Sneaking, Stealing and the Watch
Foes who are waiting for you
Many fights have their foes standing in the place before the fight starts. You see each one once a hero has line of sight to it, and it stays shown. A waiting foe notices a hero within 30 ft in one of two ways:
- By ear, within 10 ft, whichever way it faces and whatever the light, unless a wall or a closed door is in between.
- By sight, inside the 120° cone it's facing, unless the hero has Three-Quarters Cover. Its passive Perception is 5 lower against a hero standing in dim light.
A foe that notices you starts its fight at once, and nobody is surprised. Foes that are asleep never notice.
Sneaking (V)
Each hero rolls Stealth once when you start sneaking and keeps that total until you stop. A sneaking hero is noticed only when the foe's passive Perception is at least their Stealth total.
Hold L (or sneak, or explore turn-based) to see who can see you. Each foe in view wears an eye and tints the squares it watches:
- red: it would notice a hero there even in dim light;
- amber: only bright light would give you away;
- gold: your Stealth beats it either way.
Hovering a square tells you before you move whether someone would notice the leader there.
Opening a fight with Surprise
If you're sneaking when you start a fight (attacking a waiting foe, or stepping into its fight's area), every foe that hasn't noticed any of you is Surprised and rolls Initiative with Disadvantage. A party that isn't sneaking is heard coming and surprises no one.
A hero nobody noticed, whose Stealth total is at least 15 and who has Three-Quarters Cover from every foe, starts the fight hidden: attacks against them have Disadvantage and theirs have Advantage, until they attack, cast a spell aloud or a foe gets a clear view of them.
Turn-based exploring (T)
Exploring can switch into six-second rounds at any time, with T or the Turn-based button. Each hero moves up to their Speed a round, Space ends the round, and clicking a foe in plain view starts the fight from where everyone stands. It's the way to line up an ambush.
Stealing and pickpocketing
- Containers that belong to someone say so when you hover or open them. Looking is free; taking anything while someone sees you is stealing.
- Picking a pocket is on a person's right-click menu: the leader rolls Sleight of Hand against the target's passive Perception. Success lifts their coins (a noble carries more than a farmer) and whatever is in their pocket, once. Failure, and they catch your hand.
- Some rooms are private. Seen inside one, you're told to leave and get three steps to do it; after that it's trespass.
- A crime nobody sees costs nothing. Whoever can see you is worked out the same way as a waiting foe: their cone, their hearing, your Stealth if you're sneaking.
Getting caught
The victim thinks less of you (friendly becomes indifferent, indifferent becomes hostile). In Vallaki and Krezk the watch comes at once, and you can:
- pay the fine (Vallaki 25 gp, then 50; Krezk 10 gp, then 25);
- hand over what's in your purse;
- talk your way out (Vallaki: Persuasion or Deception DC 15; Krezk: Persuasion DC 15 or Intimidation DC 17; a failed check can't be tried again);
- or refuse and fight two of the watch.
Paying, talking or handing over the purse clears your record in that town.