This is how stealth works

[Coolreject]

Here's a big long annoying post that no one will ever read about stealth in Neverwinter Nights.

Just for reference this is how stealth works in NWN. A lot of this stuff is "hidden" and remained hidden until a Bioware programmer was nice enough to look through the game code and explain how everything works. Thus, more voodoo crazy bullsh­it has been spread about this area of NWN more than anything else. However, now you can be confident in your knowledge. If anyone tells you anything different than what is on this page then they are a dumb sh­itlord and you should wave this right in their face and grin with the smuggest look you can possibly muster.

FIRST OFF THIS IS HOW DETECT MODE WORKS

Passive (default) mode

Trap detection radius: 3.33m (~11ft)
Trap detection rate: 6 seconds (every round)
Trap detection roll: d20 + full skill (in version 1.68, probably a bug)
Spot/listen roll: d10 + half skill


Active (detect) mode

Trap detection radius: 6.66m (~22ft)
Trap detection rate: 3 seconds (twice per round)
Trap detection roll: d20 + full skill
Spot/listen roll: d20 + full skill


Stealth checks

Player detects stealth: 5 times per second
Player rolls for hide/move silently/spot/listen: 6 seconds
NPC detects stealth: 4 seconds
NPC rolls for hide/move silently/spot/listen: 6 seconds

nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Detect

IF YOU ARE STANDING STILL OR WALKING YOUR CHARACTER AUTOMATICALLY GAINS THE BENEFITS OF ACTIVE DETECT MODE

Listen/Move Silently:

* Automatically cannot detect silenced creatures
* Can only detect invisible (or when you're blind) creatures within the max attack range.
* Cannot hear sanctuaried creatures
* If there is something between you and the target (including creatures) there's a modifier of +5 DC for every 40cm of thickness in outdoor areas
* In indoor areas, if the LOS is blocked and the target is within 4 tiles (dfs search) there's a modifier of +2 DC
* Area listen check modifiers
* +10 DC if you are in combat
* +5 DC if the target is standing still
* -5 DC if you are standing still
* +1 DC for every 3 meters of distance to the target
* Relative size modifiers (Tiny: +8, Small: +4, Medium: 0, Large: -4, Huge: -8)
* Favoured enemy bonuses

Spot/Hide In Shadows:

* Automatically cannot detect invisible creatures
* Automatically cannot detect anything while blinded
* Area spot check modifiers
* During Night, if you do not have a light on you (including weapon lights and darkvision) there is a +5 DC modifier
* During Night, if the target has a light on them, there is a -10 DC modifier
* For stealthed players only, there is a +5 DC if they are in the back arc
* +10 DC if you are in combat
* +5 DC if the target is standing still
* -5 DC if you are standing still
* Relative size modifiers (Tiny: +8, Small: +4, Medium: 0, Large: -4, Huge: -8)
* Favoured enemy bonuses

There might be some additional modifiers, however I can't recall any off the top of my head and without doing an in depth search through the code I probably won't find them all. Hopefully this answers any additional questions you folks had.

nwn.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=549835&forum=42&sp=15#4836078
nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Listen
nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Spot

Things to note:

Yes, your character rolls against any stealthed creatures once every 6 seconds, and rolls search for traps every 3 seconds. I'll say it again in big obnoxious capital letters. YOUR CHARACTERS ROLLS SPOT AND LISTEN EVERY SIX SECONDS, AND ROLLS SEARCH EVERY 3 SECONDS. Search is used for finding traps and hidden objects, spot and listen are used for finding stealthed creatures. Numerous manchildren do­uchepile HiPSters (omg im so clever) in the NWN community will tell you: "HURRR U ROLL SEARCH EVERY 3 SECONDS NOT 6 NOOB YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO DETECT ME" these people are terrible at Neverwinter Nights and they will be among the first up against the fu­cking wall when the glorious NWN revolution begins. Search is not related to seeing stealth at all.

Second thing to note: Hide/Move Silently are not rerolled against every Spot/Listen check. The game rolls two separate d20's occasionally and adds those to your Hide/Move Silently scores, creating temporary detect DCs for both of the skills. You obviously roll listen against a stealther's current Move Silently DC and Spot against a stealther's current Hide DC.

Also, notice how there are many ways to use the environment increase the DC's a spotter must beat in order to detect a stealthed creature. There aren't any real ways to use the environment to give a skill bonus to a spotter. This is somewhat balanced by the fact that a stealther must spend skill points to buff both Hide AND Move Silently, while a spotter only has to spend skill points on Spot OR Listen. However, that's kind of a dumb point to make because classes that depend on stealth get Hide and Move Silently as class skills and those classes tend to get assloads of skill points. That makes raising those two skills in tandem incredibly easy. Most other classes do not get Spot and Listen as class skills and raising even one of them can be difficult at best and crippling at worst. For most characters, this makes having a Bard around that can cast skill buffing spells really nifty.

If you have so much trouble designing a stealthy character that such a character only depends on either Hide OR Move Silently you are so bad at Neverwinter Nights I mean oh my god what did you even spend those other skill points on? Mother of fu­ck what is wrong with you. Fu­ck. Damn.

Of course this all doesn't matter because the Shadows of Undrentide expansion pack added a feat called "Hide in Plain Sight" that Shadow Dancers AKA, "that prestige class you only take one level of", get at their first level. Normally, to enter stealth mode in NWN you must be behind something solid, or out of view of any other creatures, or the stealth attempt fails. With Hide in Plain Sight, you can enter stealth mode anywhere. Now, in Pen and Paper, there are many, many restrictions as to how Hide in Plain Sight works and it's a powerful but fairly balanced ability. In NWN, however, there are no restrictions, and worse yet, when you enter stealth mode, anyone trying to spot you must wait a whole six seconds before they roll any sort of detection checks against you. Within those six seconds you can attack from stealth mode (+2 to attack and automatic flatfoot for the target) and then hide again to reset the six second timer.



BASICALLY STEALTH IN NEVERWINTER NIGHTS IS INCREDIBLY INTRICATE AND DEEP BUT AT THE SAME TIME HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE, BROKEN AND BAD. PEE-PEE, DOO-DOO, STEALTH KIND OF SUCKS. OH WELL WE'LL STILL USE IT THOUGH BECAUSE IT'S STILL PRETTY FUN.

[Coolreject]

More interesting sh­it:

Spot has issues, as it has a tendency to occasionally stop rolling a d20 for checks and instead get "stuck" at a single value for up to 10 minutes at a time.

Contrary to the in-game description of the spells, invisible characters do not automatically enter stealth mode. However, you can still do some neat things. Let's say you have some sh­itty character with a decent amount of Move Silently but hardly any ranks in Hide. If you get someone to cast invisibility on you, no one can use Spot against you, however if you enter stealth mode while invisible, this will allow to become completely stealthed just with your Move Silently ability.

Invisible creatures who are heard via a Listen check will leave footsteps and dirt puffs on the ground where they walk, and if they are within attack range of a character, that character will be able to see them. This is why you can target invisible creatures who are standing right next to you.

[Andor Drakon]

Jun 20, 2009 16:28:09 GMT -5 Coolreject said:

More interesting sh­it:

Spot has issues, as it has a tendency to occasionally stop rolling a d20 for checks and instead get "stuck" at a single value for up to 10 minutes at a time.

I think this also happens with rolls on other skills too, if experience serves.

[Coolreject]

Also, I might as well say that Elves do not automatically take 20 on all Spot, Listen and Search checks. I remember a lot of people spreading this around and it simply isn't true. They are just always considered in "active" detect mode. This means, even when running around all willy-nilly, elves will always roll a d20 + full skill modifier and they will search at the maximum radius for Spot, Listen and Search checks.