The system takes 2 major factors heavily into consideration: line of sight and sound. Thus, there are two checks made to determine success when sneaking: one for sight and another for sound. If any of these checks fail, then you are noticed. How much you are noticed is dependent upon the gradient of success by the target’s awareness check. For example, a minor success might convince the target that what he noticed was inconsequential.
1. Line of Sight (awareness vs. cover)
A direct line of sight is a base +10 modifier to the target's awareness, 0 modifier in the target's periphery. If behind the target, then you do not need to make an attribute check for sight.
*Hard Cover
*Camouflage
*Lighting - if a light source extends your shadow, then the target’s awareness is compared against the visibility of the shadow itself (a passive score determined by the GM).
*Distance
*Movement
*Number of Entities (such as in a crowd)
If the target is actively looking for you (to improve awareness attribute check), then he needs to stop and pay attention (analogous to using combat time). If he's moving around, he has to use his concentration effort pool. The randomizer is applied, as usual.
2. Sound (awareness vs. agility)
The type of movement you use to sneak determines the base modifier to your agility attribute: sprint (-6), run/dash (-4), standard movement (-2), combat step (0), still (automatic success).
The amount of external sound in the area improves upon your base modifier. Noise increments are as follows: extremely loud (+10; like a nightclub), very loud (+8), loud (+6), moderate (+4), minor (+2), and minimal (0). Distance and insulation also provide a noise buffer.
If your equipment is making noise, you are on bad flooring, or you are breathing heavily from a failed composure check, you suffer penalties to your sound check. Noise penalties are non-cumulative, and only the loudest noise will be considered.
Continued…
1. If the attacker is in plain view, is the target aware of his hostile intentions? This requires the insight attribute, and you get a bonus to your check if you are actively using your concentration effort pool to read the potential assailant’s signals (body language, tone of voice, etc.). Failure means the attacker gets a surprise attack bonus vs. your reflex score. If you fail the reflex check, the attack catches you unaware (your passive defense score is terrible when you are unaware; if your opponent is using a lethal weapon, it’s practically a guaranteed kill.)
(Note: If you suffer a critical failure when reading someone’s intent, they will notice your overt facial expressions). Your opponent uses his charisma attribute to hide intent.
So in the right situation, the game's mechanics will literally allow you to casually walk up to someone and kill them on the spot. Or leap at them, ala Assassin's Creed.
2. If you notice your opponent, combat time is in play. The standard rules for combat (pending) is that when it is initiated by someone else, you may not make turn actions in the first round if your reflex score is 5 or below (although you can make response actions). You also lose 1 action, and for every reflex point below 5, you lose another, which means that if your score is 3 or below, you may not take response actions and any attacks made against you are compared against your passive defense. Your opponent also receives applicable flank and back attack bonuses if he uses his first combat action to attack you from those positions.
(Note: Still tooling around with mechanics for when you are surprised during combat.)
Scenario
"I am walking along the road. I am partly on the lookout for trouble, but partly distracted by reading a map. You are hiding in the bushes, hoping to jump out and put your knife to my throat (after which you may kill me instantly if you wish). The bushes are two long strides from my path along the road.
How hard is it for you to achieve your goal? Imagine you are the PC and I'm an NPC. Then, imagine you are the NPC and I'm the PC."
First, we’ll assume that the traveler has 7 awareness and the highwayman has 5 agility. With 7 awareness, the traveler is able to concentrate on two things simultaneously. So we’ll only penalize his concentration roll by 1. His roll comes out to 7 awareness +3 - 1= 9 awareness for the contest.
Now, if he’s traveling alone and following a map, I’m assuming it’s the middle of the day, so light is not added to the attacker’s cover score for the sight check, but the distance will give him +2 (1 for each stride). I’ll also give him +2 for being still and +5 for 50% sight cover from the bush. So the total is 9. The highwayman is not spotted. As the traveler gets closer to one stride away, he thinks he spots something (+1 gradient of success = minor effect), so he *could* try a second look, except that the highwayman is leaping out of the bushes.
Since the attacker’s intent is to leap out of the bushes and strike, combat time starts at that moment and the stealth contest is over. For the first scenario, we’ll assume the traveler is a merchant and the highwayman is the PC. Since the traveler has 5 reflex, he:
1. May only take response actions during the first round.
2. Loses an action for the first round.
However, since he’s not accustomed to violent acts, he’s scared shitless from the attacker (composure: major fail = “frozen“ effect); he can’t act at all.
The highwayman successfully brings his knife up to the merchant’s neck and demands payment in exchange for his life.
For the second scenario, the traveler is a PC swordsman and has >5 reflex.
1. He may make turn actions during the first round.
2. He does not lose any actions.
The highwayman sees the sword and doesn’t take any chances. He’s going for the kill. Since he’s using his first action to attack from the side with a concentration point added to the attack, his attribute for the attack is 6 speed + (1d4=3) + 2 (flank bonus) = 11. When the PC sees the attack, he has no time to draw his sword to defend himself, so he leaps back from the assault: 7 reflex + 2 (evasion response) = 9. The attack passes by a gradient of 2 (“profuse bleeding” effect), and makes a nasty gash in the swordsman’s side. He’s in deep trouble now…