Reveal Approach (sage ability)

Reveal approach is an authority-status sage ability in the study of Heightened Senses that empowers the character with acute auditory and olfactory senses, ensuring that any creature employing stealth, regardless of their proficiency, cannot draw nearer than a number of combat hexes equivalent to the character's experience levels.

For instance, if a 5th level character possesses this ability, any creature venturing within 5 hexes is instantly detected. This skill also uncovers entities lying in ambush within that same distance, smelling or hearing their presence sufficiently that the character can tell where they're hidden.

This in no way exempts the character from being surprised, nor does it have any influence on the character's initiative once the approach is discovered. These things are resolved as in any other stealth-approach situation.

Familiarity and Intent

The character is also gifted with an intuitive knowledge when the approacher is someone familiar or an ally, or if the individual is making sounds that clearly indicate they're not a threat. Thus the character shouldn't be imagined to be on a hair-trigger, but rather relaxed and assured that they have a firm control on their surroundings.

Once achieving an expert-status, this same character can identify specific creatures that have been encountered at least twice before in the individual's experience, from their scent or the distinct sounds they produce. This is even sufficient to provide knowledge if such a creature has recently passed through the area, say in the last hour. Characters that have additional special knowledge about mammals, birds, bugs & spiders or equivalent studies can also tell what state the creature was in when passing through.

See also,
Blindness
Find Familiar