Stealth in action scenes

Games Sentinel Comics RPG
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Hey all! Glad my account finally got made, I’ve tried to make it like 4 or 5 times over the last few months and just never received an email to confirm lmao.

Trying to get a few little fiddly bits figured (these are likely hang ups from habits from earlier trad-gaming that are getting in the way, so I’m likely just getting in my own way and need to be told that I already know how to handle this, but maybe I’m not :P)

there are probably more, but here are a couple of minion abilities that resolve around hiding/stealthing in action.

Ninja has: +1 to Attacks and Hinders made against combatants that are unaware of them or who have lost track of them.

Shadow Clone: +1 bonus to all Overcome actions made to stay out of sight.

Shadow Clone also has access to: Make a Boost action to hide. Then, immediately make an Attack using the value of that bonus.

So clearly both Overcome and Boost can be used to make yourself hidden/stealthed, and presumably i’d imagine Hinder can as well.

that being said how to resolve each of these different approaches to stealth in action:

Hinder/Boost: A hinder and boost based stealth is used as normal, the boost or hinder affecting the roll determines how it resolves, but the character is targetable as normal. Once the Boost or Hinder is gone, regardless of the outcome, the stealthed character would also no longer be hidden?

Overcome: an Overcome stealth would essentially create a challenge? with someone else needing to make an overcome action to seek them out? Until they do, or they reveal themselves, that enemy remains hidden?

Does that all seem about right? Any sort of insight anyone would like to interject?

Edit: Actually I suppose if someone creates a boost called “hidden” or something and doesn’t use it (or act in a way that obviously narratively removes it) they’d ALSO need to spotted with an overcome action as well… or wait till they reveal themselves.

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Well, no one else seems to be chiming in here, so here’s my take:

I usually just use simple Overcomes when characters want to hide or locate a hidden character, tailoring any twists that come up to what’s being described to me - eg twisting while hiding in a small space might Hinder you as you’re forced to cram yourself into it in an awkward position, while a twist on spotting might Boost your target as they draw a bead on you while you’re hunting them.

I wouldn’t normally use the challenge mechanics here, just declare a hidden character stays hidden until they do something to change that. “Something” includes Attack, Defend and Hinder actions, many Overcomes, and some Boosts (especially on allies). Depending on how you tell me you’re hiding movement (either your own or a foe’s) might automatically break your concealment, but if you’re invisible or something even being right out in the open might still call for an Overcome to detect you.

Being hidden isn’t a guarantee that you’re safe from being Attacked or Hindered either. If the enemy has reason to believe someone’s lurking around then with the right description many supers can at least attempt such a thing, perhaps with a situational penalty.

That’s just my approach, the rules really don’t cover the subject. You could certainly have bonuses and penalties involving stealth and spotting/target designation (like that second Shadow Clone ability, which generates a bonus and then immediately uses it), and even declare Defend actions to be stealth-related or the result of keeping an eye out for attacks.

I guess the real key is to be flexible and willing to improvise, rather than getting too hung up on “one true way” to tackle stealth. Comics aren’t all that consistent, and you don’t have to be in-game either. As long as the approach makes sense narratively that’s what really matters.

And while I’m at it, welcome to the forum.

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Thanks Rich! yeah, I know there is a wide variety of ways it can be handled, just figured i’d get some insight from people a little more experienced, and also perhaps get some ideas or insights I hadn’t thought of!

That all sounds great, and helps out a lot! I’ve been spending a ton of time over on Villainy Unpublished xD

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Glad you’re getting some use out of it. Been pretty burned out for a while now so the blog’s not seeing much new stuff any more, but maybe that’ll change at some point.

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I understand how that can go! But for me its all gloriously new, even if its all years old for everyone else!

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Yeah, Chief covered it pretty well; most of their thoughts mirror my own.

I’d basically boil it down to: any of Defend, Boost, Hinder, or Overcome actions can be used to hide. All of them confer their regular mechanical effects; although since Overcome doesn’t really have a “regular” effect besides accomplishing something in the narrative, I’d probably be inclined to say that an Overcome is the only one of the actions that can make one “untargetable” by others.

(Though as Lackey says, if somebody has sufficient narrative justification — e.g. Quakester the Earthmaster can probably make a seismic shockwave to attack or hinder anybody standing on the ground nearby, regardless of whether they’re skulking around in the shadows or not — they should probably be able to ignore that restriction.)

So, consequently, Defends, Boosts, and Hinders wouldn’t make one untargetable, though Defends would of course still provide their usual damage reduction.

So, what acton one would take would depend on the effect one wanted. Boosting wouldn’t make you harder to hit, as usual, but it would make you more effective at taking action due to one’s concealment. And Defend and Overcome would both provide some defensive value; but which one one takes would depend upon how much risk and reward one wants: Overcomes have high risk (i.e. the potential for twists or failure) but also high rewards (i.e. practically complete untargetability), while Defend offers lower risk (i.e. you’ll always get some value out of it, barring penalties) but also lower reward (i.e. a Defend might only block some of a Attack’s damage, and does nothing against Hinders).

(As a side note, I find the idea of Hindering as hiding a bit odd, as hiding usually means concealment from all enemies, but Hindering only affects one target by default; though if one is facing only one foe, it might be one’s preferred mechanical effect.)

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Thank you! all this insight is super helpful and I appreciate both of you! (I had the same general feel on Hindering, unless of course it hindered everyone, but even that its… a bit wierd)

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Ditto, and I also tend to say Overcoming for stealth (or hunting a hidden target) lets you move to a new location as well, which I might or might not allow with other actions depending on how they’re being described. I tend to use discrete locations more often than some GMs so movement (and mobility powers) is pretty meaningful.

Hindering is the one action I’d want the most justification for - but there are a few multi-target Hinders (rare enough to be precious options) out there where it makes more sense, and you could always do risky basic Hinders and get a second target or even a clump of the GM feels it fits. Even two targets is plenty in some scenes where it’s a villain duo and a bunch of challenges or something.

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