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That one links to this one by Bulman.
Basically, you can't cast stealthily without some feat or some other ability.
Without some special abilities, as SlimGauge says, you can't cast stealtily. This is by design.
Basically magical energies surrond you as you cast spells or some such that make it obvious what you are doing because even with no spell components you still provoke an AoO.
I know there is a bard ability that allows you to weave spells into songs you are singing. And I think there is one other ability that is pretty specific in its usage as well.
The short of this is, it's not very possible.
There is not a base DC because it's automatic. If you have line of sight you can recognize that they are casting a spell.
Also, the game rules assume everyone is looking everywhere all the time. There is no facing or direction.
The only real way to hide your casting is to be so far away that an enemy could not see you due to blocking line of sight. Even then, everyone around you will know, but your enemy may not. They also probably wont know what you've cast, but they'll know you're casting.
If you absolutely need a DC then 0.
Because "Hear the details of a conversation" and "Notice a visible creature" are both DC 0.
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The closest you'll get is this:
Hey there Everybody,
The rules here are certainly not clear, because they generally assume that the act of casting a spell has some noticeable element. Notice I did not say component, because I think the rules are silent on parts of spellcasting that are codified components versus those that occur without any sort of codification, such as the wiggle of a finger, change in breathing and other flavor bits that happen when a spellcaster makes the magic happen, as it were.
Back to the topic at hand, since the rules are silent here, I think it is well within the GMs purview to impose a penalty to the Spellcraft check to identify a spell without components (V, S, M). Since there is no real increase for spells with just one, I would guess that this penalty is not very large, perhaps only as much as -4.
This is, of course, up to your GM to adjudicate.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo PublishingEdit: I should also note that I also agree with James, that a strict reading of the rules says you can make the check, without penalty, regardless of the spell's components.
Extrapolating from that the general understanding is you simply can't hide spell casting.
There are some examples in PFS scenarios of using bluff to disguise spells casting as "singing and dancing," though as others have said it's not technically 'in the rules.'
Unless you're in PFS your GM can just make up a simple system for it though. Bluff, Sleight of Hand, maybe even disguise are skills that could be useful, depending on how you're trying to do it. Silent/still spell metamagic feats and eschew materials may also prove useful.
I think arcane tricksters get an ability to hide spellcasting a few times per day.
There's a feat called Spellsong that lets bards hide their spells with a perform check. Another feat called Secret Signs lets you hide the somatic components of a spell with sleight of hand.
edit- you could also simply turn invisible and use silent spell.
Dot
I'm currently playing a stealthy caster. So I kinda want this answered as well.
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There are some examples in PFS scenarios of using bluff to disguise spells casting as "singing and dancing," though as others have said it's not technically 'in the rules.'
Unless you're in PFS your GM can just make up a simple system for it though. Bluff, Sleight of Hand, maybe even disguise are skills that could be useful, depending on how you're trying to do it. Silent/still spell metamagic feats and eschew materials may also prove useful.
I think arcane tricksters get an ability to hide spellcasting a few times per day.
There's a feat called Spellsong that lets bards hide their spells with a perform check. Another feat called Secret Signs lets you hide the somatic components of a spell with sleight of hand.
edit- you could also simply turn invisible and use silent spell.
Casting an offensive spell is still an attack and would break the invisibility I believe.
Generally, you can't cast stealthy, but you could go behind a corner of a building a cast spell there hoping that nobody will hear or notice you. Distance Perception modifiers still apply in that sense.
Adam
The closest we have is sniping. Pretty much the only way to attack and maintain stealth in the core book. You start hidden, make an attack and can make a stealth check (-20?) after the attack to maintain stealth. Problem is putting the skill points into stealth for most casters. Invisibility will give a nice bonus but will fail as soon as you make an attack (which is where stealth fails as well, making an attack roll), so the stealth roll following to maintain being hidden will be rather rough.
Generally, you can't cast stealthy, but you could go behind a corner of a building a cast spell there hoping that nobody will hear or notice you. Distance Perception modifiers still apply in that sense.
Adam
The closest we have is sniping. Pretty much the only way to attack and maintain stealth in the core book. You start hidden, make an attack and can make a stealth check (-20?) after the attack to maintain stealth. Problem is putting the skill points into stealth for most casters. Invisibility will give a nice bonus but will fail as soon as you make an attack (which is where stealth fails as well, making an attack roll), so the stealth roll following to maintain being hidden will be rather rough.
INT based casters can put points in stealth just fine.
It's not relevant though: you can't roll stealth to keep casting a spell hidden anyway.
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Generally, you can't cast stealthy, but you could go behind a corner of a building a cast spell there hoping that nobody will hear or notice you. Distance Perception modifiers still apply in that sense.
Adam
The closest we have is sniping. Pretty much the only way to attack and maintain stealth in the core book. You start hidden, make an attack and can make a stealth check (-20?) after the attack to maintain stealth. Problem is putting the skill points into stealth for most casters. Invisibility will give a nice bonus but will fail as soon as you make an attack (which is where stealth fails as well, making an attack roll), so the stealth roll following to maintain being hidden will be rather rough.
It's not sniping. It's spell casting, so you can't attempt Stealth check, but casting a spell from 200 ft. distance would most likely incur some Perception check to notice spell caster.
There could be some Stealth check involved if the cast spell is Silent but this is more in domain of RAI, not RAW. I believe at least that reasonable GM might grant you a Stealth check under those conditions since there is little difference at that point between regular or spell based attack.
Adam
Basically magical energies surrond you as you cast spells or some such that make it obvious what you are doing because even with no spell components you still provoke an AoO.
Was it ever confirmed that something observable occurs when casting a spell? As that AoO might just be because the caster is focusing on the spell and not paying enough attention to their defences.
Essentially there are two forms of "stealth casting", each with their own issues: hiding the fact that you're casting a spell, and hiding the whole caster. The first is usually the purview of Prestige Classes and the latter involves invisibility and/or sniping.
Basically magical energies surrond you as you cast spells or some such that make it obvious what you are doing because even with no spell components you still provoke an AoO.Was it ever confirmed that something observable occurs when casting a spell? As that AoO might just be because the caster is focusing on the spell and not paying enough attention to their defences.
Read the post from jason above. It's assumed that something observable occurs even when you use silent/still metamagic.
Basically magical energies surrond you as you cast spells or some such that make it obvious what you are doing because even with no spell components you still provoke an AoO.Was it ever confirmed that something observable occurs when casting a spell? As that AoO might just be because the caster is focusing on the spell and not paying enough attention to their defences.
Yes as blackmane mentions. Jason basically says that even if you cast a silent/still/eschewed/whatevered spell something occurs which lets others know you're casting. He doesn't go into detail as what it is exactly, but the easiest thing is to simply imagine magical energies around you.
Personally I like the Pathfinder comic books and how the illustrate the use of magic and this appearance of energy. Just take a look at Ezren and Seoni in the comics and thats what I imagine.
Now i have a scenario that i might be in where i am a diminutive spider on a ceiling casting a spell against a single sleeping opponent. would i get any stealth spells from being so small and the target sleeping or would they just wake up.
They will get a perception role against you casting, sounds of combat with a penalty for sleeping would be my guess.
Generally, you can't cast stealthy, but you could go behind a corner of a building a cast spell there hoping that nobody will hear or notice you. Distance Perception modifiers still apply in that sense.
Adam
The closest we have is sniping. Pretty much the only way to attack and maintain stealth in the core book. You start hidden, make an attack and can make a stealth check (-20?) after the attack to maintain stealth. Problem is putting the skill points into stealth for most casters. Invisibility will give a nice bonus but will fail as soon as you make an attack (which is where stealth fails as well, making an attack roll), so the stealth roll following to maintain being hidden will be rather rough.
It's not sniping. It's spell casting, so you can't attempt Stealth check, but casting a spell from 200 ft. distance would most likely incur some Perception check to notice spell caster.
There could be some Stealth check involved if the cast spell is Silent but this is more in domain of RAI, not RAW. I believe at least that reasonable GM might grant you a Stealth check under those conditions since there is little difference at that point between regular or spell based attack.
Adam
I didn't say it did work, I said the closest thing we have to hiding an attack was sniping in the CRB.