Listen

Characters with ranks in Listen are cognitive masters, picking up the sounds that the rest of us don’t or can’t. This skill can be used to hear characters Sneaking around, eavesdrop on conversations, or overhear the minute sounds around you.

For the cognitive skills, The GM might want to inform rollers of successful checks of what was seen or heard in private or with notes for the suspension of disbelief.

Difficulty

If not in response to a Sneak check the difficulty is as follows: the softer the noise, the further away, the more obstacles in between, the harder it is to hear something. As such, below are some example modifiers for Listen difficulties.

Example	DL
Noise is incredibly quiet (a pin drop)	+15
Noise is incredibly loud (a fierce battle)	-15
Sound on other side of wooden door	+5
Sound on other side of stone or iron door or wall	+15
Per 10 feet of distance	+1

Here are some situational penalties to the Listen check.

Situation	Check
Listener is surrounded by moderate ambient noise (a tavern)	-5
Listener is surrounded by extreme ambient noise (a battle)	-15

Noises in water take -5 to the distance penalty as sound travels further in water than air. Similarly, sounds traveling through solid matter, the ground for example, take a -10 to the distance penalty.

Opposed Rolls

Sneak checks are always opposed by Listen checks.

Time

Trying to hear something you did not previously takes 3 AP.