Codex HOW TO PLAY Sneaking

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Sneaking

Not every fight has to be fought. Warriors and predators see you only so far, and how far is yours to shape.

HOW FAR THEY SEE

A warrior or predator out roaming or hunting notices a careless wanderer at about 30 m; a sentry at its post, at about 50. All of these shrink or stretch that, and they add up:

  • Crouch. The biggest thing you can do: it nearly halves the distance. The Prowler and Shadow skills each shrink it further while you crouch, and sitting down to rest counts as crouching.
  • Go slowly. A jog makes you easier to see, and a sprint easier still.
  • Come from behind. With its back to you, it sees you at less than half the range.
  • Wait for cover. Night (from 20:00 to 6:00), rain, fog and storms all hide you.
  • Dress for it. Dark clothes and soft boots hide you; heavy armour and great weapons give you away. Your SNEAK score in your pack (Tab) adds up all you wear and hold. A lit Torch is a beacon: even from behind, its glow on the ground betrays you.
  • AGILITY. Every point makes you a little harder to see.

Walls and rocks hide you entirely. However well hidden you are, though, nothing stays unseen at arm's length.

BEING NOTICED

At the edge of its sight a warrior grows suspicious: it stops and turns to look. Stay in its view for three seconds and it is sure of you; slip out of sight before then and it soon forgets. If it notices you behind it, it waits three seconds before turning round, and that pause is your chance to strike.

With the Prowler skill, an eye floats over every warrior and predator in view while you crouch: struck through while it has not noticed you, orange while it is suspicious, red once it has you. The focus look (X) outlines every creature in sight in the colour of its standing toward you, and with the Vigilance skill, those behind cover too.

DETECTION RINGS

With the True Sight skill, the focus look also draws rings on the ground around the warriors and predators on your screen, up to four of them within about 60 m. Each ring marks how close you can come before that one notices you:

  • Red — it notices you inside this ring, just as you are now.
  • Orange — it notices you inside this ring the moment it turns to face you.
  • Yellow — it notices you inside this ring if you lose your cover: stand up, wait for dawn or light a torch.

One already on to you gets a single ring instead: red once it has you, orange while it is suspicious, grey if it notices you but will never act on it. The rings shrink and grow as you crouch, move, change gear or the night falls, and they show only what is on your screen, never through walls.

NOISE

A gunshot, or the snap of a crossbow, carries 30 m. Every enemy in earshot knows at once where you are and comes for you, and game bolts; neutral folk who hear a gun come to see who is shooting. A bow and a Blow Tube make no sound anyone heeds. Drums mean something has started hunting you; they fade once the last hunter dies or gives up.

STRIKING UNSEEN

With the Shadow skill, X at a foe's back is a silent kill with a blade or club, or a knockout with a Blackjack or bare hands (see COMBAT & DANGER). Unseen is not blameless: a kill still costs you with the dead one's people, and a knockout that others see is a crime (see CRIME).

PREY

Game is simpler. It notices you within 7 m, but only from in front, never from behind. Crouch and it lets you come about half as close; with the Prowler and Shadow skills, closer still. Darkness, weather and what you wear mean nothing to it (see HUNTING & FISHING).

WITNESSES

Whether a crime is seen is judged by different eyes: about 18 m, facing you, with a clear line to you. Crouching, darkness and weather do not hide a crime; only walls and a witness's back do (see CRIME).