[AD&D] Stealth Sans Skills
A question that comes up a lot is how do you handle stealth for non-thieves in AD&D?
A lot of people expect there to be some kind of default probability, less than that of a 1st level thief, but some sort of probability in the same vein as the Thief Abilities. Some veteran AD&D players simply allow the surprise check to work as a de facto stealth check, with Thief Abilities representing skill above and beyond that. But that seems to raise more questions than answers. How exactly is Move Silently or Hide in Shadows supposed to be integrated with the surprise system?
There is something in the PHB to suggest that being silent would boost the surprise probability from 2 in 6 to 3 in 6, as would being unseen, and both would boost it to 4 in 6. So what do you do? Call for a hide in shadows check, a move silently check, and a surprise die roll just for a thief to sneak about? I can understand how the extra stealth skills of a thief would enhance the surprise ability, leaving the adversary less prepared for a confrontation. But if the surprise die fails, then the thief is detected? While having these extra die checks seems to be a saving grace for low level thieves, it's not so great a deal for high level ones. I'm not sure having stealth ride on the surprise roll is the way to go in this.
So here's a little gem. Crack open the 1E DMG. Flip to page 68. This is the middle of the Pursuit & Evasion section. I suspect most people have never really read this.
Noise is particularly interesting. In dungeons, the encounter distance of "surprise" always occurs at 30' or less, which happens to sync up with the point at which relatively quiet movement can be heard. The 90' for metal armor syncs up with the stipulation for the surprise bonus elfs & halflings get that they must be alone, with other elfs or halflings, or at least 90' ahead of the rest of the party.
The takeaway is this. If you are not wearing metal armor and are either bare-foot of wearing soft-soled shoes or boots and you are moving relatively quietly, you can go unheard without requiring any skill or any skill check as long as you stay more than 30' away.
If you go within 30', you will be heard, but it's going to call for a surprise roll. If it goes in your favor, you can get back out of hearing range before whoever heard you can react.
If you have the thief ability Move Silently, a successful check means just that--that you move silently--and this allows you to remain perfectly silent even within 30'. Outside of 30', you really don't need the check.
If you have hard-soled shoes or boots or metal armor, you will be heard within 60' or 90' respectively. Keep in mind that in dungeons the listed movement rate is in 10's of feet per round. A character wearing chainmail may be heard upon crossing the 90' threshold, can be in striking range within 1 round. Platemail can get you to the 30' mark in a round. So normal surprise rolls can still be justified if they are appropriate for the situation.
A lot of people expect there to be some kind of default probability, less than that of a 1st level thief, but some sort of probability in the same vein as the Thief Abilities. Some veteran AD&D players simply allow the surprise check to work as a de facto stealth check, with Thief Abilities representing skill above and beyond that. But that seems to raise more questions than answers. How exactly is Move Silently or Hide in Shadows supposed to be integrated with the surprise system?
There is something in the PHB to suggest that being silent would boost the surprise probability from 2 in 6 to 3 in 6, as would being unseen, and both would boost it to 4 in 6. So what do you do? Call for a hide in shadows check, a move silently check, and a surprise die roll just for a thief to sneak about? I can understand how the extra stealth skills of a thief would enhance the surprise ability, leaving the adversary less prepared for a confrontation. But if the surprise die fails, then the thief is detected? While having these extra die checks seems to be a saving grace for low level thieves, it's not so great a deal for high level ones. I'm not sure having stealth ride on the surprise roll is the way to go in this.
So here's a little gem. Crack open the 1E DMG. Flip to page 68. This is the middle of the Pursuit & Evasion section. I suspect most people have never really read this.
Noise is particularly interesting. In dungeons, the encounter distance of "surprise" always occurs at 30' or less, which happens to sync up with the point at which relatively quiet movement can be heard. The 90' for metal armor syncs up with the stipulation for the surprise bonus elfs & halflings get that they must be alone, with other elfs or halflings, or at least 90' ahead of the rest of the party.
The takeaway is this. If you are not wearing metal armor and are either bare-foot of wearing soft-soled shoes or boots and you are moving relatively quietly, you can go unheard without requiring any skill or any skill check as long as you stay more than 30' away.
If you go within 30', you will be heard, but it's going to call for a surprise roll. If it goes in your favor, you can get back out of hearing range before whoever heard you can react.
If you have the thief ability Move Silently, a successful check means just that--that you move silently--and this allows you to remain perfectly silent even within 30'. Outside of 30', you really don't need the check.
If you have hard-soled shoes or boots or metal armor, you will be heard within 60' or 90' respectively. Keep in mind that in dungeons the listed movement rate is in 10's of feet per round. A character wearing chainmail may be heard upon crossing the 90' threshold, can be in striking range within 1 round. Platemail can get you to the 30' mark in a round. So normal surprise rolls can still be justified if they are appropriate for the situation.
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