So I know about Stalker, that gives boosts, and I know about ones like Master of Shadows and the like, but as far as I can tell, there isn't a talent that simply removes setback dice from Stealth checks? Am I missing some specialization somewhere that has this? Because it seems to not be in any of the talent trees that I've looked through. Which is odd, because that's one of the more common types of talents they give out for a build, and usually one of the earlier ones too.

I think there's an armor mod (?custom fit?) or maybe an armor crafting upgrade (one of the special embellishments) thatll help.

Yeah, Custom Fit armor can remove up to 2, but there aren't any talents for it that I'm aware of.

What Setbacks would be applied to a Stealth check?

Brightly lit area, very quiet place, your noisy gear,

A mole warning they are coming - so they are more aware

bubble wrap floors...

8 hours ago, 2P51 said:

What Setbacks would be applied to a Stealth check?

Anything from difficult terrain, to lighting, to threat on a Fear check. Why *wouldn't* you apply setback to Stealth?

Those all sound like things that factor into the Difficulty in the first place, otherwise how do you set a Difficulty at all? It just seems off to me to add Setbacks to a check that should have those things factored into how hard it is in the first place. That and it's typically an opposed check so it creates a competition. What happens if they have Uncanny Senses?

It's a decent podcast question about design.

I agree with others here. The base difficulty is the target's Vigilance (or Perception if they're actively looking). If the character is trying to sneak past several targets, the difficulty would be based on their overall awareness (whether they have Vigilance as a group skill for minions, or just a generic difficulty based perhaps on the length of the area being snuck through and the number of guards looking over it). I'd count environmental factors like lighting, ground condition, ambient noise, etc. as contributing to the setbacks or boosts available.

I gm with the philosophy that all difficulties should be set based on ideal conditions, Upgrades and Setback are how the circumstances impact the difficulty.

14 minutes ago, Richardbuxton said:

I gm with the philosophy that all difficulties should be set based on ideal conditions, Upgrades and Setback are how the circumstances impact the difficulty.

I'd say the base difficulty should be for the task under 'typical' conditions, but that ideal conditions should offer Boosts just as more problematic ones offer Setbacks.

True, it’s probably how I actually work it out too, anything beneficial I leave for the players to come up with.

2 hours ago, Richardbuxton said:

True, it’s probably how I actually work it out too, anything beneficial I leave for the players to come up with.

Some things are part of the backdrop. If hiding on a city street is set at Difficulty X and there are burnt out lights on the street, it will probably give one or more Boosts on Stealth checks.

Wouldn't the difficulty be the listener/lookout's perception check and external factors apply as boosts and setback?

4 hours ago, kaosoe said:

Wouldn't the difficulty be the listener/lookout's perception check and external factors apply as boosts and setback?

Often, but it doesn’t have to be, fighting is directly opposed but that’s got a set difficulty, Stealth can be too.

In general I'd prefer a talent to give blues, rather then take away blacks. It seems like having both is a bit overkill. I'd rather have the blues and then use the other talents for something more interesting.