Heightened Senses (sage study)

Heightened senses is a sage study in the field of Skulduggery, granting characters an exceptional refinement of their five senses. These enhancements are divided into two primary aspects: perceptual, which directly improves the character's ability to see, hear, touch, taste and smell; and conceptual, which refines awareness beyond ordinary perception, allowing them to detect patterns, subtleties and details that most would overlook.

Perceptually, the character experiences a marked increase in sensory acuity. Their vision sharpens, allowing them to pick out minute details even in low light or at great distances. Their hearing is similarly enhanced, enabling them to distinguish specific voices within a crowded tavern or detect the near-silent movements of an approaching assassin. The sense of touch becomes fine enough to discern textures and materials by the slightest contact, taste allows for the identification of specific ingredients and the nose is keen enough to catch faint traces of scents that have long since dissipated.

Conceptually, the character gains a heightened awareness of patterns and anomalies that might go unnoticed by others. This includes the ability to differentiate between subtle color variations, such as detecting slight shifts in hue that indicate forgery, camouflage or even the freshness of a foodstuff. The character can perceive pheromones, granting insight into the emotional state of a person or the presence of specific creatures in the environment. Additionally, this ability extends to detecting physiological signs of illness, allowing the character to recognise symptoms of disease or poisoning even before the afflicted individual is aware of their condition.

The depth and range of these heightened senses increase as the character gains further mastery of the study, potentially granting even greater advantages in investigative work, hunting, stealth and deception.

Sage Abilities

The sage abilities below are those acquired by a character through the study, according to status.

Amateur Status

• Senses I: provides moderate enhancements to perception, sharpening natural awareness in combat and tense situations. Heightens the ability to detect movement and environmental changes, improving reaction speed. Increases sensitivity to minor sounds and visual cues, making it easier to identify threats or hidden dangers before they fully emerge.

• Sight & Fire: identifies a target while retaining cover, allowing for missile attacks without exposing oneself.

Authority Status

• Improved Sight & Fire: enhances the amateur skill by allowing the character to adjust their aim while actively firing, ensuring greater accuracy when tracking a moving target. Additionally, it provides the ability to withhold fire against friendly targets, preventing accidental strikes.

• Detect Hidden Creature: enables the character to perceive the presence of an unseen opponent by detecting subtle auditory cues such as breathing. This allows them to pinpoint the creature's location within a combat hex and strike with a -4 penalty. The ability also grants a 5 in 6 chance of uncovering a concealed opponent within 20 feet, provided the creature is actively breathing and not in a magically silent environment.

• Recognise Disturbance: allows the character to determine if someone has entered and lingered in a room within the past hour. By identifying faint traces of movement, lingering scents or minor disturbances in the environment, the character can deduce recent activity even if no physical evidence remains.

• Reveal Approach: establishes an outer limit for how close an enemy can approach without the character becoming aware of their presence. This ability provides an intuitive sense of encroaching danger, even in low-visibility conditions.

Expert Status

• Fight in the Dark: enhances the character's ability to engage in combat without sight, improving their accuracy and ability to locate opponents in total darkness or obscured conditions. Through heightened awareness of movement, air displacement and sound, the character can better orient themselves and strike with improved precision.

• Identify Noise: allows the character to discern the source and nature of sounds with remarkable accuracy. Whether distinguishing between different species of animals, identifying the unique sounds of specific weapons clashing or recognizing the approach of a known individual by their gait, this ability refines auditory perception to an exceptional degree.

• Identify Taste: grants the character the ability to recognise substances through the slightest exposure to their taste. This includes the identification of common and rare poisons, herbs, alchemical ingredients and even the quality or age of food and drink. With proper technique, poisons can typically be detected without risk of harm.

• Senses II: expands upon the benefits provided by the first-tier ability, further refining the character's perceptual abilities. This includes improved sensitivity to subtle environmental changes, increased effectiveness in detecting hidden dangers and greater refinement in distinguishing minute sensory details.

See also,
Assassin Sage Abilities
Thief Sage Abilities