they can't, but I don't think it was intended! The "Light" section in the "Adventuring" chapter of the PHB says that you can SEE (dimly) in shadows, so I think that allows Sneak Attacks, and the "No Sneak Attacks against opponents with Concealment" rule was meant for Total Concealment.</p><p></p><p>As for invisibility, I'd get rid of the double-whammy of "You have to beat a Spot DC:20 by 20 or more to locate them, and can't attack until you do!", and simply make it "A DC:20 Spot check locates the creature" (most classes have a 5% chance, but Druids, Rangers, Rogues, and (IIRC) Monks have a 50% chance at 10th level, sans stat bonuses and magic), or even "Spotting an Invisible critter requires beating their Hide check by 20 or more". I'd also say that you can aim in a general direction (through multiple squares) with only the 50% miss chance already in place. That's enough penalty, right there.</p><p></p><p>All just IMHO. YMMV.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steverooo, post: 1088752, member: 9410"] Yes, it is (to me, at least, considering that I have done it on many occasions). YMMV (that's "Your Mileage May Vary", to any non-abbreviators). Hiding from someone in broad daylight is easy. If it weren't, how could you tail anyone? Look again at the "Hide" skill description in the 3.5e PHB, page 76: "Use this skill to sink back into the shadows and proceed unseen, to approach a wizard's tower under cover of brush, or to [I]tail someone through a busy street without being noticed.[/I]" (emphasis added) So what are all those people doing out on the street, making it busy, at night? Hasta be night, otherwise it wouldn't be shadowed, rihjt? :rolleyes: Only other explanation is that the people making the street busy, themselves, provide the Concealment... (or that tailing is just old, inconsequential flavor text that needs to be removed, and that rogues can't actually do this)! Naturally, neither of those "solutions" is great. People might provide cover/concealment, but if so, it would work in combat, too! Saying you can't tail is just dumb... Hiding from someone on a bright, sunny day is easy. So is tailing them. I have done it; indoors, outdoors, and even on a ten-speed bicycle... All you have to do is to get right up behind them, move quietly, and stay out of their line-of-sight if they turn. (Naturally, if they suspect they're being followed, it becomes much tougher; say +10 to tail while unaware, -10 once they know something's there). This is the first way to hide without concealment. There ARE others! One of the more obvious (if not easiest) is to be flat against the ceiling. While this only works if you are behind or very close to the critter you're hiding from, people rarely look up, they [I]look around[/I]. Unfortunately, 3e (and 3.5) doesn't allow for such tactics, due to their "no facing" rule (which is why "Backstab" also became "Sneak Attack")! As for Backstabbing (excuse me, Sneak Attacking) someone who [I]does[/I] turn, and who [I]is[/I] looking around, see a typical stealth book, such as [U]The Art of Invisibility[/U], by Ashide Kim... Y'see, even the best-sighted Humans have little better than a 180-degree field of vision, and most folks have less. Now while it may be nearly impossible to sneak up on a Beholder (except from below), it is perfectly possible to sneak up behind someone, where they can't SEE you! No Hide required, just move quietly. It happens, in bright sunlight, all the time. See any good military training manual, under "Sentry Stalking", or such-like. Once close to a "target" (and I mean, like, right behind them!), a well-versed operative can turn WITH them, so that, even if they DO turn to look behind them, the operative will STILL be outside their visual range, and therefore "invisible". Again, this can't be done with 3.5e rules. It just works in real life! :D Next trick; Camouflage! In the "good old 1e days", camouflage wasn't a 13th level special ability given only to one class (Hide was)! It was an integral part of the Hide skill. [I]In order to Hide in Shadows, you were assumed to be dressed in dark clothing![/I] Nowadays, the best you can hope for is a measley +2 Circumstance Modifier (assuming the GM will even give you [I]that[/I] much, and not simply tell you "Sorry, you have to be a 13th level Ranger, to do that!") :rolleyes: So, to "fix" things, I'd allow Hide to be used in any light, and camo to be an integral part of Hide. When moving down a well-lighted corridor, I'd assume the Hider was moving slowly (built into the rules since 3e), was dressed appropiately, and was using the "tricks of the trade", freezing into an odd shape when the target looked their way. Can a Doppleganger or Mimic hide in a well-lit room? SURE it can (if it has even half a brain). Assume the shape of a chair, dead body, etc. Can a Wizard cast an illusion of a wall and hide in the brightly-lit room? Of course! Can any foolf pull a sack over themselves, lie quiet, and be "hidden in plain sight"? Why sure! The real question with a skilled PC is: Is magic superior to skill? I vote No! "The Tricks of the Trade" I won't get into, but the eye can be fooled. That's how camouflage works. You want to hide at night, one of the things you learn to do is to break up the body's outline, so that you don't present a man-like shape. Bending at the waist, using a cloak, using camo to blend into the wall, etc. 3(.5)e allows for none of that. These, too, should all be integral parts of the Hide skill. For whatever it's worth, though, I don't believe that the architects of 3.5e intended to make Rogues unable to Backsta -uh, "Sneak Attack" - in shadows. Technically, I guess (maybe!) they can't, but I don't think it was intended! The "Light" section in the "Adventuring" chapter of the PHB says that you can SEE (dimly) in shadows, so I think that allows Sneak Attacks, and the "No Sneak Attacks against opponents with Concealment" rule was meant for Total Concealment. As for invisibility, I'd get rid of the double-whammy of "You have to beat a Spot DC:20 by 20 or more to locate them, and can't attack until you do!", and simply make it "A DC:20 Spot check locates the creature" (most classes have a 5% chance, but Druids, Rangers, Rogues, and (IIRC) Monks have a 50% chance at 10th level, sans stat bonuses and magic), or even "Spotting an Invisible critter requires beating their Hide check by 20 or more". I'd also say that you can aim in a general direction (through multiple squares) with only the 50% miss chance already in place. That's enough penalty, right there. All just IMHO. YMMV. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
I never realized how Darkvision negates Hide
Top