Awareness and Stealth
Most creatures perceive the world using four primary sense categories simplified from their more complex real-world equivalents for the game: auditory (hearing and internal balance), olfactory (smell and taste), tactile (external pain, temperature, texture, and touch), and visual (sight).
Sensory Precision
Senses are divided into precise and imprecise. Humans have visual sight as a precise sense; all others are imprecise. Unless stated otherwise, other creatures follow the same rule.
Precise Senses: Precise senses automatically convey direction and approximate distance and allow clear recognition of details (such as identifying a face). A successful Perception check spots a target and determines its location and distance.
Imprecise Senses: Imprecise senses provide only rough direction, vague distance estimates, and unclear details. A successful Perception roll reveals direction, but distance is off by 1d10 x 5%. Round to the nearest 5 feet, then roll odd (too close) or even (too far).
Attack and Analysis: Using a precise sense to take an Attack or Discovery action functions normally. Using an imprecise sense imposes a 50% failure chance on related rolls (see concealment). A creature that successfully uses the Search action to pinpoint a target's location with an imprecise sense reduces this to 40% for 1 round, and a critical success reduces it to 30% for 1 round.
Sensory Impairment
Total sensory impairment prevents use of one or more senses. Partial impairment is called dazzled or Impaired 1-3 while total impairment is called Impaired 4.
Concealment & Cover
Hard Cover blocks line of sight and line of effect (ex. Wall of stone or a brick wall).
Soft Cover (aka concealment) blocks line of sight only (ex. Dust, fog, mist, or smoke).
Translucent cover blocks line of effect only (ex. Wall of force or a window).
Blocked line of sight imposes a failure chance on attacks and Perception rolls.
Blocked line of effect splits damage and shoving (if any) between target and thr cover.
If an effect requires only a save, failure on the failure chance improves the result by one degree (e.g., critical failure �’ failure).
You must have cover to Hide. Stealth rolls are adjusted based on cover, as noted above.
Hard Cover: Soft cover modifies attack, Perception, Stealth, and evasion. Hard cover does the same and also absorbs damage: 50% for standard hard cover, 100% for total cover, before resistances.
Invisibility: Stealth bonuses from invisibility apply only to visual senses. Roll Stealth once and apply the bonus only against sight-based Perception. Creatures may still detect you via sound, smell, or touch, perceiving indirect visual cues such as footprints, displaced air, or moving foliage.