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Stealth (Dex)

Source Player Core pg. 206
You are skilled at avoiding detection, allowing you to slip past foes, hide, or conceal an item.

Stealth Untrained Actions

Conceal an Object [one-action]

Source Player Core pg. 207
You hide a small object on your person (such as a weapon of light Bulk). When you try to sneak a concealed object past someone who might notice it, the GM rolls your Stealth check and compares it to this passive observer's Perception DC. Once the GM rolls your check for a concealed object, that same result is used no matter how many passive observers you try to sneak it past. If a creature is specifically searching you for an item, it can attempt a Perception check against your Stealth DC (finding the object on success). You can also conceal an object somewhere other than your person, such as in a garbage bin or inside a secret compartment behind a computer console. In this case, characters Seeking in an area compare their Perception check results to your Stealth DC to determine whether they find the object.
SuccessThe object remains undetected.
FailureThe searcher finds the object.

Hide [one-action]

Source Player Core pg. 207
You huddle behind cover or greater cover or deeper into concealment to become hidden, rather than observed. The GM rolls your Stealth check in secret and compares the result to the Perception DC of each creature you're observed by but that you have cover or greater cover against or are concealed from. You get a +2 circumstance bonus to your check if you have standard cover (or +4 from greater cover).
SuccessIf the creature could see you, you are now hidden from it instead of observed. If you were hidden from or undetected by the creature, you retain that condition.
If you successfully become hidden to a creature but then cease to have cover or greater cover against it or be concealed from it, you become observed again. You cease being hidden if you do anything except Hide, Sneak, or Step. If you attempt to Strike a creature, the creature remains off-guard against that attack, and you then become observed. If you do anything else, you become observed just before you act unless the GM determines otherwise. The GM might allow you to perform a particularly unobtrusive action without being noticed, possibly requiring another Stealth check. If a creature uses Seek to make you observed by it, you must successfully Hide to become hidden from it again.

Sneak [one-action]

Source Player Core pg. 207
You attempt to move to another place while becoming or staying undetected. Stride up to half your Speed. (You can use Sneak while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if you have the corresponding movement type; you must move at half that Speed.)
At the end of your movement, the GM rolls your Stealth check in secret and compares the result to the Perception DC of each creature you were hidden from or undetected by at the start of your movement. If you have cover or greater cover from the creature throughout your Stride, you gain the +2 circumstance bonus from cover (or +4 from greater cover) to your Stealth check. Because you're moving, the bonus increase from Taking Cover doesn't apply. You don't get to roll against a creature if, at the end of your movement, you neither are concealed from it nor have cover or greater cover against it. You automatically become observed by such a creature.
SuccessYou're undetected by the creature during your movement and remain undetected by the creature at the end of it.
You become observed as soon as you do anything other than Hide, Sneak, or Step. If you attempt to Strike a creature, the creature remains off-guard against that attack, and you then become observed. If you do anything else, you become observed just before you act unless the GM determines otherwise. The GM might allow you to perform a particularly unobtrusive action without being noticed, possibly requiring another Stealth check. If you speak or make a deliberate loud noise, you become hidden instead of undetected.
If a creature uses Seek and you become hidden to it as a result, you must Sneak if you want to become undetected by that creature again.
FailureA telltale sound or other sign gives your position away, though you still remain unseen. You're hidden from the creature throughout your movement and remain so.
Critical FailureWhether through a misstep or simple bad luck, you've been spotted! You're observed by the creature throughout your movement and remain so. If you're invisible and were hidden from the creature, instead of being observed you're hidden throughout your movement and remain so.

Being Stealthy

If you want to sneak around when there are creatures that can see you, use a combination of Hide and Sneak.
  • First, Hide behind something (either by taking advantage of cover or having the concealed condition due to fog, a spell, or a similar effect). A successful Stealth check makes you hidden, though the creatures still know roughly where you are.
  • Second, now that you're hidden, you can Sneak. That means you can move at half your Speed and
  • attempt another Stealth check. If it's successful, you're now undetected. That means the creatures don't know which square you're in anymore.
If you were approaching creatures that didn't know you were there, you could Sneak right away, since they didn't know your location to start with. Some actions can cause you to become observed again, but they're mostly what you'd expect, such as standing out in the open, attacking someone, or making a bunch of noise. Unobtrusive actions, such as Recalling Knowledge or reloading, allow you to remain hidden or undetected. If you Strike someone after successfully Hiding or Sneaking, though, they're off-guard to that Strike.
Creatures can try to find you using the Seek action.
Three conditions explain the states of detection. Remember that these conditions are relative to each creature—you can be observed by one creature while hidden to another and undetected by a third. Observed
You're in the creature's clear view. Hidden
The creature knows your location but can't see you. Undetected
The creature doesn't know your location.

Unobservable Stealth

In some cases, it can be impossible for a creature to fully observe you. Typically this happens if you're invisible, the observer is blinded, or you're in darkness and the creature can't see in darkness. In such cases, any critical failure you roll on a check to Sneak is a failure instead. You also continue to be undetected if you lose cover or greater cover against or are no longer concealed from such a creature.