Echolocation
- Range: Special, see below
- Requires Line of Sight? No
- Requires Line of Effect? Yes
- Usable for Combat Targeting? Special, see below
- Bonus/Penalty vs. Stealth? Special, see below
- Ignores Invisibility? Yes
Description: Creatures with echolocation can target any non-stealthed creature within 30 feet without a need for a perception roll, and the perceived creature does not benefit from concealment.
Non-stealthed creatures between 30 and 60 feet from the echolocating creature are also perceived automatically, but are treated as having partial concealment (automatically miss on a natural result of a 6 or less on the d20).
Stealthed creatures must be perceived with a Perception check in order to be targeted, but a creature with Echolocation ignores Invisibility.
You must always have line of effect to use echolocation, but unlike other forms of audio senses, echolocation cannot be used to listen through barriers such as doors.
Because echolocation can target creatures around corners, most forms of partial and total cover within the echolocating creature's 60-foot radius are not sufficient to initiate a stealth stance.
If the environment that a creature is trying to listen in is noisy, the DC for the perception check is increased by anywhere from 2 to 10, depending on how cacophonous the additional noises are. Generally, trying to discern one target among several when none are attempting to be quiet is a -1 penalty for each additional target (though there is no penalty if you don't care which target you find).
The sounds of battle typically inflict a penalty of -5 if listening for a single target amidst the battle, but only -2 if you only wish to locate 'any enemy creature'. Note that these penalties do not apply if targeting a creature within 30 feet, since no perception check is required in that case.