Awareness
Tiered Skill
Awareness covers characters' ability to perceive and keep track of their surroundings. Uses of Awareness include noticing details through a quick glance, listening to one's surroundings, and methodically searching an area.
Actions Covered
- Spot
- Listen
- Search
Contents
Specific Uses
Spot
Wisdom Spot is the natural counter to the Stealth skill's Hide action. If a character's Awareness(Spot) check is over the hider's Stealth(hide) check, the spotter sees the hider.
The use of Spot is a free action.
Characters not actively using spot (IE: A person not actively watching a room or a guard post) receives a -5 penalty to their check.
Listen
Wisdom Listen is the natural counter to the Stealth skill's Move Silently action. If a character's Awareness(Listen) check is over the Stealth(Move Silently) check of the character that is trying to sneak, the listener hears the sneaking character.
The use of Listen is a free action.
Characters not actively listening receive a -5 penalty to their check.
Search
Intelligence: The Search action cannot be performed in combat. In general, it takes five minutes per 5-foot hex to thoroughly search the area.
| Action | DC | Time taken |
|---|---|---|
| Item is in plain view | 10 | Time is halved |
| Item is stored in a chest or similar container | 15 | Normal time |
| Item is hidden (under a bed, slipped in between books) | 20 | 150% time (Time and a half) |
| Item is hidden well (item with a hollow compartment, in the stuffing of a pillow) | 25 | Double time |
| Item is hidden deviously well (expertly crafted secret compartment) | 30 | Triple time |
Skill Tiers
This skill starts out at tier zero. The upgrade cost of skill tiers is (4 + (current tier x 2)).
Tier One
A character with Tier One Awareness has a chance (25% + Total Awareness(Search) Modifier) to find the item he is looking for in half the time.
Tier Two
A character with Tier Two Awareness gains a +4 bonus to his Initiative check.
Tier Three
A character with Tier Three Awareness is treated as always actively observing his surroundings for the purposes of the Spot and Listen actions.
