Quick Stealth Question

[Zikke]

For Stealth (or any other skill), is there a numerical scale? Or if I see my stealth is "Superb", is that as high as it can go?

[Marble Dice]

Originally Posted by Zikke

For Stealth (or any other skill), is there a numerical scale? Or if I see my stealth is "Superb", is that as high as it can go?

All skills have a numerical scale, most of them receive initial bonuses from race and class, and increase with level based on class. Stealth is somewhat unusual in that it doesn't increase as you level.

Natural stealth ranges from 0 (dwarf/half-orc warrior/paladin) to 9 (hobbit/kobold rogue). Only gear can increase it further. On your character sheet, "Superb" means your stealth is 9-13. "Heroic" means 14-17 and "Legendary" means 18+.

Actually a half-troll warrior or paladin would have -1 stealth, but I don't know if it gets capped or not.

[Zikke]

Is there any way to see the exactly number instead of the general label? Also, does it continue to be useful to push stealth over 18 or are there diminished returns?

[RogerN]

Results from my source-diving... valid stealth scores range from 0 to 30. Every extra point of stealth reduces your odds of waking up a monster* by roughly 20%.

Assuming a Superb stealth skill of 9, your odds of waking a nearby monster* are roughly 12% per step. An increase of +1 stealth would lower the odds by roughly 20%, to approximately 10% per step.

* In this instance "waking a monster" does not mean that the monster immediately wakes up, but the sleepiness number is reduced. Some very alert monsters may wake immediately, but sleepier monsters take longer to wake up.

[Zikke]

Thank you! I've been playing this for a long time and never knew these intricacies.

[Marble Dice]

Originally Posted by RogerN

Results from my source-diving... valid stealth scores range from 0 to 30. Every extra point of stealth reduces your odds of waking up a monster* by roughly 20%.

Just to clarify, that's a multiplicative 20%, not additive. This means there are pretty steep diminishing returns on stealth beyond 8, and it's nearly pointless beyond 15. The graph would look something like this:

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Zikke

Is there any way to see the exactly number instead of the general label?

Play FAangband 1.0 - although it's as well as rather than instead of.

[camlost]

Originally Posted by Marble Dice

Just to clarify, that's a multiplicative 20%, not additive. This means there are pretty steep diminishing returns on stealth beyond 8, and it's nearly pointless beyond 15. The graph would look something like this:

I disagree. Imagine this in another way. It takes 20% longer for monsters to notice you for each point of stealth you add. That's actually awesome. Try looking at the inverse of your graph and then tell me there are diminishing returns. Well, I suppose pretty much all monsters wake when you hit them, so that's the ceiling.

[PowerDiver]

Originally Posted by camlost

I disagree. Imagine this in another way. It takes 20% longer for monsters to notice you for each point of stealth you add. That's actually awesome. Try looking at the inverse of your graph and then tell me there are diminishing returns. Well, I suppose pretty much all monsters wake when you hit them, so that's the ceiling.

The question is how long are you in their detection range. If you are only in range for say 40 turns, and the average time for stealth to wake them is 80 turns, more stealth shouldn't matter much.

[Magnate]

Originally Posted by RogerN

Results from my source-diving... valid stealth scores range from 0 to 30.

Note that +1 is added to everybody's stealth rating. So a half-troll warrior with no stealth bonuses has an overall stealth of zero. A dwarf or half-orc warrior has a rating of 1, and a hobbit rogue has a rating of 10. 30 is the max possible total stealth, but in my experience 20 is enough to creep around without ever waking anything. In my current game when I had 19 stealth the only people ever to have woken up are Thuringwethil, Huan and dreads, and all when I was killing people right next to them.

Of course, there are some people who are always awake: Saruman, the Cat Lord, and of course our beloved vortices and hounds.