Disguise

Description

Ability Score Used:	Charisma
Usable Untrained?	Yes
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	No

You are skilled at the art of changing your appearance, or the appearance of an adjacent, willing ally. Disguise can also be used to make a particular object more difficult to find.

As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.

Generic Disguise

You can alter your own appearance, or that of an adjacent, willing ally, so that you look like a different, but unspecified, person. This is accomplished via the application of makeup, wigs, costumes. Disguise also includes some rudimentary acting, such as changes in your walk and other body language, altering your voice or accent, etc. You get only one disguise check per use of the skill, regardless of how many people make Perception checks to attempt to see through it. The disguise check is made secretly, so that you don't know your result (you always think you did a perfectly adequate job). Inform the GM of your total skill bonus. The GM will make the roll on your behalf, and then grin at you in a way calculated to make you nervous. Creating a generic disguise means you aren't attempting to appear as anyone specific, but simply someone other than yourself. This doesn't mean, however, that a generic disguise cannot resemble a certain type of person: a town guardsman, a courtier, a member of the waitstaff, etc. If each individual person in the community you are attempting to blend in with isn't specifically known to the people observing you, such a disguise is usually adequate to pass unnoticed through the area. However, the house keeper of the keys probably knows every member of the waitstaff by name, and the watch sergeant likely knows each person in his barracks. These people probably won't be fooled by such a disguise, though you might be able to use Bluff to convince them they're mistaken about you.
Action Required:	1d3+2 minutes. Magic (such as Disguise Self (Bard Spell)) reduces this to the time required to cast the spell or trigger the effect.
DC of Check:	Opposed by any observers' Perception checks. Much like invisibility, if you don't draw any attention to yourself, others do not get to make passive Perception checks unless they are on alert for some reason. If you come to the attention of people who are suspicious (such as an alert guard who is watching commoners walking through a city gate), it can be assumed that such observers are taking 10 on their Perception checks.
Modifiers to Check	Possible changes: you can make the following sorts of changes to your appearance using the disguise skill: different gender, different race, different size category (one step up or down only), different age category (any number of steps), different height, different weight, different hair color and style, different skin tone, different facial structure, etc. In general, if you are simply applying differences to make your normal appearance harder to detect, the penalties for these alterations are exactly matched by the penalties for an observer trying to see through your disguise. However, in some cases, you must alter your appearance in specific ways in order to fit in (e.g. you need to make yourself appear to be a sized-large hill giant to get into their compound). In such a case, your alteration makes your disguise more vulnerable to discovery, as detailed in the table below. These modifiers are cumulative, for each that applies. Disguise Element Observers' Perception Modifier Different gender +2 Different race +2 Different size category +5 (max +1/-1 size) Different age category +2 per step Rushed disguise: You can decrease the time taken to create a disguise from 1d3+2 minutes to a single minute by applying only the quickest of details to alter your appearance (e.g. you slap on a wig and start limping). Such a slapdash attempt at disguise grants observers a +10 bonus to their perception checks to see through your ruse. You can rush it even further, reducing the time to a full round action, but observers gain a +20 bonus to their perception checks. Magical vs. Non-Magical: While magical disguises are typically much quicker to apply (often a standard action to cast the spell or trigger the command word), they are vulnerable to magical detection. Detect magic will suggest that something is going on, while scrying abilities which can penetrate illusions may see right through the magical disguise. Non-magical disguises do not suffer this weakness – even True Seeing (Cleric Spell) can't see through a disguise created the old-fashioned way through the use of make-up, wigs and costuming. Knowledgeable Observer: If you are observed by someone who would know the faces and/or names of everyone who legitimately belongs in a certain area, that person gets an automatic perception check with a +5 bonus to the check to notice you don't belong.
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10, but you cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies)
Results of Success	The observer is unable to tell that you are you.
Consequences of Failure	You are identified as being in disguise, attempting to look like someone you are not. This may not immediately reveal your true identity, but certainly implies that you have a true identity you have been trying to hide. If the observer was specifically looking for you (or someone of your normal appearance), and they beat your disguise check by 5 or more, they not only know you're an interloper in a disguise, they know you are you.
Retry Allowed?	No. You have no reason to believe your disguise isn't adequate, so you would not retry. If you are exposed as a fraud, and find the time to apply another disguise, you may do so, though anyone looking for you will get to make perception checks against you, since they are on alert.
Provokes AOO?	Yes; if you try to apply makeup in the middle of a fight, expect to get stabbed.

Specific Disguise

You can alter your own appearance, or that of an adjacent, willing ally, so that you look like a different, but unspecified, person. This is accomplished via the application of makeup, wigs, costumes. Disguise also includes some rudimentary acting, such as changes in your walk and other body language, altering your voice or accent, etc. You get only one disguise check per use of the skill, regardless of how many people make Perception checks to attempt to see through it. The disguise check is made secretly, so that you don't know your result (you always think you did a perfectly adequate job). Inform the GM of your total skill bonus. The GM will make the roll on your behalf, and then grin at you in a way calculated to make you nervous. Creating a specific disguise means you are trying to look and act like a real person who exists, not some made up charade of a person who might exist. This makes your task significantly more challenging, since you are now being measured against a known quantity. If you fail to look and act like your subject, you will be exposed as the fraud that you are. However, posing as a specific person means you can gain access to areas where strangers or generic personas could never reach. A member of the king's royal guard wouldn't be allowed into the king's vault without a very good reason (and likely with an escort of some sort). However, Jacques, the king's accountant, goes into the king's vault every day at first watch.
Action Required:	1d3 x 10 minutes. Magic (such as Disguise Self (Bard Spell)) reduces this to the time required to cast the spell or trigger the effect.
DC of Check:	Opposed by any observers' Perception check. Unlike generic disguises, you chose a specific persona because you need to interact with alert people. Anyone you interact with gets a perception check to notice your deception. Anyone you pass by who knows the person you are emulating also gets a perception check to notice anything odd about you. However, anyone who doesn't know who you are supposed to be will likely treat you as any other person of your apparent class and status. Such individuals only get perception checks against your disguise if you draw attention to yourself, or they have some reason to be alert for anything unusual.
Modifiers to Check	Possible changes: you can make the following sorts of changes to your appearance using the disguise skill: different gender, different race, different size category (one step up or down only), different age category (any number of steps), different height, different weight, different hair color and style, different skin tone, different facial structure, etc. In general, if you are simply applying differences to make your normal appearance harder to detect, the penalties for these alterations are exactly matched by the penalties for an observer trying to see through your disguise. However, in some cases, you must alter your appearance in specific ways in order to fit in (e.g. you need to make yourself appear to be a sized-large hill giant to get into their compound). In such a case, your alteration makes your disguise more vulnerable to discovery, as detailed in the table below. These modifiers are cumulative, for each that applies. Disguise Element Observers' Perception Modifier Different gender +2 Different race +2 Different size category +5 (max +1/-1 size) Different age category +2 per step Observers who have any familiarity with the person you are trying to impersonate gain a bonus to their perception checks, since they have some means of evaluating your performance against the person they know. Degree of Familiarity Bonus to Perception Recognizes on sight +4 Friends or associates +6 Close friends +8 Intimate +10 Rushed disguise: Unlike generic disguises, specific disguises are harder to rush. For a -10 penalty to your disguise check, you can reduce the time from 1d3 x 10 minutes, to a mere 1d3+2 minutes. For a -20 penalty, you can reduce the time to 1 minute. Specific disguises cannot be applied in less than 1 minute. Magical vs. Non-Magical: While magical disguises are typically much quicker to apply (often a standard action to cast the spell or trigger the command word), they are vulnerable to magical detection. Detect magic will suggest that something is going on, while scrying abilities which can penetrate illusions may see right through the magical disguise. Non-magical disguises do not suffer this weakness – even True Seeing (Cleric Spell) can't see through a disguise created the old-fashioned way through the use of make-up, wigs and costuming.
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10, but you cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies)
Results of Success	The observer believes you are the person you are pretending to be.
Consequences of Failure	You are identified as being in disguise, attempting to look like someone you are not. This may not immediately reveal your true identity, but certainly implies that you have a true identity you have been trying to hide. If the observer was specifically looking for you (or someone of your normal appearance), and they beat your disguise check by 5 or more, they not only know you're an interloper in a disguise, they know you are you.
Retry Allowed?	No. You have no reason to believe your disguise isn't adequate, so you would not retry. If you are exposed as a fraud, and find the time to apply another disguise, you may do so, though anyone looking for you will get to make perception checks against you, since they are on alert.
Provokes AOO?	Yes; if you try to apply makeup in the middle of a fight, expect to get stabbed.

Hide Object

You can hide an object from observation, or even a close search, either by camouflaging it in local materials, by altering its appearance to blend in with its surroundings, or by creating a hiding space for it to rest within, which is difficult to notice. You can use this skill use to hide living creatures, but only if they are willing to remain perfectly still. As soon as they leave their space or perform any action other than remaining still (or sleeping; but not activities that require movement, such as eating a meal), the concealment provided to them is broken. Unlike invisibility, even if an observer has no reason to believe something is hidden nearby, they still get a passive Perception check to notice it if they pass within 30 feet of it, though at a -5 penalty on the check. Alert or searching observers may make active perception checks with no penalties.
Action Required:	1d6 minutes, +1d6 additional minutes per size category of the object to be hidden above sized-medium.
DC of Check:	Opposed by any observers' Perception check. Observers who pass within 30 feet of the hidden object get an automatic (passive) perception check to notice it, but at a -5 penalty.
Modifiers to Check	Object Stands Out: If the object being hidden is the largest object in the area (by at least 1 size category), you suffer a -5 penalty to your disguise check. Area is Uncluttered: If the area in which you are attempting to hide the object is particularly tidy, or has a low number of non-structural objects, you suffer a -5 penalty to your disguise check. Area is Messy: If the area in which you are attempting to hide the object is messy, or has a lot of loose items present, you gain a +5 bonus to your disguise check. Rush Job: If you wish to hide an object more quickly, you can take a -10 penalty to your check to reduce the time to 1 minute, +1 minute per size category above sized-medium. You can further push the time to hide an object to a single full-round action, +1 full round action per size category above sized-medium, by taking a -20 penalty to your check. Take Your Time: You can spend a full hour, +10 minutes per size category above sized-medium, and gain a +10 bonus to your disguise check. You can even take a full day, +1 day per size category above sized medium, if you wish, gaining a +20 bonus to your check.
Take 10? / Take 20?	Yes
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies)
Results of Success	The observer fails to notice the hidden object.
Consequences of Failure	The observer notices the hidden object.
Retry Allowed?	Not usually. Once a hidden object is noticed, there's rarely an opportunity to try hiding it again.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Much Larger or Smaller (Epic)

You can attempt to disguise yourself as a much larger or smaller creature than your race's normal size. This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted.
Action Required:	As Generic Disguise or Specific Disguise
DC of Check:	As Generic Disguise or Specific Disguise, but with +25 to the DC for altering your apparent size up or down by two size categories, or +50 on the DC for three size categories.
Modifiers to Check	As Generic Disguise or Specific Disguise
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10, but you cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies)
Results of Success	The observer is unable to tell that you are you.
Consequences of Failure	You are identified as being in disguise, attempting to look like someone you are not. This may not immediately reveal your true identity, but certainly implies that you have a true identity you have been trying to hide. If the observer was specifically looking for you (or someone of your normal appearance), and they beat your disguise check by 5 or more, they not only know you're an interloper in a disguise, they know you are you.
Retry Allowed?	No. You have no reason to believe your disguise isn't adequate, so you would not retry. If you are exposed as a fraud, and find the time to apply another disguise, you may do so, though anyone looking for you will get to make perception checks against you, since they are on alert.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Treachery (Epic)

If you enter a combat while disguised as an ally of the monsters, or as a neutral bystander, you may, once per combat, treat one foe as Flat-Footed to your attacks after you dramatically reveal your perfidy. "Behold! I am not really a mild-mannered vendor of street cheeses and discovered meats, but, in fact, the renowned assassin, Stanley Stabberson! Hah-ha-ha-ha!" (stab) This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted.
Action Required:	As Generic Disguise or Specific Disguise to establish your disguise. Shedding the disguise to gain the Flat-Footed attack against an opponent is part of the attack action.
DC of Check:	Opposed by any observers' Perception checks. Even if no one actively looked for you, or everyone failed to notice you, your target gets one final perception check to penetrate your disguise prior to your attack. If he succeeds, he is not Flat-Footed against your attack. If he fails, he is.
Modifiers to Check	If there are at least 3 other bystanders present, not including anyone participating in the combat, your target's perception check takes a -2 penalty.
Take 10? / Take 20?	Yes, for the initial disguise. Your target may not take 10 or take 20 on his perception check to notice you.
Allows Assists?	Yes, for the initial disguise (up to 5 allies)
Results of Success	Your target fails to notice you, and you may make an attack with the Flat-Footed bonus. Once you have completed this attack, hit or miss, the target is aware that you are a threat, and your disguise no longer provides any benefit in this combat.
Consequences of Failure	Your target sees your odd behavior right before you attack, and defends himself in time. Your attack is made as normal.
Retry Allowed?	No
Provokes AOO?	Applying the initial disguise provokes. Making the treachery attack does not, even if the target succeeds on his perception check to notice you. Note, however, that any movement made prior to the attack might provoke, if the target believes you are a threat.