Sneak and Size

I was thinking, if it doesn't already, Sneak should be affected by one's size. Intially I thought maybe just city sneak, as I dont know exactly how outside sneak works... crouching down or something? But anyways, I think it would be -much- easier to blend or hide in a dark alley, or mingle or duck into a crowd if your shorter.

Parents easily lose their children in crowds at amusement parks, or large gatherings because they are small, and can be easily missed in a grouping of much larger people.

And I know its probably hard to code, but I was thinking that color should maybe play a role too. Wearing all-black and hiding in a dark alley would be much easier then wearing all white, or a bright shiny things. The same goes for the desert sneak/hide. Wearing a camoflagued cloak and hiding on a dune would be much easier then a bright green and purple cloak with pink pockadots. As it would contrast with the natural environment.

Anyways, thats all.

[Malifaxis]

Someone peeks out from behind a pale, narrow agafari sprig, eyeing the travellers upon North Road with obvious interest.

Creating much cracking of twigs, and the loud thudding of boots, someone darts from behind the pale, narrow agafari sprig towards an ocotillo shrub.

The gangly, spaced-out halfbreed spicer glances around quickly, and says, in sirihish;
  "I don't know if we're alone."

You think:  Crap, I knew I should have worn my footpads.

The impossibly girthful, beautific half-giant rises from behind the shrub, and sneak-sprints towards a nearby hillock.

A large shadow falls across the group on north road as the impossibly girthful, beautific half-giant moves up on to a nearby ridge, ducking down upon it to create a second hill.

----

I see no reason that size should effect sneak.

[sancho]

- - I have to disagree with this entirely. SNEAK is not simply a matter of your character blending in with the shadows and skulking into a room half-crouched, hidden by taller people. Using SNEAK means to simply enter an area unnoticed. You're not hidden when you successully sneak into a room, people are simply not informed of your entrance.

- - The best way to put it is, you are promted automatically with all of the information your character would be able to perceive. When someone successfully sneaks into a room, that means your character was entirely incapable of noticing it. Entering an area unnoticed does not mean that you are wearing urban camo, it means your entry does not draw attention. Usually this is RPed as blending in with a crowd, moving silently, pretending to be part of a roudy group most people with begrudgingly ignore, or any number of variations.

- - As such, SNEAK is as much a psychological skill as it is a physical one, for your character. It is no harder for any person of any size to go unnoticed, because there are plenty of other people of the same size in the city. People are used to seeing half-giants, towering elves, and so forth. These things are not unusual, and therefor not automatically prone to drawing attention. Besides, Half-giants' wisdom is so low, SNEAK is vastly harder for them to master than any other race, if that was your concern.

[flurry]

If shorter folk have an easier time sneaking, they should have a harder time scanning.  

[Hoodwink]

I would hope other factors than size should determine stealth modifiers.  Dwarves, for example, really ought to have a difficult time sneaking.  They're not that much shorter than humans, and however much shorter they are they make up for in width.  They're as wide as they are tall, making them walking cubes of muscle!

[Malifaxis]

The Sanchonater raises some very good points, sneak is *very* much a psychological skill as well as a physical one.

As for everyone seeing HGs all the time, this is very true, but there are still certain locations where HGs would be relatively out of place.  The Trader's Inn, for example, does not really see a high traffic of HGs that aren't decked out in militia colors or escorted by Lord Hardnose.  At the barrel however, there's HG commoners that come in and out regularly.  IF HGninjaX comes skulking in to the Trader's, it's going to be much more noticeable than if HGninjaX were to, say, walk in with a straight back and a military posture.  Especially if he walks in behind MerchantDudeY, remaining just a few cords behind (guard distance).

City sneak (as I see it) should have very little in the way of modifiers for an HGninja, but Wild sneak, on the other hand, I could see has having huge blatant nasty negatives unless there were actually something to obscure the form of the twelve foot, thousand pound lump trundling across the sands.  Stoney Barrens, bluffs, rocky/rough terrain would give the HGninja enough to skulk behind... but out in open desert, I honestly don't see sneak as being that effective without a sandstorm.  Hide?  Yes, with an increased time for it to simulate the fact that they basically have to make them look like a very convincing new dune.

"Did that huge cactus a league away just sneeze?"

On the subject of dwarfninja, well... I don't see any reason that city sneak should be penalized or bonused for them.  I mean sure, they are walking bricks of muscle... but there's hundreds of thousands of them doing commoner work, crafting work, guarding... dwarves are the bipedal cockroaches of zalanthas.  They're all over and they're damn near impossible to kill.  Say dwarfninjaX wants to slip in to the tavern unseen.  He merely gets behind someone larger, or two someones taller, ducks a bit as he slips along the wall, and then crouches behind a barrel in the corner.

The taller people having an easier time at scanning can work both ways as I see it... sure, they've got a better range of vision, but they're less likely to notice someone crouching in the corner because someone else who's moderately tall can easily obstruct the view.  A short person can duck down a bit, and look through the tablelegs to count variously sized feet, and they're also more likely to notice shadows (imho).

Think: Hey, is that the largest footpad in the known world sticking out from behind that massive pile of crates?

Anyway, that's the end of my rambling logic from my semi-stealth based RL background.  Feel free to slam, rip, flame, support, whathaveyou.

Me?  I'm gonna make a HG named Solid Vestric, and ask Kadius to make me the biggest damn cardboard box ever seen.  *snicker*

[creeper386]

Hmm... I'd have to say height really has nothing to do with over all sneakiness... As has been said, it's about going unnoticed not unseen(I've said so myself MANY MANY times just so you know). Now hiding... perhaps. But it's not so much height, as bulk... And even then... It's just about as much going unnoticed as unseen. Both in city and desert versions. What do you think camo gear was invented for? With the good stuff you can stand right out in the open, easiely be seen, but people well just pass right over you... Why? Because they don't see you as a person, but as part of the scenery.

I know... Among my close group of friends that currently scattered acrossed the known world(Read US) with me back at home still... I'm the tallest at 6'1" or so... With two of them down around 5'6".... Over all in size I'm bigger then them as well... When it comes to going unseen and unnoticed... They couldn't touch me(but then I'm the type of person thats easiely over looked for some reason...)

Now... Hiding out in the desert when your a massive bag of flesh and bone... Might be difficult... But depends on what your wearing more the anything. A half-giant wearing desert camo made for dunes outside Allanak could just plop down and blend in rather good. At least alot better then a halfling plodding around in the brightest green outfit imaginable.

Creeper

[Angela Christine]

I recall that  when this topic came up before that some staff member said half-giants have significant penalties to hunt and sneak.

I guess it makes sense.  Aside from their size, HGs are generally not stealthy people.  Copying others might not work here, actions that successfully conceal an elf or human might not conceal a giant.  Besides, why sneak up and steal when you can just walk up and bash 'em with a club?

AC