Detection, Attacks & Cover

Detecting Creatures

Three states describe how well you can sense a creature: Observed, Hidden and Undetected. The Concealed and Invisible conditions partly mask a creature, and Unnoticed means you don't know it's there at all. Except for Invisible, these are relative to the observer: a creature can be Observed by you and Hidden from your ally. The same rules usually apply to objects.

The GM usually tracks who can detect whom, since nobody has perfect information: you might assume a creature is still where you last sensed it after it has sneaked away, or that it can't see you in the dark when it has darkvision. You can avoid detection with Stealth (Avoid Notice, Hide, Sneak) or Deception (Create a Diversion).

Observed

Usually you sense creatures clearly and target them normally: they're Observed. Being Observed generally needs a precise sense, most often sight. A creature you can't observe is Hidden, Undetected or Unnoticed, and you must follow that state's targeting rules. A creature can be Observed and still Concealed.

Hidden

You know which space a Hidden creature is in, but can't perceive it clearly: it got behind cover and Hid, your vision is impaired, or it's invisible and you've tracked it by sound. You have 1 level of Disadvantage on saves against a Hidden creature. Targeting it: before resolving an attack or other effect that targets it, attempt a DC 11 flat check. On a failure you don't affect it, but you still spend the action and any other costs (ammunition, Strain and so on). You remain Off-Guard to it whether you succeed or fail.

Undetected

You don't know which space an Undetected creature is in. You have 1 level of Disadvantage on saves against it and can't target it normally. The Search action can help find it, usually making it Hidden instead. Being Undetected doesn't always mean you don't know it's nearby; you might suspect something is in the room without knowing where. Targeting it: if you think it's near, choose a space and attack. Resolve it as if the creature were Hidden, but the GM rolls the flat check and the attack in secret and doesn't tell you why you missed (wrong space, failed flat check or low roll). The GM may let some spells or abilities work the same way. Area effects still affect Undetected creatures normally.

Unnoticed

A creature you have no idea is present is Unnoticed by you; it can be both Undetected and Unnoticed. This mostly matters for abilities that only work on creatures completely unaware of you.

Concealed

A creature is Concealed when something obscures it (mist, smoke, dim light) without fully blocking line of sight. When you target a creature Concealed from you, attempt a DC 5 flat check before resolving the attack or effect; on a failure you don't affect it, but still spend the AP and any other costs. Concealment doesn't change whether a creature is Observed, Hidden or Undetected: a creature in light fog can be Observed and Concealed.

Invisible

An Invisible creature is automatically Undetected to creatures whose only precise sense is sight; other precise senses ignore invisibility. You can Search to locate an invisible creature, usually making it Hidden, and it stays Hidden until it successfully Sneaks to become Undetected again. If you were already observing a creature when it turned invisible, it starts out Hidden (you know where it was) but can Sneak to become Undetected. Some effects partly counter invisibility: clear footprints in snow might make an invisible creature Hidden, and a net thrown over it might make it Observed but Concealed while the net stays on.

Auditory Actions While Deafened

If you're Deafened and attempt an action with the Auditory trait, you must first succeed at a DC 5 flat check. On a failure the action doesn't happen (your voice or sound comes out wrong) and anything already paid for it, such as AP or Strain, is wasted.

Making Attacks

Declaring a Target

When you describe an attack, always say where you're aiming: a leg, the chest, their sword arm, whatever fits. This is narration, not a mechanical choice. It costs nothing and doesn't change your attack roll, your damage or your odds. It matters later: if the attack deals enough damage to cause a Light or Heavy Wound, the location you declared decides which wound it is, with no extra roll or choice needed.

Range Bands

Some effects use range bands for rough distance instead of exact measurement:

• Engaged: adjacent to you, or in melee with you.
• Close: within 30 feet.
• Near: 31–60 feet.
• Far: 61–120 feet.
• Distant: beyond 120 feet.

Ranged Attacks

Ranged and thrown weapons have a range increment. Attacks work normally out to that range. Beyond it they have 1 level of Disadvantage, worsening by 1 for each further multiple of the range, to a maximum of 5 levels after five extra increments; attacks beyond that aren't possible. Example: a light crossbow takes no penalty up to 30 feet, 1 level of Disadvantage over 30 and up to 60 feet, 2 levels over 60 and up to 90 feet, and so on, to a maximum of 180 feet.

Melee Attacks

A melee attack, made face to face, lets you attack a foe within your reach, usually with a handheld weapon such as a sword, club or knife, or with fists or claws. Most creatures have a 5-foot reach; some, usually those larger than Medium, have more, as their description says. Unless an ability or stat block says otherwise, an Unarmed Strike deals 1 + the creature's Might in subdual damage.

Cover

When you're behind an obstacle that could block weapons, shield you from explosions and make you harder to spot, you're behind cover. Cover gives you levels of Advantage, set by how good the cover is, on your defense against attacks, on Reflex saves against area effects, and on Stealth checks to Hide, Sneak or otherwise avoid detection.

The Take Cover action improves your cover by one step, up to greater cover. A creature with standard or greater cover can use Stealth to Hide; lesser cover isn't enough.

Cover is relative: you might have cover against one creature and not another. It applies only when the path to the target is partly blocked; a creature entirely behind a wall usually can't be targeted at all, since there's no line of effect. The GM can usually decide at a glance. If you need to be exact, draw a line from the center of your space to the center of the target's. If it passes through terrain or an object that would block the effect, the target has standard cover (greater if the obstruction is extreme, and Take Cover improves it one step); if it passes through a creature instead, the target has lesser cover. For an area effect, draw the line from the effect's point of origin to the center of the creature's space.

Cover and Large Creatures

If a creature between you and your target is two or more sizes larger than both of you, its space blocks enough to give standard cover instead of lesser cover. The GM may decide a creature gets no cover from terrain it's much larger than: a Huge dragon probably gains nothing from hiding behind a 1-foot pillar.

Special Circumstances

The GM may let you get around a target's cover in some situations. Right next to an arrow slit, you can shoot out without penalty while having greater cover against someone shooting back from far away. Leaning around a corner to shoot might reduce or remove cover; it usually takes an action to set up, and the GM may measure from an edge or corner of your space instead of its center.