Long Hides     The stealth rules in Combat are intended for use in a turn-by-turn fight where ranges matter and stealth attacks are the primary goal. Without advanced cloaking technology, it is impossible to use the combat stealth rules to hide from someone who passes within engagement range. However, if you have time to find and prepare a hiding spot, you can use long hide rules to conceal yourself much more effectively when combat is not your objective. For example, you might use a long hide to evade enemies who are currently out of sight, but have been chasing you. You might hide to avoid a patrol during an infiltration, until they pass by. You might be hiding in the woods near a bandit camp, waiting until nightfall to mount your surprise attack. In any case, long hide rules should only be used when you are not currently seen by any adversaries, and you have at least a bit of time to prepare. It can be thought of as another level of stealth beyond High Stealth.

    If you have at least a minute or so to find a hiding place, you can enter a long hide without rolling. If time is short and round-by-round combat rules are coming into play, you must already be in High Stealth, and must enter the long hide as a process action with a point goal of 60. You roll a d20 on DEX every turn as a slowing major action (High Stealth is maintained during this process); roll failure does not ruin the attempt. These rolls are identical to the stealth rolls to enter High Stealth; you receive +TNs from the same Abilities, and the same -TN equal to 50% of your WGT. If you successfully meet the point goal (with 3 successful rolls) before any enemies get close enough to see you under normal High Stealth rules, you successfully enter the long hide.

    Once you are in a long hide, you cannot be seen normally at any range (except by darkeye, clairvoyance, or anything else that would automatically detect you). Characters who wish to find you must begin a search, according to the Search rules; searching for characters is a half-insight search, with no insight cost for the first round of rolls. Typically, unless your pursuers have hours to scour a zone for you, they will only attempt the first roll, which takes only a few minutes. If combat is currently occurring nearby, they may not even attempt this.

    If characters are searching for you, the point goal for the search to find you in a High Clutter zone is equal to your INT, plus any +TNs you would normally apply to a stealth roll on DEX. If the zone is Medium Clutter, the point goal is reduced to 50%, and 25% for Low Clutter. You may not perform a long hide in No Clutter zones. If multiple characters are in a long hide in the same zone, points contributed to a search count towards finding each of them. Cloaking devices have no effect, unless you are receiving a +TN from Cloaking Proficiency (Stealth).

    During a long hide, you may slowly perform any action that requires only a minimum of movement. If combat is occurring, performing true single-turn major actions will revert you to Medium Stealth (or High Stealth, if it can double as a major action to maintain High Stealth). If you revert to High Stealth and no one is searching for you in the zone, no one is close enough to see you normally, and you didn't make a movement roll, you may return to the long hide as a slowing major action on your next turn. If you revert to Medium or Low Stealth, or if you emit noise loud enough for your adversaries to hear, your long hide is ruined.

    Because defeating a long hide involves physically interacting with the zone and not just "keeping an eye out," no detection rolls or related rules come into play; searching characters gain no benefit from Abilities related to detection rolls.

    Characters of more than 25 WGT cannot perform a long hide.Long Hides & Beginning Combat     Remember: long hide rules are listed here, not in Combat. They are typically a way to avoid combat. If you are, for example, setting up an ambush or sneaking in to assassinate a target, use the combat stealth rules instead. If you are using a long hide, you are choosing a spot specifically for concealing yourself, not for observing enemies, shooting them, or jumping out at them. Although you can sneak peeks and listen for when enemies have left the area, you are not considered to "see" enemies for the purposes of the combat rules while you are in a long hide.

    If you are discovered via search, long hide rules are now put aside; you revert to High Stealth, and combat begins (if necessary).
Passing Searches     During a long hide, there may be a chance for characters interacting with the zone to notice you, even if they are not deliberately stopping to search the zone for several minutes. For example, warehouse workers might be moving the crates you're hiding among, or a servant might be retrieving a bottle from a wine cellar shelf you've squeezed behind. In these cases, the GM might allow the characters to use search rolls to notice you. In this case, though, the search rolls are blind rolls. The passing characters always "choose" a d20, but a success contributes only 10 points towards the goal. No +TNs related to searches may be applied, except for the +TN from Predatory Search (Stealth).

Chases & Tracking     If you successfully hide from pursuers who have lost sight of you, they may have no reason to suspect that you have stopped to hide. Unless you are hiding in a zone that is a dead end, they will usually simply pass you by. In these cases, time was short, so the challenge was likely to enter the long hide as a rolled process action before they caught you.

    If you were successfully tracked to your current zone via the use of Tracking (Nature), your pursuers do not automatically find you. However, they know you have stopped in the current zone, and additionally receive 1 Easing in all their search rolls. Since hurrying travel adds Hindrance to Tracking's rolls, you might consider whether you can outrun them instead of hide.

Illusions & Long Hides     You can hide inside an image you conjure with an illusion device. This is only effective if any characters who begin searching for you are unfamiliar with the zone in which you're hiding; if there is suddenly a new object that they know doesn't belong, the illusion will draw attention. Otherwise, usage of an illusion allows you to enter a long hide with a d12 roll on INT (to quickly choose an appropriate illusion) and a single major action, rather than the normal process action rolled on DEX. If the INT roll fails and you still have time, you may reattempt it with further major actions. You also increase the point goal to find you via search by 10; add this amount after applying any percent reduction for clutter level. If any searchers detect your illusion via normal illusion rules, your long hide will be ruined.

    Alternatively, you can employ illusions in other ways. For example, you might hide normally and instead conjure an illusion of yourself running around a nearby corner, in order to lead enemies away from searching your zone. This typically succeeds for any pursuer who believes the illusion.