I believe you made the correct ruling here. Foil Senses only works for Avoid Notice, Hide, and Sneak. The rogue would indeed make special precautions against infra-red while sneaking, however, sneaking only requires creatures "you were hidden from or undetected by at the start of your movement" to be rolled against. There's no indication that it does anything for creatures that you aren't hidden or undetected to. Now, if the rogue were to go invisible, then hide, and then sneak away, that would work.
There is a bit of a wrench thrown into this interpretation because of the wording of invisibility where it just flat-out says you become undetected, but personally I think that's pretty obviously an error in the wording for invisibility, as it should be conditional on the senses of the creatures around you. After all, why would turning invisible make you undetected to something that couldn't see you in the first place?
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Okay, first the Invisibility. Remember that Invisibility is an illusion, but not a visual effect. It is effective no matter the sense being used, even pseudo-science "infrared vision" that "allow them to detect the presence of infrared light" because it blocks the invisible being from being perceived at the mind level
I'm not sure that this part is accurate. The visual tag applies only to targeting, and the Invisibility spell doesn't target the creatures who see you, it targets the person being made invisible. One would never expect to describe such an effect with this tag unless, perhaps, it was a bizarre cursed mirror that turns everyone who sees their reflection invisible.
Furthermore, while it is not stated explicitly in the Invisibility spell, or indeed in the Invisible condition, the general rules on perception clarify how the Invisible condition works. In particular, Invisible functions with regard specifically to those who use sight as their precise sense, and does not work against other senses.
You could, of course, argue that 'infra-vision' is technically a form of sight, but it doesn't appear to be true to say that Invisibility is effective regardless which sense is used, and there's no evidence to suggest that it functions purely purely on a creature being perceived at the mind level (indeed, since Invisibility lack the Mental tag, this latter cannot be true, which is good since it would mean mindless creatures are unaffected by invisibility).
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The Invisibility spell is badly written. It completely ignores the rules about senses and straight up assumes that Sight is the only Precise Sense available to everyone around.
You should ignore the Undetected part for any creature with a non Sight-based Perception.
Now, there's an issue with infra-red... It's technically a type of light and as such can be considered sight-based so you can decide that Invisibility blocks infra-red. It's really up to the GM how to rule that case but I'd have ruled it the same way you did (science doesn't affect the world of Pathfinder the way it affects ours).
Okay, first the Invisibility. Remember that Invisibility is an illusion, but not a visual effect. It is effective no matter the sense being used, even pseudo-science "infrared vision" that "allow them to detect the presence of infrared light" because it blocks the invisible being from being perceived at the mind level
What you are describing is Disappearance and it's a level 8 spell. Invisibility only blocks vision.
Invisibility doesn't have the visual tag because the target doesn't have to see for Invisibility to work (remember that if the target is Blind, spells with the visual tags have no effect).
Invisibility only blocks vision.
I was actually originally believing Invisibility would block all precise senses, but after looking at the rules on it, found that it only blocks vision.
While invisible, you can't be seen. You're undetected to everyone. Creatures can Seek to attempt to detect you; if a creature succeeds at its Perception check against your Stealth DC, you become hidden to that creature until you Sneak to become undetected again. If you become invisible while someone can already see you, you start out hidden to the observer (instead of undetected) until you successfully Sneak. You can't become observed while invisible except via special abilities or magic.
So the Invisibility spell trumps vision - you become Invisible which specifically calls out vision. However, it also explicitly makes you undetected to everyone. Special abilities such as the ability to precisely sense without vision (see Detecting Creatures below), True Sight or magic such as See Invisibility, which specifically interact with illusions and invisible creatures, would meet the exception spelled out in the Invisible rules and allow the creature to become observed. Imprecise senses are insufficient to grant an observed condition, so this is only relevant for precise senses that are not vision.
In most circumstances, you can sense creatures without difficulty and target them normally. Creatures in this state are observed. Observing requires a precise sense, which for most creatures means sight, but see the Detecting with Other Senses sidebar (page 465) for advice regarding creatures that don’t use sight as their primary sense. If you can’t observe the creature, it’s either hidden, undetected, or unnoticed, and you’ll need to factor in the targeting restrictions. Even if a creature is observed, it might still be concealed.
If a monster uses a sense other than vision, the GM can adapt the variables that keep its foes from being detected to equivalents that work with the monster’s senses. For example, a creature that has echolocation might use hearing as a primary sense. This could mean its quarry is concealed in a noisy chamber, hidden in a great enough din, or even invisible in the area of a silence spell.
By RAW, you usually have to use an imprecise sense (see below) to detect an invisible creature - the exception being that you have another precise sense. Hearing, for example, counts as a common imprecise sense for detecting an invisible creature. But an Imprecise Sense is insufficient to grant the Observed condition.
Hearing is an imprecise sense—it cannot detect the full range of detail that a precise sense can. You can usually sense a creature automatically with an imprecise sense, but it has the hidden condition instead of the observed condition. It might be undetected by you if it’s using Stealth or is in an environment that distorts the sense, such as a noisy room in the case of hearing. In those cases, you have to use the Seek basic action to detect the creature. At best, an imprecise sense can be used to make an undetected creature (or one you didn’t even know was there) merely hidden—it can’t make the creature observed.
Using Stealth with Other Senses
The Stealth skill is designed to use Hide for avoiding visual detection and Avoid Notice and Sneak to avoid being both seen and heard. For many special senses, a player can describe how they’re avoiding detection by that special sense and use the most applicable Stealth action. For instance, a creature stepping lightly to avoid being detected via tremorsense would be using Sneak.In some cases, rolling a Dexterity-based Stealth skill check to Sneak doesn’t make the most sense. For example, when facing a creature that can detect heartbeats, a PC trying to avoid being detected might meditate to slow their heart rate, using Wisdom instead of Dexterity as the ability modifier for the Stealth check. When a creature that can detect you has multiple senses, such as if it could also hear or see, the PC would use the lowest applicable ability modifier for the check.
So you could use an imprecise sense (or a precise sense other than vision) to automatically detect an invisible creature (unless 'it is using Stealth or is in an environment that distorts the sense, such as a noisy room in the case of hearing'), because the Invisible condition only calls out vision - it would be hidden, though, in the case of an imprecise sense. A creature that just cast Invisibility was likely not using stealth at the time, so even though they become Undetected, they immediately become detected again due to the additional senses.
You would have to use a precise sense (other than vision, because the Invisible condition specifically calls it out) to impose the Observed condition. You would also have to use the Seek action to impose that condition if the creature is using stealth unless you have a higher Perception DC than its Stealth check.Lastly, the Disappearance spell serves as proof by contradiction for invisibility because Disappearance specifically calls out all senses.
The target becomes undetected, not just to sight but to all senses, allowing the target to count as invisible no matter what precise and imprecise senses an observer might have.
Referencing the first sentence of the Invisible condition, originally it only cared about vision. Disappearance says all senses. So you no longer have the ability to automatically detect the creature by using a sense other than vision.
You are unable to use any senses to detect the creature or observe the creature. You could still see a fireball come out of nowhere and infer there is a creature there, but you would be unable to sense it using any sense, precise or imprecise. You would have to use another method, such as True Sight and See Invisibility, now. Something that specifically trumps the Invisible condition.
As for how I would adjudicate the encounter, the rogue could technically use stealth while standing directly in front of the Deculi without cover or anything else.
The Stealth skill is designed to use Hide for avoiding visual detection and Avoid Notice and Sneak to avoid being both seen and heard. For many special senses, a player can describe how they’re avoiding detection by that special sense and use the most applicable Stealth action. For instance, a creature stepping lightly to avoid being detected via tremorsense would be using Sneak.
In some cases, rolling a Dexterity-based Stealth skill check to Sneak doesn’t make the most sense. For example, when facing a creature that can detect heartbeats, a PC trying to avoid being detected might meditate to slow their heart rate, using Wisdom instead of Dexterity as the ability modifier for the Stealth check. When a creature that can detect you has multiple senses, such as if it could also hear or see, the PC would use the lowest applicable ability modifier for the check.
In this case, you could use Int as the stat while trying to douse yourself with water and trying to make your body temperature and you clothes the same temperature as your surroundings, effectively making you imperceptible.
As for Invisibility... I do not think you will be able to find an actual rule supporting this, but I would rule that it is intended for the visible spectrum - normal vision, not IR. So the Invisibility spell would actually be completely irrelevant for this encounter.
The GM rolls your Stealth check in secret and compares the result to the Perception DC of each creature you’re observed by but that you have cover or greater cover against or are concealed from. You gain the circumstance bonus from cover or greater cover to your check.
Success: If the creature could see you, you’re now hidden from it instead of observed. If you were hidden from or undetected by the creature, you retain that condition.
At the end of your movement, the GM rolls your Stealth check in secret and compares the result to the Perception DC of each creature you were hidden from or undetected by at the start of your movement.
You become observed as soon as you do anything other than Hide, Sneak, or Step.
Success: You’re undetected by the creature during your movement and remain undetected by the creature at the end of it.
As for the rogues turn, Invisibility would not grant the Undetected condition since it only affects the visible spectrum (interpretations may differ). So while he could use the sneak action, unless he was already hidden or better (such as by using the situation presented above), he would still be Observed. Once he gets around the corner, he could Hide, if he wanted to, and apply the the scenario I mentioned above (dousing his body with water, cooling of his clothes, etc to Foil the IR sense). I would require Int to be used instead of Dex (per the Stealth with Other Senses rule - GM discretion for which stat to use). He would at that point be Hidden by the Deculi, provided he succeeded. If he wanted to become Undetected, he would now have to use the Sneak action and beat the DC.
A point of balance for Stealth, as others have said, is that Sneak says 'you become Observed as soon as you do anything other than Hide, Sneak, or Step.' So pulling out a potion would actually make them observed - rationalize it however you want. The creature could hear him rummaging around his belt pouches or however you want to justify it. The Detecting Creatures with Other Senses rules state that the GM has discretion for the rogue not becoming Observed - mentioned in previous post.The GM attempts a single secret Perception check for you and compares the result to the Stealth DCs of any undetected or hidden creatures in the area or the DC to detect each object in the area (as determined by the GM or by someone Concealing the Object). A creature you detect might remain hidden, rather than becoming observed, if you're using an imprecise sense or if an effect (such as invisibility) prevents the subject from being observed.
Critical Success: If you were searching for creatures, any undetected or hidden creature you critically succeeded against becomes observed by you. If you were searching for an object, you learn its location.
Success: If you were searching for creatures, any undetected creature you succeeded against becomes hidden from you instead of undetected, and any hidden creature you succeeded against becomes observed by you. If you were searching for an object, you learn its location or get a clue to its whereabouts, as determined by the GM.
Now the Deculi would have to use a Seek action to find the rogue, potentially making the rogue Observed or Hidden depending on the roll.
For Foil Senses, you still need to be hidden or better at the start of the action. Its debatable whether Invisibility trumps IR. Again, I would rule it does not, so he was not hidden at the beginning of his sneak action and thus would not get the Stealth roll or Undetected condition. He may still have cover or otherwise be untargetable while a wall persist between him and the Deculi, though.
One last additional note, if the rogue was using the Avoid Notice Exploration Activity (basically meaning he is always sneaking, which he probably was)
You attempt a Stealth check to avoid notice while traveling at half speed. If you have the Swift Sneak feat, you can move at full Speed rather than half, but you still can’t use another exploration activity while you do so. If you have the Legendary Sneak feat, you can move at full Speed and use a second exploration activity. If you’re Avoiding Notice at the start of an encounter, you usually roll a Stealth check instead of a Perception check both to determine your initiative and to see if the enemies notice you (based on their Perception DCs, as normal for Sneak, regardless of their initiative check results).
So the Deculi does not roll Perception when the rogue enters the room. The GM rolls a secret Stealth check (be sure to ask for Int stat instead of Dex stat stealth bonus) for the rogue and compares it to the Deculi's Perception DC to determine if the rogue was initially undetected.
On a slightly related matter, if there are other enemies in the room that have vision, the rogue would still use Int for his Stealth/Initiative roll because he is having to compensate for the special sense (this is an interpretation, not quite definitive - see below).
When a creature that can detect you has multiple senses, such as if it could also hear or see, the PC would use the lowest applicable ability modifier for the check.
My interpretation of this is you are supposed to use the lowest relevant stat when multiple senses apply to the Stealth check.