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Stealth 4 Dummies
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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 4690277" data-attributes="member: 82106"><p>Hmmm, well, it is certainly not the clearest thing in the universe. This is my reasoning....</p><p></p><p>If Fleeting Shadow was meant to be an exception to the concealment requirement, then it would SAY so. It says you can take a stealth check at the end of movement, but that is ALL it says. IMHO this is simply a reiteration of the "stealth checks are part of another action." In other words it may not be granting you something you don't normally have, it may simply be recapitulating the fact that you can make a stealth check as part of a move action in general. If it is lifting the concealment requirement it is saying so in a VERY oblique way indeed!</p><p></p><p>As I see it, it is a useful power. It enhances one's stealthiness in much the same way as other powers/feats enhance other abilities. There are actually a number of scenarios where it would be quite useful.</p><p></p><p>For instance a rogue might want to attack from a hidden position and then move away and hide again. Chances are he wants to move more than 2 squares. Fleeting Shadow would give him a useful bonus while doing that, asuming there is some other concealment within movement range he can get to.</p><p></p><p>In general I really don't see how a rogue is going to sneak up on alert opponents under RAW anyway. Any monster that has a light source or is well within a light source or a lit area is basically impossible to sneak up on. You can get as close as there is concealment or blocking terrain, but that is it. </p><p></p><p>That being said, rogues with missile weapons can CERTAINLY attack from a hidden position and get CA quite easily as is. They simply sneak up as close as they can get, staying at the edges of the illumination, and attack from that position. If blocking terrain or concealment lets them get adjacent to the enemy, then they can certainly melee with CA as well.</p><p></p><p>Of course there are other powers that will provide even better opportunities, as we know. But sans any additional power uses and DM discretion aside, you just cannot sneak up on someone that is in a lit area with no cover available. </p><p></p><p>And frankly I find it difficult to understand how the designers of the game could have written the rules as they did and not intended this to be the case. If they had wanted hiding to do that then they would have put in rules for fields of vision or something in order to give rogues more chances to sneak up in combat. So far in my DMing experience I haven't seen where stealth is a major combat tactic in typical encounters. Now, if the party is on the DEFENSIVE, then it gets quite a bit easier for the rogue as he can lurk in some fashion and let the monsters come to him. Even then he needs some concealment etc. but at least he has the luxury of positioning himself advantageously before the fact.</p><p></p><p>I would also say that DMs should feel free to be a bit liberal with the DM discretion. For example a cave area where the walls are uneven and rough might well be considered concealment if the character stays motionless and monsters aren't actively searching for him. I would probably also rule that even in combat monsters aren't going to be paying a lot of attention to entrances into their area that they consider 'safe', so if the rogue can work his way around to a side entrance to a room he might be given a chance to move up and make an attack with CA if he can pass a stealth check.</p><p></p><p>But just waltzing around hidden basically 'in plain sight', nah, not without magic or powers beyond what Fleeting Ghost explicitly provides.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 4690277, member: 82106"] Hmmm, well, it is certainly not the clearest thing in the universe. This is my reasoning.... If Fleeting Shadow was meant to be an exception to the concealment requirement, then it would SAY so. It says you can take a stealth check at the end of movement, but that is ALL it says. IMHO this is simply a reiteration of the "stealth checks are part of another action." In other words it may not be granting you something you don't normally have, it may simply be recapitulating the fact that you can make a stealth check as part of a move action in general. If it is lifting the concealment requirement it is saying so in a VERY oblique way indeed! As I see it, it is a useful power. It enhances one's stealthiness in much the same way as other powers/feats enhance other abilities. There are actually a number of scenarios where it would be quite useful. For instance a rogue might want to attack from a hidden position and then move away and hide again. Chances are he wants to move more than 2 squares. Fleeting Shadow would give him a useful bonus while doing that, asuming there is some other concealment within movement range he can get to. In general I really don't see how a rogue is going to sneak up on alert opponents under RAW anyway. Any monster that has a light source or is well within a light source or a lit area is basically impossible to sneak up on. You can get as close as there is concealment or blocking terrain, but that is it. That being said, rogues with missile weapons can CERTAINLY attack from a hidden position and get CA quite easily as is. They simply sneak up as close as they can get, staying at the edges of the illumination, and attack from that position. If blocking terrain or concealment lets them get adjacent to the enemy, then they can certainly melee with CA as well. Of course there are other powers that will provide even better opportunities, as we know. But sans any additional power uses and DM discretion aside, you just cannot sneak up on someone that is in a lit area with no cover available. And frankly I find it difficult to understand how the designers of the game could have written the rules as they did and not intended this to be the case. If they had wanted hiding to do that then they would have put in rules for fields of vision or something in order to give rogues more chances to sneak up in combat. So far in my DMing experience I haven't seen where stealth is a major combat tactic in typical encounters. Now, if the party is on the DEFENSIVE, then it gets quite a bit easier for the rogue as he can lurk in some fashion and let the monsters come to him. Even then he needs some concealment etc. but at least he has the luxury of positioning himself advantageously before the fact. I would also say that DMs should feel free to be a bit liberal with the DM discretion. For example a cave area where the walls are uneven and rough might well be considered concealment if the character stays motionless and monsters aren't actively searching for him. I would probably also rule that even in combat monsters aren't going to be paying a lot of attention to entrances into their area that they consider 'safe', so if the rogue can work his way around to a side entrance to a room he might be given a chance to move up and make an attack with CA if he can pass a stealth check. But just waltzing around hidden basically 'in plain sight', nah, not without magic or powers beyond what Fleeting Ghost explicitly provides. [/QUOTE]
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