Stealth (choose terrain): This is similar to the thief’s Move Silently ability, with some important differences. The character taking the Stealth skill must choose one type of terrain in which the skill works from the following list: city/outdoors, indoors/caves, forest/jungle, plains, desert, arctic, and mountains/hills. The skill only works in that type of terrain. (However, the character could conceivably spend seven slots, one for each type of Stealth skill.) City/Outdoors is used in the streets, in trash-strewn alleyways, on rooftops, and in similar urban environments. Indoors/Caves is used in dungeons and catacombs, in caverns and caves, and in most enclosed spaces. The other terrain types are self-explanatory. Humans, demihumans, and humanoids can take the Stealth skill. The character will move very quietly in the terrains for which he has the skill. When he is trying to sneak up on someone or when there is a chance that he will be heard, he must make his skill check. If the DM doesn’t want him to know that the DM can make the skill check for him.
👤 Racial Variants #
| Variant | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarven | Bedrock Silence | (Indoors/Caves) Dwarves move by timing their steps with the natural “groans” of the earth or the rhythmic dripping of cave water. They are +2 to Stealth when walking on natural unworked stone. |
| Elven | Weightless Stride | (Forest/Jungle) Elves don’t just avoid noise; they avoid displacement. They can move through dry leaves or brittle twigs without snapping them, ignoring the usual penalties for “noisy” undergrowth. |
| Halfling | The Hider’s Intuition | (City/Outdoors) Halflings use their size to “blend” into moving shadows. If they fail a check in a city, they can immediately roll a Deception check to appear as a harmless child or a pile of laundry to a casual observer. |
| Gnome | Acoustic Dampening | (Indoors/Caves) Gnomes often wear muffled gear—felt-soled boots and oil-rubbed buckles. They gain a +1 bonus to Stealth in environments with high echoes, like vaulted catacombs. |
🗺️ Terrain-Specific Variants #
- The Urban Shadow (City/Outdoors)
In the “trash-strewn alleyways” mentioned, Stealth is about Social Camouflage.
- Specialty: The Crowd-Flow. They can use a moving crowd as a “visual screen.” If at least three other people are nearby, the character can make a Stealth check even if there is no traditional cover available.
- The Dune-Stalker (Desert)
In the vast, open sands, there is nowhere to hide but the Heat Haze.
- Specialty: Sand-Drifting. They move along the “lee” side of dunes where the wind is loudest, masking their footsteps. They can “bury” themselves in sand with 1 minute of work, granting a +4 to stay hidden if they remain stationary.
- The Frost-Ghost (Arctic)
In the tundra, the biggest giveaway is the Crunch of Snow.
- Specialty: Wind-Syncing. They only move during gusts of wind or snowfall. On a successful check, they leave no tracks in the snow, making them impossible to track via non-magical means.
- The Crag-Creeper (Mountains/Hills)
In the heights, sound travels upward and bounces off cliff faces.
- Specialty: Angle of Silence. They understand how to stay in “acoustic dead zones.” They are +4 to Stealth against targets located below them, as they know exactly how to stay behind the “rim” of a ridge while moving.
Why other options are incorrect
- ❌ Move Silently (Thief Ability) is incorrect because it is a universal, supernatural-adjacent ability; Stealth is a learned, terrain-specific skill that relies on environmental familiarity.
- ❌ Invisibility is incorrect because Stealth is a physical act of obscuring sound and sight, whereas Invisibility is a magical state that does not necessarily dampen sound.
- ❌ Camouflage (as a separate survival skill) is incorrect because it focuses on visual blending while stationary; Stealth requires movement and sound management.
