so.. the reason one can make stealth check while being observed in a less lighted area is because they have concealment in the shadows. but in normal light or bright light while being observed you got no concealment.(of course if your not observed there is no need for shadows).
now the feat allow one to try and use stealth without the concealment of shadows (while being in normal or brighter lit areas). you don't need the light to use stealth with the feat. it's just that the feat help against the light.
lighting up just to use the feat to sneak is like shooting yourself just to have an excuse to wear Kevlar.
short answer -yes he can.
but it will be a lot easier just to turn off his own light and then sneak.
Technically you can hide then. People will at least know the 5' square you're in though if you're an actual light source.
so.. the reason one can make stealth check while being observed in a less lighted area is because they have concealment in the shadows. but in normal light or bright light while being observed you got no concealment.(of course if your not observed there is no need for shadows).
now the feat allow one to try and use stealth without the concealment of shadows (while being in normal or brighter lit areas). you don't need the light to use stealth with the feat. it's just that the feat help against the light.lighting up just to use the feat to sneak is like shooting yourself just to have an excuse to wear Kevlar.
short answer -yes he can.
but it will be a lot easier just to turn off his own light and then sneak.
Well, the point is the "While observed" part.
If someone is looking at him, flip on the light switch and then disappear.
... and this is the part you're shooting yourself to see if you're bullet-proof ..
there are 4 possible light levels that the character can be in:total darkness - unless the enemy can see in darkness which is actually make it like normal light for them, you can hide while being observed (well observed is mostly through hearing and other senses since sight is not)
shadowy - you get 20% concealment, and can hide while being observed since you have concealment.
the above work for anyone with or without the feat, then there are:
normal and bright light - one can not normally start to sneak while being observed in them (unless he can somehow get cover or concealment):
- this is where the feat come into action to allow one to hide (at -10 to the check) even in these light levels while being observed. (if you are not observed there really is no problem to hide)
- from the feat you posted:
"Benefit: You may make Stealth checks in normal or bright light even when observed, but at a -10 penalty.
Normal: You cannot make Stealth checks while observed."
now explain to me again - why do you need to light yourself up before you use the feat?!?
ether you are already allowed to hide since the light level is low or you ARE in a light level where the feat allow to hide so no need to turn on the neon sign...
(also notice that light level is selective, it depend on the observing individual in question. one standing 50 feet from a torch ,which has 20 feet normal light and 20 more shadowy light, would be in total darkness for anyone with normal sight. shadowy for anyone with low light vision and normal light for anyone with dark-vision in range)
won't matter,
if your in shadows he see you as if your in light. if your in light he see you..as if your in light. turning on more light would make zero changes for anyone watching the sprite with dark-vision weather he start in darkness or in light. (well expect for helping him read if it was dark before)
Funny, I just finished making a sprite that's a legbreaker for the mob (her name is Lollipop Lane and if you get behind on your protection money, they say they're gonna send you down Lollipop Lane) and uses hellcat stealth.
Since it lets you hide while observed, it should help against things like blindsight (inexplicably) and darkvision depending on what you argue for dark vision vs concealment by low light in the first place. By rights, it should mean that basically nothing can negate your ability to go into stealth and all you ever have to argue about is if you're doing it with a penalty for hellcat or not.
Dark Vision doesn't let you see as if in light, it lets you see without light. If you're in darkness, you can use hellcat stealth to hide while observed by dark vision guy by turning on some light.
For a sprite, I just see it as using your glow like a floodlight that whites out the area and keeps you indistinct enough to hide in that space, five feet being pretty big for a diminutive creature.
yes. as for why, it's a bit o a wall of text, please bear with me.
darkvision should not be a factor when talking about sight and light levels. it's an out of spec phenomenon. like blind sight. when the rules normally talk about light levels it is to some1 effected by light\darkness levels.
as such when talking about being or not being able to hide in normal bright light it is to people who see them as such. this is why the very first sentence about light and sight in the rules start with taking out darkvision off the normal rules:
"Dwarves and half-orcs have darkvision, but the other races presented in Races need light to see by...(and it goes on to explain the whole light rules)."
then it goes on to talk how in bright light (and later normal light):
"A creature can’t use Stealth in an area of bright light unless it is invisible or has cover*(remember this phrase we'll get back to it later). "
the feat effect the last rule and allow you to try and hide while in lighted area with -10 to the check.
but again that's without talking about how darkvision works, which has it's own rules. specifically :
"Characters with darkvision (dwarves and half-orcs) can see lit areas normally as well as dark areas within 60 feet. A creature can’t hide within 60 feet of a character with darkvision unless it is invisible or has cover." this does not even look into light levels.
wait does that mean that i think darkvision stops some1 from hiding with hellcat feat?
nop!
- because the way i read it darkvision work like normal vision in normal light (except for when it state it doesn't like the part with the colors) " ..can see lit areas normally as well as dark areas" (which is why it then say you can't sneak up to them without invisibility or cover, *like how it works for some1 who see you in normal light which i mentioned above)- so ability that let you hide in normal light would work vs it
it goes like this:
standard, need some shadow to hide without cover or invisibility. > darkvision allow to see normally (as in normal light but without one) in darkness with a few changes (no colors etc)> hellcat feat allow to hide while being observed even in normal\bright light.
dakvision make darkness=~ normal light for the viewer (as i mentioned above everything is counted for individually with vision, for each his own). hellcat negate no hiding in normal light so also darkvision's semi normal light sight.
result: with the feat you can try to hide anywhere while being observed. if the observer see you as being in light\bright light (including if you're in the dark within his darkvision range) you take -10 to the hide check. if he see you (or more so not see you) in dim light or worse you don't take penalty (in fact if your in total darkness you probably gain a bonus like with invisibility)
-also i know the feat name refer to a creature which is invisible in bright light, hard to see in normal light while visible in dim light. but you are not using the Bezekira's (old name for hellcat) power - otherwise the requirements would have included something like knowledge (planes), it instead ask for ranks in stealth and skill focus in it. your just better at sneaking so much so that you remind people of the hellcat with how you can hide even in the light. something like how the animal style feat are not really related to you turning into a crane or snake etc.