My rogue and I were discussing his hellcat stealth and how he plans on getting a variant of HIPS, which is Eldritch heritage (shadow bloodline) and improved Eldritch heritage(shadow bloodline 9th level). The question is, when using hellcat or HIPS, do you still need to end the round with cover or does these abilities circumvent that?
They circumvent that.
The reason a character usually needs cover or concealment to use Stealth is tied to the fact that characters can't use Stealth while being observed. A sneaking character needs to avoid all of an opponent's precise senses in order to use Stealth, and for most creatures, that means vision. Effects such as blur and displacement, which leave a clear visual of the character within the perceiving character's vision, aren't sufficient to use Stealth, but a shadowy area or a curtain work nicely, for example. The hide in plain sight class ability allows a creature to use Stealth while being observed and thus avoids this whole situation. A sneaking character can come out of cover or concealment during her turn, as long as she doesn't end her turn where other characters are directly observing her.
They circumvent that.
The reason a character usually needs cover or concealment to use Stealth is tied to the fact that characters can't use Stealth while being observed. A sneaking character needs to avoid all of an opponent's precise senses in order to use Stealth, and for most creatures, that means vision. Effects such as blur and displacement, which leave a clear visual of the character within the perceiving character's vision, aren't sufficient to use Stealth, but a shadowy area or a curtain work nicely, for example. The hide in plain sight class ability allows a creature to use Stealth while being observed and thus avoids this whole situation. A sneaking character can come out of cover or concealment during her turn, as long as she doesn't end her turn where other characters are directly observing her.
It just seems redundant to put that last sentence in, if it doesn’t apply to HIPS. It also reads (to me) that it’s when you start stealth using HIPS or hellcat you still need cover/concealment to end. “As long as she doesn’t end her turn other characters are directly observing her”
I understand how HIPS reads, that it allows checks to be made even while observed.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The last sentence would have been better placed before the HiPS line.
