discuit wrote:OOC: Did Potts fail his move stealthy roll so as to be seen?
Individual refs can handle sneaking about in whatever way they prefer. For me, DD is about practical simplicity. From this perspective there's no need to roll a separate "move silently" check and then a separate the surprise check. It's simpler to presume that all this is "bundled" up with the a single surprise roll.
All PCs will surprise enemy on a roll of 5-6. But because thieves are especially sneaky and quiet and all the rest they surprise enemy on a roll of 3-6. It's that simple.
I would usually allow thieves this advantage only in urban or dungeon environments. But Halflings (and Elves) also have this same sneakiness outdoors. So in our game just now Potts exercised his
Halfling (rather than his thief) sneakiness to surprise the dinosaurs. If he had been a Human or Dwarfish thief instead, his roll of 3 would not have surprised the dinosaurs.
Of course Potts' ability to surprise enemy has no bearing on the enemy's ability to surprise
Potts. That is a purely a function of the enemy's capability--most monsters will surprise PCs on a roll of 5-6, regardless of the PC's race or class. Some particularly sneaky monsters will surprise PCs on a roll of 3-6 instead.
It's a more abstract approach than, say, AD&D. And because of that it's dead simple to run, it gives low level thieves good odds of performing their primary function, and it scales up indefinitely
[f=32]
Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak,
lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges;
torch[/f]