I've been loving the recent changes to the code surrounding listen and shout when in a sandstorm. Even still, I think 'listen (wilderness)' could stand to be added to, as its utility in the wilds seems to be lacking compared to 'listen' in the city. There's not often a ton of conversation to be overheard in the desert.
What if there was a chance for nearby movement to echo to the PC, as long as listen is currently active? It might work somewhat similarly to watch, but it would be strictly limited to movement. Something like...
You hear movement to the south.
Or, while running and two rooms away:
You hear brisk movement far to the south.
It would depend mainly on the PC's skill level in listen, the distance from the PC the movement was made, and the speed of the moving (N)PC. Sneaking might result in little to no chance of being echoed, while running would have the most likely chance of echoing/being heard.
It might also take into account the size (weight and height) of the (N)PC. Anyone would have an excellent chance of hearing a mekillot's approach from one to two rooms away, for example, regardless of their skill level in listen (wilderness). A small child walking a room away would have a slimmer chance of echoing to the PC, and would depend largely on the PC's skill level in listen.
And because this might end up pretty spammy, there could be flags to toggle between the functions of listen. Something like >listen movement off and >listen conversation on, or such.
Yeah, I like this.
+1
+1
This sounds like it would make wilderness sneak good for something other than
"Hey, I'm about to die"
It would turn into
"Hey, I'm about to about to die"