Attacking Whilst Invisible, How it works and how it should work. Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Neurosis]

This is an offshoot of the "Concealment Power in Combat Thread" below.

The assumption is that the invisibility spell provides Blind Fire penalties in combat or at least the same penalties it provides (based on hits) to Perception tests.

The question is:

If a character who is invisible opens fire with a weapon, attacks in melee, or does something else blatantly unsubtle, is the invisibility effect canceled?

I am aware that at the core of this discussion is what is, for me, a kind of foggy gray area between RAW, RAI, and House Rules. When I am GMing, I generally make it so that--like in D&D, a game system I am not even fond of--attacking while 'Cloaked' immediately 'Uncloaks' you. I know that this may technically be a House Rule. But my reason for enforcing this while GMing has to do with the fact that I think that, somewhere, there is evidence that supports this as the intention of the rules, even if I can't find them. Without this or something like it, the problem I feel is that Invisibility is disproportionately good. The fact that it lets you semi-reliably avoid detection is very powerful as-is. When you also have it impose a -6 PENALTY to all incoming attacks it becomes an all-around-better spell than things like Combat Sense because it also makes it so that you are incredibly difficult to hit.

So, I ask of you, GMs: at what level, if any, do you consider the PCs actions to be unsubtle enough that invisibility either goes away or is a wash? Please try to answer the question on an RAW level, an RAI level, and a how you you actually play level.

Side-Note: I read in an FAQ somewhere that Thermographic and other types of vision don't allow you to see Invisible characters. What about Astral Perception?

Even more tangenitally: Is there anything that anyone can do to conceal themselves on the astral plane i.e. while projecting? Does Invisibility, Concealment, or stealth work there at all?