[drohem]

Originally Posted by Gnarsh

I've always favored a mechanism where someone actively attempting to spot/hear prompts an opposed roll mechanic against someone attempting to hide/sneak. However, if someone's defined (by the GM) as "inactive" in this context, then a simple success of the hide/sneak/whatever just plain works. IMO, that's the assumption of the skill number on the sheet. If you've got a 75% skill at hide, that means that 75% of the time you should be able to hide well enough that you aren't "obvious" to someone just walking by (or standing around, but not specifically looking for people who might be hiding).

If the person trying to be stealthy fails their roll, then I give the inactive potential perceiver a chance to make their appropriate roll to see/hear them (they get to roll their own scan/listen skill). But only in that case. The assumption here is that you're clearly visible and/or making enough sound to be heard. But that doesn't automatically mean that someone noticed you (otherwise why have scan/listen skills, right?).


It's a pretty simple system, but it seems to work quite well. In odd situations, I just use common sense to figure out what happens. I think sometimes, having too many rules in an attempt to cover every conceivable situation can make the game less realistic instead of more...

I agree with you. I see this way as well. It's simple and intuitive.