Stealth Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Stealth Feats [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gorbeck
05-18-07, 03:33 PM One of my characters is a rogue who focuses on stealth and infiltration above anything else. Of course, it never fails that at least once per night when I’m trying to hide and move silently at the same time, that even though I have nearly the same modifier for Hide and Move Silently, I end up rolling high for one and low for the other. What good is rolling an 18 for Move Silently when you end up rolling a 5 for Hide or vice versa? For me, hiding and moving silently go hand in hand. If one is attempting to move while hidden then logically they’ll be taking care to move very quietly as well.

To that end, I’ve come up with the following feat that I’d like your opinion on:

Stealth Movement

You are skilled at remaining quiet and hidden while moving.

Prerequisites: Hide: 8 Ranks, Move Silently: 8 Ranks.

Benefit: When attempting to Hide and Move Silently at the same time, you may chose to add the average of the two rolls to the checks. You may make this choice after seeing the result of your two checks. For example, if a character rolls a 16 to Hide and a 6 to Move Silently, he may instead add 11 to each check ((16+6)/2 = 11).

Even though this brings down one of your checks, I feel it gives you a better overall chance of avoiding notice because it brings up the very low check as well. I also thought of this alternative benefit:

Benefit: When attempting to Hide and Move Silently at the same time, you may chose to take a penalty of up to -10 on one of your checks and add that amount as a bonus to your other check. You may make this choice after seeing the result of your two checks.

I thought this version would work better for someone with lopsided Hide/Move Silently modifiers (i.e. due to small size, their total Hide modifier is much better than their Move Silently modifier).

So what do you think? For someone who’s focusing on stealth, are they worth it when compared to other feats? Are there any other stealth-type feats you can think of, both official or made up?
Shadowfax7
05-18-07, 03:57 PM IMO you should be taking 10 on your Hide and Move Silently checks.

It's not like you will be doing it in combat most of the time.

As far as the feat, it's weak. I would suggest the feat allows you to take the highest of the 2 rolls (Hide and Move Silently) for both skills.
RikuKupo
05-20-07, 02:35 PM I agree with Shadowfax7, your version might be better as a skill trick though.
Aiden_Bautista
05-20-07, 02:43 PM I don't think the rolls should be combined at all. True they go hand in hand when trying to be stealthy, but is it not possible to step on that damn twig even if you're hiding oh so very well. Or perhaps the little bit of light reflected off of your dagger?
Eric888
05-20-07, 02:57 PM There's a luck feat from Complete Scoundrel that lets you reroll Hide or Move Silently once per day, with no prereqs.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gorbeck 05-18-07, 03:33 PM	One of my characters is a rogue who focuses on stealth and infiltration above anything else. Of course, it never fails that at least once per night when I’m trying to hide and move silently at the same time, that even though I have nearly the same modifier for Hide and Move Silently, I end up rolling high for one and low for the other. What good is rolling an 18 for Move Silently when you end up rolling a 5 for Hide or vice versa? For me, hiding and moving silently go hand in hand. If one is attempting to move while hidden then logically they’ll be taking care to move very quietly as well. To that end, I’ve come up with the following feat that I’d like your opinion on: Stealth Movement You are skilled at remaining quiet and hidden while moving. Prerequisites: Hide: 8 Ranks, Move Silently: 8 Ranks. Benefit: When attempting to Hide and Move Silently at the same time, you may chose to add the average of the two rolls to the checks. You may make this choice after seeing the result of your two checks. For example, if a character rolls a 16 to Hide and a 6 to Move Silently, he may instead add 11 to each check ((16+6)/2 = 11). Even though this brings down one of your checks, I feel it gives you a better overall chance of avoiding notice because it brings up the very low check as well. I also thought of this alternative benefit: Benefit: When attempting to Hide and Move Silently at the same time, you may chose to take a penalty of up to -10 on one of your checks and add that amount as a bonus to your other check. You may make this choice after seeing the result of your two checks. I thought this version would work better for someone with lopsided Hide/Move Silently modifiers (i.e. due to small size, their total Hide modifier is much better than their Move Silently modifier). So what do you think? For someone who’s focusing on stealth, are they worth it when compared to other feats? Are there any other stealth-type feats you can think of, both official or made up?
Shadowfax7 05-18-07, 03:57 PM	IMO you should be taking 10 on your Hide and Move Silently checks. It's not like you will be doing it in combat most of the time. As far as the feat, it's weak. I would suggest the feat allows you to take the highest of the 2 rolls (Hide and Move Silently) for both skills.
RikuKupo 05-20-07, 02:35 PM	I agree with Shadowfax7, your version might be better as a skill trick though.
Aiden_Bautista 05-20-07, 02:43 PM	I don't think the rolls should be combined at all. True they go hand in hand when trying to be stealthy, but is it not possible to step on that damn twig even if you're hiding oh so very well. Or perhaps the little bit of light reflected off of your dagger?
Eric888 05-20-07, 02:57 PM	There's a luck feat from Complete Scoundrel that lets you reroll Hide or Move Silently once per day, with no prereqs.