======Stealth======
{{abilities:stealthy.png?nolink=|}} Stealthy units can move without being seen on the strategic map. This allows them to try to infiltrate hostile territories. [[Patrol]]ling units and the inherent patrol effect from [[province defense]] can however discover them. This happens after movement in the [[Turn Order Sequence]], so a hidden commander cannot be caught by patrols in a province they are leaving, but could be caught by patrols in the province they are moving to. If they are caught by patrollers in the province they are moving into, a battle ensues immediately.
This means, in practice, that stealthy units moving around in friendly territory, in battle zones, or on top of sieged forts are safe.
Almost all nations will have some access to stealth through scouts -- either national ones (such as Bangar Log's ??Markata Scout??s) or generic independent ones (??Scout??) -- to hang out in enemy provinces and reveal what is happening there. Some nations have stealthy commanders (such as EA Ulm's ??Warrior Chief??s and ??Shaman#1160??s) and stealthy troops for them to lead (such as ??Steel Maiden??s).
Notably, almost all "elves" (Vanir, Tuatha, etc. -- see the roster of [[vanheim-ea|EA Vanheim]] for examples) are inherently stealthy, and have [[Glamour]]. (The main exception is the ??Morvarc'h Knights?? of [[ys-ma|Ys]]. Sometimes nearly everything fielded by [[nations#elf-like nations|these nations]] has stealth, leading to the potential for very nasty surprise attacks. This is colloquially referred to as "being elfed".
Stealthy commanders can also be summoned, notably with the early [[rituals]] ??Black Servant?? and ??Bind Shadow Imp??.
The [[Hotkeys|Hotkey]] for moving stealthy commanders **without** sneaking is ctrl + click on a province.
====Detection====
{{:abilities:patrol_bonus.png?nolink}}**Destealth strength** \\ \\ Sum of patrolling units' Patrol Strength \\ - min([[unrest]], 100)/2 \\ + max(0, [[province defense]] - 14)
{{abilities:stealthy.png?nolink}} **Stealth strength** \\ \\ Leader's Stealth value \\ - amount of units with Stealth < 50 \\ - (amount of units with Stealth >= 50)/2
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Sneaking units are discovered if:
**Destealth + 2d25 > Stealth + 2d25**
Both of these rolls are open-ended.
==== Examples ====
^ {{abilities:stealthy.png?nolink}} Stealth Side |^ {{:abilities:patrol_bonus.png?nolink}} Patrol Values |||
^ Units ^ Stealth Value ^ Min Catch ^ 50/50 Catch ^ Catch Almost All ^
| {{:items:shademail_haubergeon.png }} ??Shademail Haubergeon?? | 20 | 1 | 20 | 66 |
| {{:nations:ma:pythium:scout.png }} Most ??Scout??s | 50 | 4 | 50 | 96 |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:vanjarl.png }} Elves and most assassins/seducers | 65 | 19 | 65 | 111 |
| {{:nations:la:vaettiheim:dimvaetti.png }} High stealth assassin e.g. ??Dimvaetti?? | 80 | 34 | 80 | 126 |
| {{:nations:ma:nazca:condor.png }} ??Condor?? (lol) | 140 | 94 (!) | 140 | 186 (lmao) |
| //**Catching Stealthy Parties**// |||||
| {{:nations:ma:shinuyama:bakemono-sho_3.png }}??Bakemono Chief?? leading 40 ??Bakemono-Sho#1394?? | 40 - 40 \\ = 0 | 1 | 1 | 46 |
| {{:nations:ma:pangaea:white_centaur.png }}??Centaur Hierophant?? leading 10 ??White Centaur??s | 40 - 10 \\ = 30 | 1 | 30 | 76 |
| {{:nations:ma:vanheim:van.png }}??Vanjarl?? leading 10 ??Van?? | 65 - 5((the Vans have >= 50 Stealth)) \\ = 60 | 14 | 60 | 106 |
==== Uses of Stealth ====
A stealthy commander has a number of interesting uses:
- [[Scout Reports|Scouting]] and witnessing battles their nation isn't involved in.
* {{abilities:spy.png?nolink}} [[Spy|Spies]] can reveal additional information, cause unrest or infiltrate capitals.
- Ferrying and carrying [[gems]] and [[items]] for an army. Keeps spare gems safe for later.
- Avoiding fights.
* A commander set to perform a stealthy order does so before other orders such as rituals or assassinations, which can make them very difficult to catch, and rather effective at [[raiding]]. Using [[rituals]] such as ??Teleport?? or ??Cloud Trapeze?? will not prevent an enemy raider from hiding or sneaking away.
- Starting fights.
* They can attack provinces the enemy thought were safe. When done on a massive scale, this is the infamous **"elfing"**.
* This can be done by sneaking even through friendly lands so that enemy scouts do not see their approach.
* Using [[rituals]] such as ??Teleport?? or ??Cloud Trapeze?? on top of a friendly stealthy unit that has switched orders to attack their current province (without moving) will have the stealthy unit join the fight in the [[Magic Phase Movement|Magic Phase]].
- Moving into or out of [[fort|forts]] that are under [[siege]].
* Sneaking into a fort does not allow defending against a storming attacker on the same turn, but sneaking out of a fort can be done as an attack.
- {{:misc:magic:holy.png?nolink}} Priests, if stealthy, can hide and [[dominion#preaching|preach]] in an enemy province.
==== Gaining and Enhancing Stealth ====
There are only two items that grant stealth to commanders that don't have it already: ??Shademail Haubergeon?? and ??Amulet of the Doppleganger?? (a unique artifact). Shademails are exceptionally useful because they can be transferred. They be used to sneak commanders in and out of besieged forts, hide key mages in battles, or even keep thugs safe from magic-phase counterattacks. As an example, you can give ??Shademail Haubergeon?? to a ??Scout??, then use a heavy thug with combat armor (such as ??Armor of Knights??) into a province. If the scout sneaks into the province as well, next turn they can swap armor (with both becoming stealthy) and sneak out, dodging magic-phase counterthugs (such as kitted ??Vanjarl??s).
Several other items enhance the stealth score of commanders that already have it. These are only useful in niche cases, since many of the benefits of stealth don't require you to dodge patrols.
==== Stealth Interactions ====
Commanders set on stealthy orders (hide or sneak) are unaffected by:
* [[Independents]], who will never [[patrol]] them out
* Armies on top of a [[fort]] under [[siege]] since they can't [[patrol]] or have [[province defense]]
* Conventional assassination by units with the [[assassin]] ability
* Remote assassination spells such as ??Earth Attack?? or ??Manifestation??
* ??Seeking Arrow??
Commanders set on stealthy orders are still affected by:
* [[Mind Hunt]], both as a valid target and protecting [[astral]] mage
* ??Vengeful Water??
* ??Vengeance of the Dead??
* ??Murdering Winter??
* Using the [[wish]] spell to wish for friends, and being in the affected province
{{tag>unit-abilities}}