There is a school of thought in roleplaying game design that once you define something as a “skill”, you restrict that action to only characters that have that skill. Designers and Judges have wrestled with this issue over the years, with a general trend toward unified mechanics, comprehensive skill lists and defined, default “everyman” use of certain skills. The weight of this approach can become quite heavy.
The Adventurer, Conqueror, King System core rules on
Surprise and Sneaking demonstrate how we can have our cake and eat it too. The
Thief Skills of Hide in Shadows and Move Silently are just one, additional
approach to sneaking. A Barbarian’s bonuses to surprise are another path to
effective sneaking, and even the Fighter in plate armor can sneak up on an
inattentive monster.
When I first read this handful of paragraphs on Surprise
and Sneaking in the core rules, I was struck by how simple the approach was to
understand. However, it can be difficult to explain to a new player without
saying “read this”. I wanted to be able to reference the process quickly. I
re-wrote the descriptive text of the core rules into a series of Yes|No
questions and answers, to lead a new player through the process. I fear it
comes out looking more complicated than it is really is in play, but I hope the
use of color and indentation improves the presentation.
Is(are) target(s) attentive?
Yes
Is
concealment applicable?
Yes
Hide in Shadows (or similar) successful?
Yes
Move Silently (or similar) successful?
Yes
Surprise! Or
sneak by (move for one round).
No
Target(s) Hear Noise
successful?
Yes
Target(s) surprise roll successful?
Yes
Initiative ...
No
Surprise! Or sneak by (move for one round).
No
Surprise! Or sneak by (move for one round).
No
Target(s) surprise roll successful?
Yes
Initiative ...
No
Surprise! Or
sneak by (move for one round).
No
Target(s) surprise roll successful?
Yes
Initiative ...
No
Surprise! Or sneak by (move for one round).
No
Target(s)
Hear Noise successful?
Yes
Target(s) surprise roll successful?
Yes
Initiative ...
No
Surprise! Or sneak by (move for one
round).
No
Surprise! Or sneak by (move for one round).
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