4 minutes ago, Stan Fresh said:

It's an opposed check most of the time. The difficulty is set by the participants' traits.

But what traits if the being looked for character is not actively hiding?

22 minutes ago, Daeglan said:

But what traits if the being looked for character is not actively hiding?

If they're not hiding the GM shouldn't be asking for a roll.

5 minutes ago, Stan Fresh said:

If they're not hiding the GM shouldn't be asking for a roll.

If you and your family or a group of friends are out at a convention and you get split up, it can be pretty hard to find them again, even if both parties are actively looking for each other.

You can also have a situation where someone isn't actively trying to hide, but they don't really want to be seen. They're just walking down the street in a ball cap keeping their head down. Getting a positive ID (not just noticing them) would be modified by the circumstances. Is that Joe, or is that just a random guy in a ball cap?

6 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

If you and your family or a group of friends are out at a convention and you get split up, it can be pretty hard to find them again, even if both parties are actively looking for each other.

You can also have a situation where someone isn't actively trying to hide, but they don't really want to be seen. They're just walking down the street in a ball cap keeping their head down. Getting a positive ID (not just noticing them) would be modified by the circumstances. Is that Joe, or is that just a random guy in a ball cap?

exactly. You arent actively hiding but you are wearing concealing robes for example.

7 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

If you and your family or a group of friends are out at a convention and you get split up, it can be pretty hard to find them again, even if both parties are actively looking for each other.

Yeah but is it so dramatic that it falls into roll territory? Either it is, and you do a check (Perception with a difficulty set following the table in the core books), or it's not, and you just decide whether they find each other or not (maybe with a DP flip).

7 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

You can also have a situation where someone isn't actively trying to hide, but they don't really want to be seen. They're just walking down the street in a ball cap keeping their head down. Getting a positive ID (not just noticing them) would be modified by the circumstances. Is that Joe, or is that just a random guy in a ball cap?

Make the check opposed by Deception than instead of Stealth. You're putting on a disguise, after all. That's an active attempt at deceiving someone.

1 minute ago, Stan Fresh said:

Yeah but is it so dramatic that it falls into roll territory? Either it is, and you do a check (Perception with a difficulty set following the table in the core books), or it's not, and you just decide whether they find each other or not (maybe with a DP flip).

That was a demonstrative example about how it can be difficult to locate even someone you know in a crowd, not an actual application of the skills. That is something that would be handwaved in all but the most abnormal of circumstances. And what table are you talking about?

2 minutes ago, Stan Fresh said:

Make the check opposed by Deception than instead of Stealth. You're putting on a disguise, after all. That's an active attempt at deceiving someone.

Wearing a ball cap isn't putting on a disguise. I know people who are hardly ever seen without a ball cap (substitute ball cap with hoodie, or coat, or various other ordinary garments that can conceal someone's appearance). Looking nondescript isn't the same as actively trying to do something.

7 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

That was a demonstrative example about how it can be difficult to locate even someone you know in a crowd, not an actual application of the skills. That is something that would be handwaved in all but the most abnormal of circumstances. And what table are you talking about?

The listing of the difficulties and their explanation.

7 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

Wearing a ball cap isn't putting on a disguise. I know people who are hardly ever seen without a ball cap (substitute ball cap with hoodie, or coat, or various other ordinary garments that can conceal someone's appearance). Looking nondescript isn't the same as actively trying to do something.

Of course isn't not a disguise to wear a recognizable piece of clothing that you usually wear. But someone wearing a cap, keeping their head down, and trying not to be seen is someone who is hiding, either through Stealth or Deception.

On 5/22/2020 at 12:11 PM, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

That was a demonstrative example about how it can be difficult to locate even someone you know in a crowd, not an actual application of the skills. That is something that would be handwaved in all but the most abnormal of circumstances. And what table are you talking about?

Wearing a ball cap isn't putting on a disguise. I know people who are hardly ever seen without a ball cap (substitute ball cap with hoodie, or coat, or various other ordinary garments that can conceal someone's appearance). Looking nondescript isn't the same as actively trying to do something.

Banal apparel in the diplomat aor book, gives a rank of the indistinguishable talent which upgrades the difficulty of perception or other checks to pick them out of a crowd