how CHARACTERs become AWARE of the world
senses are how we interact with the world, and how we can interact or hide from it!
somtimes senses can be upgraded by tools.
glasses, magic listening devices, telescopes
SENSES use MAG, and range references the DISTANCE MAG table.
if you can sense clearly at DISTANCE MAG N, you can sense at DISTANCE MAG N+1 with obscurity.
obscurity means little to no detail, just a faint or mixed signal. example: you can tell a presence or direction, but not identify a target.
sight, ultraviolet light sight, infrared sense
range: DISTANCE MAG = LIGHT MAG + 2 line of sight only. walls block light entirely.
obscurity example: blurry or low contrast
MAG description of sense
0 blind. cannot see light, shapes or movement.
1 light vs dark things. the glow of a campfire, lightning, light explosions
2 vague details and shapes in the daylight. doors, moving figures
3 naked ape equivalent sight
4 low light vision, detail at better distances
5 night and infrared. you see the assassins in the dark
6 semi perfect clarity of the bounds of light, microscopic at close range.
hearing, touch, echolocation, tremor sense
range: DISTANCE MAG = PRESSURE MAG + 1 pressure can scale through walls and floors at higher MAG. if a sound is slightly louder, treat range as +1 DISTANCE MAG. if a sound is yelling, treat range as +2 DISTANCE MAG. normal conversation is not slightly louder.
obscurity example: muffled muted or drowned out
MAG description of sense
0 no hearing or tactile vibration. example: a bell rings beside you with no signal.
1 massive impacts nearby, explosions, taking physical damage. example: a door slam or falling beam.
2 loud nearby sounds, clashing steel, breaking wood. example: a short shout or a dropped pot.
3 naked ape equivalent hearing. example: normal speech in a small room.
4 echolocation, wall sense. example: footsteps behind a thin wall.
5 heartbeats of nearby creatures. example: a hidden guard breathing in the next room.
6 tuned harmonics. example: picking out a whispered note in a noisy crowd.
smell, pheromones, aerosols
range: DISTANCE MAG = AROMA MAG + 1 no line of sight. aroma follows paths and currents and carries more information with MAG.
obscurity example: fading or mixing scents
MAG description of sense
0 no smells. example: smoke and rot are invisible to you. 1 strong odors, smoke, musky rot, acid rain, strong humidity. example: a fresh campfire or wet fur.
2 specific scents, blood, flowers, citrus. example: a spilled citrus drink on a table.
3 trackable scent, follow someone with precision. example: a fresh trail through tall grass.
4 trace smelling, longer lasting tracks. example: a day old campsite by its smoke trace.
5 scent memory, recognise smells of entities. example: you recognize a friend by scent alone.
6 pheromone communication on paths and hightened tracking. example: reading a trail of warning scents.
sense of life and magic, noisy and colorless
range: DISTANCE MAG = THAUMIC MAG thaumic sense gives location only, not identity. thin walls do not block it. each thin wall between you and the target reduces THAUMIC MAG by 1. each thick wall reduces THAUMIC MAG by 2. apply reductions before range is calculated. thin wall : any wall surface. thick wall : anything over the thickness of a hardcover book.
obscurity example: too faint to see against contrasting thaum sources (like stars and your eyes at night)
MAG description of sense
0 no magic sight. that of most naked apes.
1 sensing of massive magical events, very powerful nearby entities
2 when anything casts nearby
3 sense biological and thaumically driven creatures nearby ( heartbeats )
4 you know the thaum of conductive pools nearby you, including creatures
5 recognize spell glpyhs you know when you sense the cast
6 you can learn a glyph by sensing it