[High-Tech] Equipment bonuses to Stealth

[johndallman]

It's quite easy to get +1 to Stealth for soft-soled footwear, or -1 for hard and heavy boots.

I've been wondering if there's a way to get more than +1 at TL6-7, but I haven't been able to think of anything especially convincing. An Equipment Bond should work, but soft-soled shoes tend to wear out fairly fast.

Any suggestions?

I know about the bonuses from load-bearing equipment to offset encumbrance penalties, but the character in question tries hard to avoid being encumbered.

[sir_pudding]

Night Combat, GURPS Tactical Shooting pp. 18-19 doesn't have any bonuses but it has ways to avoid penalties and automatic failures. Cover and Concealment p. 28 has two uses for IQ-based Stealth, one to avoid noisy gear, and the other to reduce your olfactory profile. Handguns with a shiny Corrosion Resistant Finish (p. 76) give -2 to Stealth (and Camouflage). Weapon Camouflage (p. 76) removes Stealth (and Camouflage) penalties for weapon Bulk.

[Anthony]

One of the general problems with gear bonuses is that a lot of things are mostly determined by your worst gear; softer footsteps won't help if the enemy wasn't detecting you by your footsteps to start with.

[Railstar]

While not boosting Stealth directly, there's Camouflage clothing that could support using Camouflage as a complementary skill (with enough bonuses to make that skill usually work).

[Kelly Pedersen]

Equipment that boosts Stealth that isn't effectively Camouflage bonuses instead is tricky. However, I think there's probably some things that make sense. Equipment where all parts that would normally reflect light (metal bits, shiny plastic, etc.) have been treated to be dull instead is probably enough to give +1 to Stealth. I'm not sure if this is something doable at TL 8, but making clothing out of material that is less noisy in use - won't squeak or scrape when suddenly tightened, won't make much noise when rubbed against other material (no corduroys!), and similar stuff - might be good for +1 or +2. And making clothing out of material that doesn't emit any distinctive scents, while maybe not enough for a full +1, is probably reasonably included as part of a suit that gives a bigger bonus. A fully "scentless" material, that not only doesn't emit any detectable odour (possibly even to creatures like dogs with Discriminatory Smell), and even masks your own odour, is probably TL 9 at least.

[sir_pudding]

Camouflaged weapons and silenced gear just eliminates penalties, it doesn't give a net bonus.

[kdtipa]

TL 6-7 is tough for personal stealth gear. The mentions of appropriate camouflaged gear is helpful. I mean... if you're wearing "normal clothes" the modifier is 0 right? So having military still clothing and face paint, I can imagine a +1 or +2 to stealth. Or fluorescent clothing could give penalties... it's what they're meant to do when you wear safety vests and hats when hunting.

Maybe gear that works as a distraction could be helpful. A little remote controlled thing like a flash bang, toy car, random noise maker, etc could all draw attention and provide cover noise so the stealthy character could be less easily noticed somewhere else. Of course that would alert guards to the presence of "someone".

Another stealth trick is to look like you belong somewhere. Wear a uniform for the place you are, and act like you belong there. You'll be seen, but you might not really be noticed as out of place. So disguises might be a kind of gear that could help with stealth. I'd allow either an acting roll or a stealth roll with a disguise to avoid drawing attention in that way, and a costume that it particularly good might get a bonus.

[johndallman]

Thanks for all this. I'm mostly interested in being less audible (I forgot to say that being seen is mostly a solved problem, being fuzzy-headed with a cold yesterday) and I don't seem to be missing anything obvious.

[Railstar]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Thanks for all this. I'm mostly interested in being less audible (I forgot to say that being seen is mostly a solved problem, being fuzzy-headed with a cold yesterday) and I don't seem to be missing anything obvious.

Direct equipment I cannot be sure of, but the indirect approach would be distance & background noise. If you can make things loud somewhere else, even if (especially if) it’s recognised as a harmless annoyance, it can still provide some cover for your footsteps. Similarly, if you have equipment that makes you effective from further away, then you might not need to get as close and thus penalise an observer’s Perception rolls from distance.

There's a Magical Weapon Bond perk, which is essentially Weapon Bond but explicitly magical, and you can reattune to a new weapon given time - you might be able to take an equipment version of the same thing if you show it to the GM. However, that depends on magic being part of the setting, which I don't know if that would apply to your game.

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by johndallman

It's quite easy to get +1 to Stealth for soft-soled footwear, or -1 for hard and heavy boots.

I've been wondering if there's a way to get more than +1 at TL6-7, but I haven't been able to think of anything especially convincing. An Equipment Bond should work, but soft-soled shoes tend to wear out fairly fast.

Any suggestions?

I know about the bonuses from load-bearing equipment to offset encumbrance penalties, but the character in question tries hard to avoid being encumbered.

Wool clothing tends to "swish" less against itself, brush, and tall grass.

I have hunting pants that use magnet closures for the pockets because the magnets make much less noise than zippers or Velcro.

Luke