I have a Level 14Soulknife, specialized in all things sneaky and shadows. I have one thing that's pestered me though, which is how Knack interacts with stealth.
Stealth:+5 from Dex, +5 from proficiency, +5 from expertise, and Reliable Talent for at least a 10 on the d20 = 25minimum stealth with potential for 35. I have Skulker for lightly-obscured hiding and Cloak/Boots of Elvenkind for advantage on Stealth relying on Sight/Sound, and also enemy disadvantage on Sight perception checks against me.
To my understanding stealth would be against any creatures passive perception unless they have reason to actively search for me or I'm above lightly-obscured, thus in plain view.
Psi-Bolstered Knack let's me add a psionic die (d10 at this level) to any ability check I'm proficient in, consumed if the d10 would have me succeed. I'm onboard so far.
For a recent example, my character goes on a late night scouting mission through a tribal war camp during a light snowstorm. I roll whatever I did plus invisibility from my party as my Psychic Veil had already been used. At this point the DM can have me make stealth checks at whatever intervals they decide, but at my tables I've usually seen it as a single all encompassing check, almost like a temporary passive check, unless context calls for me to make another check.
How does Knack come into play here? Assuming I'm passing multiple NPCs as I slink around how does Knack interact? Do I just roll one at the start as I roll my first Stealth, keep a tally on it, and if it so happens that someone might have seen me otherwise then I consume the die after the fact? Because of Reliable Talent should I treat my stealth as a passive stat like perception, and if there's potential for something to meet my 25 minimum, *then* roll a stealth check + potential psionic die?
On my own I could achieve a 25-35 Stealth just off the d20 so I'm not often worried about failing a check, but with Knack I could hit up to 45 if I maxed both the d20 and d10 psionic die. (Zerthimon forbid if I needed a 45 to remain hidden from something, but just in case)
tldr: Rogue expertise + reliable talent, items/feats to enhance my stealth, I'm looking at minimum 25 Stealth with advantage most of the time and that's before psionics. When/how would Knack get applied assuming I'm rolling occasional Stealth checks that will be contested by multiple NPCs each as I roam around.
Also if someone knows of any items that could help hide my scent to pair with my cloak and boots, that would be welcome. Got sniffed out by the head shaman of the tribe from the story.
Knack takes effect when you fail a check rather than when you roll one. For stealth this means it kicks in when you encounter a creature with a higher passive(or active if actively searching) perception than your current stealth roll. This increases the roll by 1d10 and either uses a psy dice or knocks you out of hiding. Potentially you could trigger the feature multiple times on a single stealth roll if you met a succesion of creatures each with a higher perception than the last; cumulatively increasing the roll with each pass.
Let's assume that a creature sees me and I use Knack and maintain stealth, does my stealth include the Knack bonus up until the DM calls for a new stealth roll?
Say we take my minimum of 25 stealth, a creature sees me with a 30 perception, I roll Knack, get 6 and bump my stealth to 31. Does 31 persist with me until a new stealth is called? If this is the case and something sees me with a 32, I see two options. I've used Knack for this particular stealth check already, so I maintain 31 and am seen, or I use my 25 stealth and spend another die to try and beat 32. Or do I have an effective "31" against the creature who might've seen me, but 25 to any other creature until another 26+ perception comes around. Do I then need to spend a die just for that new creature?
I can't imagine the knack stacks with itself, like in your example of progressively more difficult perceptions that keep knocking me out of stealth. I would see that as more of a case of the "Roll a new Knack and hope it outdoes the previous one, then replace the old/worse with the new/better bonus."
I have a Level 14 Soulknife, specialized in all things sneaky and shadows. I have one thing that's pestered me though, which is how Knack interacts with stealth.
Stealth: +5 from Dex, +5 from proficiency, +5 from expertise, and Reliable Talent for at least a 10 on the d20 = 25 minimum stealth with potential for 35. I have Skulker for lightly-obscured hiding and Cloak/Boots of Elvenkind for advantage on Stealth relying on Sight/Sound, and also enemy disadvantage on Sight perception checks against me.
To my understanding stealth would be against any creatures passive perception unless they have reason to actively search for me or I'm above lightly-obscured, thus in plain view.
Psi-Bolstered Knack let's me add a psionic die (d10 at this level) to any ability check I'm proficient in, consumed if the d10 would have me succeed. I'm onboard so far.
For a recent example, my character goes on a late night scouting mission through a tribal war camp during a light snowstorm. I roll whatever I did plus invisibility from my party as my Psychic Veil had already been used. At this point the DM can have me make stealth checks at whatever intervals they decide, but at my tables I've usually seen it as a single all encompassing check, almost like a temporary passive check, unless context calls for me to make another check.
How does Knack come into play here? Assuming I'm passing multiple NPCs as I slink around how does Knack interact? Do I just roll one at the start as I roll my first Stealth, keep a tally on it, and if it so happens that someone might have seen me otherwise then I consume the die after the fact? Because of Reliable Talent should I treat my stealth as a passive stat like perception, and if there's potential for something to meet my 25 minimum, *then* roll a stealth check + potential psionic die?
On my own I could achieve a 25-35 Stealth just off the d20 so I'm not often worried about failing a check, but with Knack I could hit up to 45 if I maxed both the d20 and d10 psionic die. (Zerthimon forbid if I needed a 45 to remain hidden from something, but just in case)
tldr: Rogue expertise + reliable talent, items/feats to enhance my stealth, I'm looking at minimum 25 Stealth with advantage most of the time and that's before psionics. When/how would Knack get applied assuming I'm rolling occasional Stealth checks that will be contested by multiple NPCs each as I roam around.
Also if someone knows of any items that could help hide my scent to pair with my cloak and boots, that would be welcome. Got sniffed out by the head shaman of the tribe from the story.
Knack takes effect when you fail a check rather than when you roll one. For stealth this means it kicks in when you encounter a creature with a higher passive(or active if actively searching) perception than your current stealth roll. This increases the roll by 1d10 and either uses a psy dice or knocks you out of hiding. Potentially you could trigger the feature multiple times on a single stealth roll if you met a succesion of creatures each with a higher perception than the last; cumulatively increasing the roll with each pass.
I suppose I forgot one last question.
Let's assume that a creature sees me and I use Knack and maintain stealth, does my stealth include the Knack bonus up until the DM calls for a new stealth roll?
Say we take my minimum of 25 stealth, a creature sees me with a 30 perception, I roll Knack, get 6 and bump my stealth to 31. Does 31 persist with me until a new stealth is called? If this is the case and something sees me with a 32, I see two options. I've used Knack for this particular stealth check already, so I maintain 31 and am seen, or I use my 25 stealth and spend another die to try and beat 32. Or do I have an effective "31" against the creature who might've seen me, but 25 to any other creature until another 26+ perception comes around. Do I then need to spend a die just for that new creature?
I can't imagine the knack stacks with itself, like in your example of progressively more difficult perceptions that keep knocking me out of stealth. I would see that as more of a case of the "Roll a new Knack and hope it outdoes the previous one, then replace the old/worse with the new/better bonus."
That is what I thought but on second thought the rules don't allow multiple bonuses from the same source in general so probably not.