Hide (Skill) (Midnight)
PCs in MIDNIGHT often find themselves on the run, and Hide can be an essential skill for staying alive.
- Ambush
- Ambushes are an important tactic for the outlaws who oppose Izrador’s rule. A character can substitute his own ranks in Hide for that of his companions if he spends five minutes per additional person surveying the terrain, explaining the situation to the others, and preparing camouflage for them. Only those present during this time can take advantage of this bonus. A character may not hide others if they are moving, and the Hide check must be made immediately after the period of explanation or it cannot be shared. If a poor Hide check is rolled when setting up an ambush, a new check may be rolled for every additional five minutes spent preparing a single person’s hiding spot. This use of the skill assumes that the individuals being hidden are Medium. Small or smaller creatures require half the time to prepare for an ambush, and the time required for all other creatures doubles for each size category they are above Medium.
- Blending In
- If the PCs do not want to be noticed, rather than opposing the PCs’ Hide checks with the Spot checks of every patrolling orc they pass by, assume that they manage to pass through a Shadow-controlled area unnoticed and unharassed if they each meet the DCs below on their Hide checks. If they fail, they draw the attention of an orc patrol, hobgoblin guard, legate tithe-master, etc. In some cases, such as a party of all-Dorn PCs in the Northlands, this might mean nothing more than that the PCs must cower for a few minutes to appease their questioner. In others, such as if there are fey among the party or they are carrying noticeable weapons, discovery can be a death sentence. What happens after the PCs are discovered depends on who they are, where they are, their ability to Bluff their way out of a bad situation, and a host of other circumstances. The DM may call for a Hide check once per day, once per hour, or however often you deem appropriate, depending on the level of danger you want the PCs’ journey to have. When the PCs attempt to sneak past specific guard points (for instance, the gate to an enemy-occupied city), opposed Spot and Hide checks are in order.
|
Blending in While in Occupied Eredane | Circumstances | Example | Hide DC |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Loosely controlled city |
Sharuun |
5 | |
|
Loosely controlled town |
Al Kadil |
10 | |
|
Loosely controlled village |
Farodun |
15 | |
|
Tightly controlled city |
Bastion |
10 | |
|
Tightly controlled town |
Chandering |
20 | |
|
Tightly controlled village |
Riismark |
30 | |
Modifiers
While most Hide checks are modified by armor check penalties and the like, these Hide checks are made to blend in with a crowd or make oneself beneath notice more than to actually hide. Therefore, additional modifiers are necessary.
- Race
- The cities and towns of MIDNIGHT do not have the same diversity of races as those in other settings. If a human character of a culture not normally found in an area attempts to blend in with crowds, he suffers a –2 penalty on his Hide check. Elves and halflings can attempt to pass as human adults or children, but still suffer a –4 penalty to their checks to blend in. Finally, dwarves, orcs, and dworgs are the most noticeable of races due to their bulk and stature, suffering a –8 penalty to Hide checks to avoid notice. Though a dworg can pass for an orc and orcs have fairly free reign, it is still unusual to see the chosen of Izrador traveling alone or with a small group of other races. Any orc not traveling as part of a patrol or warband and not bearing the markings of the unit attached to the area is likely to be stopped and questioned.
- Weapons
- The Shadow’s guards have learned to notice the shapes of weapons, even hidden ones, out of the corner of their eyes. Even a sword hidden beneath a coat can be noticeable because of the effect it has on a person’s walk or the strange bulges it produces beneath the clothing. PCs bearing one or more one-handed weapons suffer a –4 penalty to their checks to blend in, while those with the temerity to carry two-handed weapons suffer a –10 penalty on their checks to blend in.
