Hiding for non-thieves

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Thordain
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Hiding for non-thieves

Post by Thordain »

I'm just starting with BFRPG and I'm having trouble figuring out how to deal with hiding or moving silently for non-thief characters.
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Dimirag
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by Dimirag »

Welcome to the forum.
Those situations are left to the GM, a common rule is to roll for those looking for the hiding character (1 in 6 chances, but you can change the range and die based on the situation).
Thieves don't simply hide, they blend with shadows where others can't hide.
Use a similar rule for moving silently.
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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Seven
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by Seven »

Dimirag wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:50 pm Welcome to the forum.
Those situations are left to the GM, a common rule is to roll for those looking for the hiding character (1 in 6 chances, but you can change the range and die based on the situation).
Thieves don't simply hide, they blend with shadows where others can't hide.
Use a similar rule for moving silently.
It depends a lot on what the person is wearing.
Anybody walking barefoot or with soft shoes can be quite silent.
A person dressed in black with a hood drawn has a decent chance of hiding in shadows as long as he doesn't move.

Thieves don't have special powers. They are just people who practice doing these things.
Everybody tries hiding and moving silently at some point, usually as a kid.
Picking pockets is different. It's more like playing an instrument.
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Tazer_The_Yoot
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by Tazer_The_Yoot »

Anyone can hide, but what I call for as a game referee depends on what exactly the character is doing, what they're wearing, any magic involved etc.

Only Thieves can attempt to hide in plain sight, as per the ability name, without a particular spell or potion. That's the crux of the matter. That's a thief only ability. If the Dwarf Fighter wants to use a box to play Metal Gear Solid and sneak up on some Hobgoblins, that's something else. That's probably a x out of 6 on a d6 roll, with the value of x being influenced by circumstances.
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Boggo
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by Boggo »

Hiding in shadows, as thieves do isn't simply hiding (as was stated above) I would handle hiding (for non-thief, non-halfling(as halflings hide better than low level thieves)) a Dex ability roll (roll 1d20 add dex mod target at level 1 is 17) with a bonus or penalty based on how good a hiding spot they've chosen (-5 for I can still see your feet, to -3 for ok you're behind it but thats the only tree for miles, 0 for ok under that bush is pretty clever, +3 for OOOH up the tree huddled behind some nice leafy branches, to +5 for WOW no-one will spot that this tree is hollow, especially if you hold that loose bark over the opening!)
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RamsHornStudios
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by RamsHornStudios »

Boggo wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 7:35 pm Hiding in shadows, as thieves do isn't simply hiding (as was stated above) I would handle hiding (for non-thief, non-halfling(as halflings hide better than low level thieves)) a Dex ability roll (roll 1d20 add dex mod target at level 1 is 17) with a bonus or penalty based on how good a hiding spot they've chosen (-5 for I can still see your feet, to -3 for ok you're behind it but thats the only tree for miles, 0 for ok under that bush is pretty clever, +3 for OOOH up the tree huddled behind some nice leafy branches, to +5 for WOW no-one will spot that this tree is hollow, especially if you hold that loose bark over the opening!)
How did you come up with "target at level 1 is 17"? Is there a table you're looking at in the core rules?
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Boggo
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by Boggo »

RamsHornStudios wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 9:09 pm
Boggo wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 7:35 pm Hiding in shadows, as thieves do isn't simply hiding (as was stated above) I would handle hiding (for non-thief, non-halfling(as halflings hide better than low level thieves)) a Dex ability roll (roll 1d20 add dex mod target at level 1 is 17) with a bonus or penalty based on how good a hiding spot they've chosen (-5 for I can still see your feet, to -3 for ok you're behind it but thats the only tree for miles, 0 for ok under that bush is pretty clever, +3 for OOOH up the tree huddled behind some nice leafy branches, to +5 for WOW no-one will spot that this tree is hollow, especially if you hold that loose bark over the opening!)
How did you come up with "target at level 1 is 17"? Is there a table you're looking at in the core rules?
yeah ability rolls on pp 153
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RamsHornStudios
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by RamsHornStudios »

Boggo wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 9:13 pm yeah ability rolls on pp 153
Great, thanks so much!
chocolateteen
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by chocolateteen »

Thordain wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:43 pm I'm just starting with BFRPG and I'm having trouble figuring out how to deal with hiding or moving silently for non-thief characters.
me too. It was difficult for me.
DuncleJohn
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Re: Hiding for non-thieves

Post by DuncleJohn »

I adapted the skill system from Lamentations from the Flame Princess.

Paraphrased: There are 10 skills all heroes know and have a 1 in 6 chance to succeed at.
'I added the skill Word of Mouth for gathering information from tavenrs, spreading rumors, winning people over.

Dwarves get a 1-2 in Architecture and can use their ability passively while moving, Elves get a 1-2 in Search and same passive bonus.
Halflings have a 1-2 in Stealth, and 1-4 in Bushcraft.

Thieves in place of their usual skills get 4 points to spend at level 1, and 2 points to spend every level after.
Skills can go over 6, to compensate for penalties of to carry a reduced chance of failure. (For each point of 6 or higher, you get a reroll).
Backstab is also a skill and improves in efficacy with points added.

To use a skill, a character has to be unemcumbered and wearing Leather armor or lighter.
Some exceptions can be made for knwoledge type checks for things like Bushcraft, Architecture or languages.

But essentially, any character in light armor has a 1 in 6 chance to hide.
GM can check against the better of Stealth or Bushcraft depending on whether it is a wilderness environment or not.

Skill descriptions are somewhat vague and broad, with some overlap to help cover a variety of situations.

I also allow attributes of 13 or higher to add another +1 to skills such as Strength for climbing, and Intelligence adds +1 to Langauges.

It may sound a little complicated, but it really flows easy.
GM just rolls a d6.

I can say that adopting this made the number of players wanting to play Thieves increase quite a bit. The increased choice, and skill depth allows for making a wide variety of arcehtypes from the traditional Thief, to scouts, scholars, and bards.

It aslo incetivized one of the Fighters to run around unarmored as a "Barbarian" who has a decent shot at climbing things, and sneaking around a bit.
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