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Message no. 1
From: Simon and Fiona sfuller@******.com.au
Subject: concealment and Concealment
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 17:41:42 +1100
In a game yesterday we had a small dispute about the workings of the
Concealment power as used by spirits. I think that if someone spots you,
then tries to shoot you, they should still have a +4 partial concealment
modifier on their target modifier, because even though they can see you,
you'd still be indistinct and with no defined outline, while my GM said that
once you were spotted, you could be targetted as normal. Luckily my
character didn't end up getting shot at anyway...
We were also uncertain about whether you are still covered if you enter
combat. I can't see why not, except for perhaps a modifier for muzzle
flashes or being in the person's face.
I hand it to you...
Message no. 2
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: concealment and Concealment
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 12:32:27 +0100
According to Simon and Fiona, on Mon, 04 Dec 2000 the word on the street was...

> In a game yesterday we had a small dispute about the workings of the
> Concealment power as used by spirits. I think that if someone spots you,
> then tries to shoot you, they should still have a +4 partial concealment
> modifier on their target modifier, because even though they can see you,
> you'd still be indistinct and with no defined outline, while my GM said that
> once you were spotted, you could be targetted as normal. Luckily my
> character didn't end up getting shot at anyway...

The way I play this is that once you're spotted, you remain spotted until
the spotter loses sight of you. For example, you're hiding under
Concealment and an NPC rolls well enough to see you. If this NPC then
brings a gun to bear without taking his eyes off you, he can shoot you
without a modifier. But if he looks down at his holster when drawing his
gun, he'd get the Concealment modifier because he didn't keep looking at
you, and therefore the power "takes hold" again.

> We were also uncertain about whether you are still covered if you enter
> combat. I can't see why not, except for perhaps a modifier for muzzle
> flashes or being in the person's face.

Agreed. This isn't D&D, where you become visible when you attack if you're
under an Invisibility spell.

--
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Message no. 3
From: Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject: concealment and Concealment
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 10:13:57 -0500 (EST)
On Mon, 4 Dec 2000, Simon and Fiona wrote:

> In a game yesterday we had a small dispute about the workings of the
> Concealment power as used by spirits.

[SNIP]

I tend to run this the same way Gurth does - once you're spotted,
the shooter has no modifiers to hit you. Note that this is exactly the
same way I run the use of camouflage clothing and other concealing stuff
(like Ruthenium polymers) within the game. Keep in mind that spotting
someone who is camouflaged or concealed may be quite difficult, especially
if it's dark or warm where they're hiding and they're remaining still.

> We were also uncertain about whether you are still covered if you enter
> combat. I can't see why not, except for perhaps a modifier for muzzle
> flashes or being in the person's face.

While I agree with Gurth in that it's not like AD&D "invisibility"
spells, I would point out that what is really at issue here is the
Perception (i.e. Intelligence test) required to spot the person in the
first place. Note that on the Perception Test Modifiers table (sorry, no
page ref), there's a modifier of -4 for "Obvious Action." This covers
things like opening doors, making loud noises (like shooting a gun), or
moving quickly. The human eye tracks very well to movement, so even if
you are camouflaged you'll be easier to spot. Entering melee combat is
almost by definition considered to be "moving quickly." As such, I'd rule
that any Perception Tests made to spot that character were subject to the
"Obvious Action" modifier until such time as they stopped performing said
obvious actions.
So again, you have the benefit of your Concealment until you're
spotted, but doing something like swinging a sword or capping off a pair
of bursts from an SMG will make you easier to spot.
Also keep in mind that if you're fighting multiple opponents, one
might spot you and another may not. "Hal, what the frag are you shootin'
at?!?" "The guy in the bush! Look, you moron! He's right there!" A
skilled and wise person will use this to his advantage to foster paranoia.

Marc Renouf (ShadowRN GridSec - "Bad Cop" Division)

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

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