Types of Senses

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Types of Senses

There are many types of senses. For game purposes, all that we worry about are the 'useful' ones. We don't really need to worry about your sense of balance, or proprioception, or a monster's ability to know that it needs to take a poop. For our purposes, we just need to concern ourselves with the senses useful for playing.

In general, these senses fall into four main categories:

• Visual
• Audible
• Olfactory (Smell; read a book)
• Exotic

The purposes of defining the senses here is to describe how the senses work in combat.

Visual

The visual senses use light of various spectrums to allow the creature using it to see. Light is divided into bright light, dim light, darkness, and true darkness (as with the Deeper Darkness spell).

Bright Light

Any creature with a visual sensory organ can see an unlimited distance in bright light, assuming that no object blocks line of sight (which can include the curvature of the planet). The visual horizon is the critical determinant for distance of vision in bright light when viewing distant objects in vast, open spaces:

• For an observer standing on the ground with average height, the horizon is at a distance of 2.9 miles.
• For an observer standing on the second story of a building or a ship's deck (10 feet), the horizon is at a distance of 3.8 miles.
• For an observer standing on a hill or tower (100 feet), the horizon is at a distance of 12.2 miles.
• For an observer standing at the top of an average mountain (13,000 ft), the horizon is at a distance of 139 miles.
• For an observer atop the tallest of mountains (30,000 ft), the horizon is at a distance of 211 miles.

Dim Light

Standard visual sensory organs function poorly in dim light, and creatures in dim light gain concealment against creatures with standard vision. Concealment grants the concealed creature a 20% chance to be missed by attacks in combat.

Typically, a bright source of light, such as a torch, provides dim light an equal distance to its bright light radius, beginning at the edge of that bright light radius. Thus, a torch provides bright light to 30 feet, and dim light beyond 30 feet out to 60 feet. Moonlight and starlight are the most common sources of dim light that do not provide a commensurate amount of bright light. Some magic items are also capable of producing dim light without bright light.

Darkness

The area outside of any light source, beyond the reach of dim light, is considered darkness. Darkness grants total concealment to creatures within it, when perceived by creatures with standard vision. Total concealment grants the concealed creature a 50% chance to be missed by attacks in combat.

Darkness can also be created by magical spells, such as the Darkness spell. In this case, unless the spell specifically states otherwise, Darkvision still functions within the darkness.

True Darkness

This is magical or elemental darkness, and cannot be penetrated by visual senses. It goes beyond the absence of all spectrums of light, to the point of being anathema to light, actively absorbing or destroying it. All creatures in True Darkness gain total concealment (50% miss chance) against any visual senses.

Standard Vision

• Requires line of sight
• Does not require line of effect

Standard sight requires a light source, usually daylight, torches, lanterns, or magical light sources. Visual senses operate in the standard light spectrum, capable of seeing colors from deep violet through red. It functions without penalty in bright light, but grants concealment to creatures seen in dim light, and total concealment to creatures in darkness or true darkness. Standard sight does not distinguish between darkness and true darkness, as both are equally unfathomable to the sense.

Standard sight also has difficulty discerning colors in dim light, as the saturation becomes too high to really identify specific shades. Often, opposite colors (such as red and green) become indistinguishable from eachother in dim light.

Low-Light Vision

• Requires line of sight
• Does not require line of effect

Creatures with low-light vision can see equally well in bright light and in dim light. They are able to discern colors and target creatures in dim light as though it were bright light. Thus creatures in dim light do not have concealment against creatures with low-light vision. Low-light vision does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see otherwise -— invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, low-light vision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally.

Darkvision

• Requires line of sight
• Does not require line of effect

Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature. Darkvision is black-and-white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see otherwise -— invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally. The presence of light does not spoil darkvision.

• Weak darkvision is capable of seeing out to 20 feet, assuming no objects block line of sight, in any light or darkness, except true darkness.

• Standard darkvision is capable of seeing out to 60 feet, assuming no objects block line of sight, in any light or darkness, except true darkness.

• Superior darkvision is capable of seeing out to 120 feet, assuming no objects block line of sight, in any light or darkness, except true darkness.

• Epic darkvision is capable of seeing out to 300 feet, assuming no objects block line of sight, in any light or darkness, except true darkness.

Hearing

Audial sensory organs allow creatures to sense the presence of creatures, but are generally poor at providing enough information to target a creature in combat. A creature with standard hearing can make a perception roll to notice the existence of another creature within 20 feet, assuming they have line of effect to the creature. The perception roll has a DC equal to 10 unless the creature has entered a stealth stance, in which case, the DC is the result of the creature's stealth roll.

A creature with standard hearing who beats the perception DC by 10 or more also learns which square the target is in, though the creature may still have total concealment if no other sense (such as vision) is available to target them. Standard hearing can never provide a result better than this -- you know what square the creature is in, but the creature has total concealment. You must always have line of effect to use hearing, though some barriers, such as doors, may allow hearing checks at a greater penalty to the standard DC (depending on how solid the door is).

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 20, 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 -2 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 10 for listening for a single target amidst the battle, but only 4 if you only want to locate 'any enemy creature'.

Standard hearing

• Does not require line of sight
• Requires line of effect
• Affected by additional sounds

Perception check to learn existence of a creature within 20 feet, with line of effect. DC 10 unless creature is stealthing. If DC is exceeded by 10 or more, you also learn the square the creature is in, though the creature has total concealment from you.

Keen hearing

• Does not require line of sight
• Requires line of effect
• Affected by additional sounds

Perception check to learn existence of a creature within 60 feet, with line of effect. DC 10 unless creature is stealthing. If DC is exceeded by 10 or more, you also learn the square the creature is in, though the creature has total concealment from you.

Precise hearing

• Does not require line of sight
• Requires line of effect
• Affected by additional sounds

This is a form of hearing which allows targeting of creatures in combat. It allows targeting of adjacent creatures without the need for a perception roll, and the creatures do not have concealment. A perception roll, DC 10 or the target's stealth roll result, allows a creature with precise hearing to target a creature within 20 feet, and the creature does not have concealment. Beyond 20 feet, precise hearing functions as keen hearing.

Echolocation

• Does not require line of sight
• Requires line of effect
• Affected by additional sounds

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 gain concealment (20% miss chance). Stealthed creatures must be perceived with a Perception check in order to be targeted, but a creature with Echolocation ignores any benefits from Invisibility. Because echolocation can target creatures around corners, cover and total cover within the echolocating creature's 60-foot radius are not sufficient to initiate a stealth stance.

Smell

• Does not require line of sight
• Requires line of effect
• Affected by wind

Normal creatures cannot use smell to target other creatures in combat or even detect their presence, unless the creature being smelled is particularly pungent. Generally speaking, if a creature with a normal sense of smell wishes to make a Perception check to locate a creature, the DC should be 35. If a creature with a normal sense of smell wants to try to locate a stealthing creature, the DC is the stealth check's result + 20. However, invisibility grants no benefits to a stealthed creature against such a perception check.

Scent

This extraordinary ability lets a creature detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell.

A creature with the scent ability can detect opponents by sense of smell, generally within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range is 60 feet. If it is downwind, the range is 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at three times these ranges.

The creature detects another creature's presence but not its specific location. Noting the direction of the scent is a move action. If the creature moves within 5 feet (1 square) of the scent's source, the creature can pinpoint the area that the source occupies, even if it cannot be seen.

A creature with the Survival skill and the scent ability can follow tracks by smell, making a Survival check to find or follow a track. A creature with the scent ability can attempt to follow tracks using Survival untrained. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10. The DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry's odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill in regards to tracking. Creatures tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.

Creatures with the scent ability can identify familiar odors just as humans do familiar sights.

Water, particularly running water, ruins a trail for air-breathing creatures. Water-breathing creatures that have the scent ability, however, can use it in the water easily.

False, powerful odors can easily mask other scents. The presence of such an odor completely spoils the ability to properly detect or identify creatures, and the base Survival DC to track becomes 20 rather than 10.

Scent: Make rolls to find a creature in a given square.

Keen Scent: Target a creature with smell alone.

Exotic

Tremorsense: "Feel" a target's contact with the surface he walks upon.

Blind Sense: "Feel" a target's presence by some undefined means that is unstoppable.

Life Sense: "Feel" a target's presence as long as it is alive.

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