About
There are many possible ways of observing your surrounding, but audiosense, lightsense, gravitysense, magnetosense, olfactorsense and sonarsense are best known. Out of these, lightsense (which is what humans term sight) is by far the most common, but its notable that ronites use magnetosense.
The ability to sense things relies on 5 possible things:
- ambience of the right type for the sense (having light in the case of lightsense)
- signal (contrasting, non-camouflaged object in the case of light, or things making sound in silence in the case of audiosense)
- clarity (lack of things blocking the sense, such as mist, dust or foliage in the case of light)
- emission (carrying a torch in the case of light, emitting a sound in the case of sonarsense)
- accurity or the degree to which you have the sense.
You might be able to see from the above that emission is similar to ambience: emission is bringing ambience with you. It might also be clear that sonarsense is the same as audiosense, except the first has a built-in emission component.
Ambience
However the ambience is gained, there are 6 levels (explained in terms of lightsense, for easier understanding, but this applies to all senses).
Blinding
Blinding ambience is light so bright that it can damage your eyes with long exposure and your lightsense range is reduced to a quarter. This is denoted 0.25(field,rad) in lightsense and magnetosense. A sudden exposure to blinding ambience means that you must make a sv Perception or be blinded for d4 rounds.
Bright
Bright ambience is the equivalent of a glary and and cloudless day. This is denoted 0.2(field,rad) in lightsense and magnetosense
Full
Full ambiance are conditions that are well-lit, without being uncomfortably bright. This is denoted 0.1(field,rad) in lightsense and magnetosense
Dim
Dim ambience is the equivalent of the half light of dawn, dusk, a dimly-lit room, or night under a clear sky with a full moon. This is denoted 0(field,rad), and your visual sense range is reduced to a quarter.
Dark
Dark ambience is the equivalent of night on a moonlit night. This is also denoted 0(field,rad), and your visual sense is reduced to a tenth.
Black
Anything equivalent to underground with no light source.
Obscurity
Obscurity is the lack of clarity. There are two levels of obscurity (again, explained in terms of lightreception)
Light Obscurity
Meaning that vision is hampered by either dim light, a light pall of fog, smoke, or dust, or some foliage. Your visual sense range is reduced to a quarter. Perception checks that rely on vision are made at disadvantage.
Heavy Obscurity
Meaning that vision is not possible because of darkness or thick fog, smoke, dust, or foliage. Heavy obscurement produces the blinded condition.
Emission
Emission refers to a field of a type that is appropriate to your sense.
Accurity
Accurity is the strength and quality of your sensory ability. This is rated, using a targeting range in each sense that you have (of audiosense, gravitysense, magnetosense, lightsense, olfactorsense and sonarsense). Humans, for example, have 20(lightsense), 1(audiosense) and 1(olfactorsense). This means that their targeting range in lightsense (their primary sense) is 20 metres, and any skill check relying on this sense, will have no penalty, so long as the target is within 20 metres.
Targeting Range
When any rule provision says something like: "you can target a creature within your senses", it means that you are able to perceive the creature within the range of one of your senses. For example, if a creature is standing 18 metres from you in full ambience, and you have 20(lightsense), then you are able to target this creature. If the creature were, instead standing 22 metres away, then you could still target them but the check would be made at -1.
The fact that humans have 1(audiosense) and 1(olfactorsense) does not make them deaf or unable to smell anything beyond 1 metre, it just means that they can't use these senses for targeting beyond that range, without penalty. They can still be used for Perception checks.
Perception With More Than One Sense
As long as a source of emission (movement, noise, smell etc) is within 5 times your targeting range of two or more senses, you will gain advantage in your perception checks.
Weapon Quiet Ratings
The quiet rating on weapons is an application of this rule. A shotgun has a quiet rating of 0, so that means that anyone with 1(audiosense) will hear the shotgun at 100 metres. They can't target the person holding that shotgun with audiosense, but they sure know that it was fired. If the shotgun were fired at 200 metres range, then with 1(audiosense) they would suffer a -1 penaly to the roll. This is, of course not much, it could force a Perception check, and if they had a Perception penalty of -2, then the overall penaly would be -3. Therefore, to hear the shotgun at 200 metres they would need to overcome a 4 (which is very easy).
A rotorflechette is still really loud, but its not as loud as a shotgun. It has a quiet rating of 8(q), so that means that if it is fired anywhere within 100 metres, there is a base challenge of 8 to overcome with a Perception check to hear it with 1(audiosense). At 200 metres away the Perception check carries a -1 penalty, so effectively this makes it a challenge of 9 to overcome (or you can take 1 from the roll). Again if the human had a Perception penalty of -2, then the overall penaly would be -4.
Audiosense
Gravitysense
A creature with gravitysense can see an x-ray image of their surrounds, by measuring microgravity variations, attuned to static shapes, locations and motion. Walls are visible but are translucent, and you can pick out what is behind them but the vision is usually dim. Denser objects are more clearly outlined than others. If a chamber behind a wall is filled with water, then people (having a similar density) will become invisible, unless they are wearing something denser, such as armour. Forms of camouflage and invisibility (anything relying on light) have no effect on this sense. This sense does not have any appreciation of colour.
This sense has a range beyond which things are too minute to see properly, which is 20 metres as standard.
Magnetosense
A creature is able to perceive magnetic fields, and are able to observe all objects in terms of their different electrical properties. Poor conductors will appear dark, good conductors light. Magnetic field sources will appear luminous. In areas where there are magnetic fields (such as on some planets), things always appear as if in bright light (the day night cycle on a planet having no effect), but areas where there are only weak fields will be seen as dim light, and areas where there are no fields will appears as black and the creature will be blinded in this sense.
Creatures with magnetosense are especially vulnerable to EMP weapons. When a creature with this sense is exposed to such attacks, they must make a sv(Perception), or be blinded for d4 minutes.
This sense has a range beyond which things are too minute to see properly, which is 20 metres in the case of most ronites.
Lightsense
This sense is the common sense of sight that works by picking up direct and indirect electromagnetic radiation (otherwise known as light). Through this sense, you can see your surroundings as long as they are well lit. This sense has a range beyond which things are too minute to see well-enough to target, which in humans is 20 metres.
Creatures that rely on lightsense can be blinded by bright flashes of light and they must make a sv(Perception), or be blinded for d4 rounds.
They may also be dazzled by bright light when it is directed at them: this is known as obscurity by light.
Olfactorsense
Olfactorsense is the sense of smell, which is weak in humans, but extroadinarily strong in dogs. This sense also stands in for the sense of taste, which operated like smell in creatures like snakes. The sense relies on signal, that is a smell that is distinct in the surrounding environment. If the target is giving off a smell that is the same as the surrounding environment, then they are in camouflage with respect to olfactorsense. The sense also relies on an atmosphere to carry the chemicals that constitute the smell.
The equivalent of colour in this sense is flavour.
Sonarsense
With sonarsense, you perceive things through echolocation via their hardness and density. Although the sense is visual like all of the other, it relies on you creating your own ambience (by emitting you own sound).
As you perceive all objects by their hardness and density, you can identify objects within a room. You also perceive large changes in density and hardness, represented by walls. Anything that represents such a large change, such as a wall, you cannot “see” through. The sense works well in water, because it relies on hardness as well as density, so creatures swimming in water are visible despite being of similar density to the water itself. Forms of camouflage and invisibility (anything relying on light) have no effect on this sense.
The sound you emit will not travel though a vacuum, so you are blind in such conditions. Also, if you are in an aegis suit, you cannot effectively emit the sound either. If you rely on this sense then, you would need an external sound emitter either carried or installed on the outside of the suit.
The typical targeting range for this sense is 20 metres. This sense does not have any appreciation of colour.
Darksense
This enhancement applies to gravitysense, lightsense and magnetosense. Creatures with darksense are able to see as if it is one ambience level better (excepting black ambience). Therefore, in dim ambience they can see as if it were full ambience, and dark ambience as if it were dim ambience, and so on. Unless you are in full ambience, however, you will not be able to discern colours. You are not able to see in black ambience.
Sensitivity
This is a sensitivity to full, bright and blinding ambience. Many creatures with darksense also have this sensitivity. With sensitivity you are at disadvantage on all skill checks and saves when in full, bright and blinding ambience or those you are targeting are in full, bright and blinding ambience. Also your targeting range is halved.