I was thinking about it:
I'm still not convinced this is worth the hustle, but the reason it fails (Highwayman) is probably that the dude starts the encounter too close to the critters. (i.e. sneak % is not as important, more important is the distance (aka detection range). If too close, increasing Sneak to 300% or more will not make a difference. The only thing that may help in such a case is a Stealth Boy (flat 50% reduction of detection range on top of sneak's 33% or 75%).)
So perhaps this may be buffed by:
- Moving the dude further away from the critters. (As Cautious Nature did originally (I think))
- Or enable the “Stealth Boy” effect for the dude while in an encounter.
- Or when the encounter starts it needs to be an automatically successful sneak check.
I calculated detection ranges (to the front):
Detection-range___33% (sneak)____75% (successful sneak)
PE 10*5=50______50/1.5=34______50/4=13
PE 9*5=45_______45/1.5=30______45/4=12
PE 8*5=40_______40/1.5=27______40/4=10
PE 7*5=35_______35/1.5=24______35/4=9
PE 6*5=30_______30/1.5=20______30/4=8
So the dude must be 13 hexes away to avoid detection (PE 10 critter). But 10 may be enough in most cases (PE 8 or less).
Stealth-Boy_______33% (sneak)____75% (successful sneak)
PE 10*5/2=25_____25/1.5=17_____25/4=7
PE 9*5/2=23______23/1.5=16_____23/4=6
PE 8*5/2=20______20/1.5=14_____20/4=5
PE 7*5/2=18______18/1.5=12_____18/4=5
PE 6*5/2=15______15/1.5=10_____15/4=4
Or Stealth-Boy, but if sneak is failed (33%) then the dude will probably still be detected.
However, to make the perk more successful it may be enough to include a “stealth boy” effect to it. When the sneak roll is then successful, it should put the player out of detection range of almost everything.
So that may be a “simple tweak” (i.e. the player gets a “stealth boy” effect when in encounters). However, I'm not sure it will make it a good perk. First, it would be sneak dependent (requires a successful roll, which is repeated in intervals and may “suddenly” fail). Second it may fail in some encounters automatically (if dropped in the middle of a pack, aka too close). And last it will not result in critters patrolling the map (animals often run around confusedly, while others (tribals) give relentless chase, but many will just stop moving). So the scenario would not be as fun but often the player will just walk off the map (if not attempting to loot the crates or ambush). Although this may still be a (better) working “Cautious Nature” perk than the vanilla version, i.e. a level 3 perk that gives the player the choice to leave if not getting detected. Not sure.
EDIT: I hope I didn't make a mistake (i.e. critters already attacking can behave differently.) The Sneak mechanic of Fo is rather cool (with many options) but also rather clunky at the same time.
I'm still not convinced this is worth the hustle, but the reason it fails (Highwayman) is probably that the dude starts the encounter too close to the critters. (i.e. sneak % is not as important, more important is the distance (aka detection range). If too close, increasing Sneak to 300% or more will not make a difference. The only thing that may help in such a case is a Stealth Boy (flat 50% reduction of detection range on top of sneak's 33% or 75%).)
So perhaps this may be buffed by:
- Moving the dude further away from the critters. (As Cautious Nature did originally (I think))
- Or enable the “Stealth Boy” effect for the dude while in an encounter.
- Or when the encounter starts it needs to be an automatically successful sneak check.
I calculated detection ranges (to the front):
Detection-range___33% (sneak)____75% (successful sneak)
PE 10*5=50______50/1.5=34______50/4=13
PE 9*5=45_______45/1.5=30______45/4=12
PE 8*5=40_______40/1.5=27______40/4=10
PE 7*5=35_______35/1.5=24______35/4=9
PE 6*5=30_______30/1.5=20______30/4=8
So the dude must be 13 hexes away to avoid detection (PE 10 critter). But 10 may be enough in most cases (PE 8 or less).
Stealth-Boy_______33% (sneak)____75% (successful sneak)
PE 10*5/2=25_____25/1.5=17_____25/4=7
PE 9*5/2=23______23/1.5=16_____23/4=6
PE 8*5/2=20______20/1.5=14_____20/4=5
PE 7*5/2=18______18/1.5=12_____18/4=5
PE 6*5/2=15______15/1.5=10_____15/4=4
Or Stealth-Boy, but if sneak is failed (33%) then the dude will probably still be detected.
However, to make the perk more successful it may be enough to include a “stealth boy” effect to it. When the sneak roll is then successful, it should put the player out of detection range of almost everything.
So that may be a “simple tweak” (i.e. the player gets a “stealth boy” effect when in encounters). However, I'm not sure it will make it a good perk. First, it would be sneak dependent (requires a successful roll, which is repeated in intervals and may “suddenly” fail). Second it may fail in some encounters automatically (if dropped in the middle of a pack, aka too close). And last it will not result in critters patrolling the map (animals often run around confusedly, while others (tribals) give relentless chase, but many will just stop moving). So the scenario would not be as fun but often the player will just walk off the map (if not attempting to loot the crates or ambush). Although this may still be a (better) working “Cautious Nature” perk than the vanilla version, i.e. a level 3 perk that gives the player the choice to leave if not getting detected. Not sure.
EDIT: I hope I didn't make a mistake (i.e. critters already attacking can behave differently.) The Sneak mechanic of Fo is rather cool (with many options) but also rather clunky at the same time.
Last edited:
) . Then the player must conclude the encounter, fight - run, whatever. It might be a trading caravan for instance with a high luck skill. 
