Senses & Detections

While every mortal being has seven senses with which they can perceive the world, only two of them are focused on the most. That said, a brief overview of the seven senses includes touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste, proprioception, and vestibular. The sense of touch communicates tactile information through the skin. Sight communicates visual information by catching light with the eyes. Hearing communicates audial information through the ears. Smell communicates odious information through the nose. Taste communicates flavor information through the tongue. Proprioception communicates body position through the muscles & joints. Vestibular communicates orientation & motion through the inner ear canal.

Sight & Types of Vision

Vision is a highly utilized sense within the world of Erelest, and as such it is important to understand how it works in the world. All humanoid races save for the humans themselves come with two out of three forms of basic vision. The one which even humans have is standard vision, which can perceive the spectrum of light nearly every human can perceive, from red to violet. This vision is measured the same way real life vision is measured which you will see in the table below. The other two forms of standard vision which humans do not have access to are infravision and ultravision. These allow one to see into the infrared spectrum, or the ultraviolet spectrum. However no humanoid can look into multiple spectrums at once. They must actively choose to view in the infravision, standard or ultraviolet spectrums at any given time.

Mortal Visions

How vision is calculated is based on how close one has to be to something to see clearly. For example: 20/30 means that in order to see something average vision could spot clearly at 30 feet distance, you must be 20 feet away from it minimum to see it properly. 20/50 means you have to be 20 feet away for 50+ feet, and so forth. 20/20 is proper vision. 20/10 and 20/5 is excellent vision. It should be clear that infravsion can see farther more easily than normal vision, and ultravision must be closer than normal vision. This is because infrared light is the longest wavelength of light, and ultraviolet is the shortest wavelength. Keep in mind that even if one is looking at/past the object/person focused on is farther than their ideal vision range, they can still see them. They will just appear fuzzy or blurry to varying degrees based on how far away they are, thus any investigation or awareness rolls would have penalties (or disadvantage if far enough).

It should be noted that there are other forms of vision, however these three are by far the most common, and all other visions are not very well known. The only other "Common" ones that are rarely talked about on the material plane are Ethereal and Astral vision. These forms of vision operate the same way as normal vision, except that they're on a different plane of existence.

Other Visions

Hearing Ranges

Hearing is an extremely useful ability which all mortals possess. Of course not every race will have the same degree of hearing. While no playable race will have less than average levels of hearing, there are some races which will have slightly or much greater levels of hearing. Both in clarity and in range. They are categorized and listed as average, sharp, and great hearing. While the playable races do not have poor hearing, some monsters and demi-humans might have poor hearing, thus it is displayed in the table here regardless.

Keep in mind that this table displays how close one must be to clearly hear the voices. They can attempt to make out what is said at farther distances, but there would be a penalty (or disadvantage if too far away) as a result.

Unique Senses

Ethereal Sight

Astral Sight

True Sight

Neurovision

Deathsight

Detections

Depending on a player's race, background and class, their character can have a list of things they are able to detect. Detections are divided into ten types, each with four different detections. These types are forest, mountains, grasslands, snowlands, deserts, swamplands, underground seas/lakes/rivers, cities and spiritual. For each detection will be the following elements as well: The range of which they are able to detect the subject. The chance of successfully detecting it, or determining the correct deduction. As well as any bonuses added to that chance based on proficiencies or class. Note that the range and chance number are in two columns, as the chance of success doubles when detecting at half the range.

Forests

Animal Trails: Pathways that animals have used most commonly to traverse through the forests. This can be used to more easily track animal prey, identify safe paths to tread through, or just keep track of where one is in the forest by spotting a new landmark.

Sinkholes: Essentially unstable layers of peat upon the ground, or boggy soil, both of which act something akin to quicksand. In rare instances they might collapse into something below.

Hiding Animals: Animals (not monstrosities or magical creatures) that use the foliage of the forest to blend in, hide their presence and appearance, and so forth.

Huntsmen Traps: Snare traps, Deadfall traps, Pitfall traps, Net traps, Box & Cage traps, Hook & Baited traps, Spear traps and Spike traps are all included. It is assumed that the traps are carefully hidden among the foliage.

Mountains

Mountain Trails/Passes: Pathways that animals, demi-humans or nomadic/outcast humanoids use to traverse through the mountains. These can be naturally formed passes, or they might have been created, but they always blend in well with the mountain. It can be used to more easily and quickly traverse mountains, identify safe paths to tread through, or just keep track of where one is by using it as a landmark.

Mountain Stability: How likely the mountain is to either shake, erupt, or otherwise have a sudden rockslide, mudslide, etc. based on the evidence of the state of the landmass on it, the weather in the area, and animal activity.

Cliff Analysis: Scanning the cliffside to identify the most stable, and the least stable sections of it. Loose stones can be noted, overhangs, and even how well it will hold up if struck with a fair amount of force.

Hidden Caves: Small, narrow, semi-buried, or otherwise not easily seen cave entrances that blend very well in with the mountainside that might house some beast or monster, or could work as shelter.

Grasslands

Wildfire Risk: The overall risk that a wildfire could suddenly start for a variety of reasons in the grasslands based on how dry everything is, the overall temperature, if certain plants are or aren't in the vicinity, the weather, etc.

Sinkholes: Rather unstable layers of landmass which could collapse into karst zones, or into small aquifers/springs. There's also the chance for quicksand-like boggy soil but it's rarely that.

Hiding Animals: Animals (not monstrosities or magical creatures) that use the tall grasses and burrows of the grasslands to blend in, hide their presence and appearance, and so forth.

Burrows: Small and shallow dug holes in the soil made by a variety of burrowing beasts (mammals, reptiles, insects, etc.), which could hide some dangerous animal that might leap out at the right moment. This includes the trapdoors of trapdoor spiders of the large variety.

Snowlands

Avalanche Chance: How likely a mountain or other such very large geological structure with snow buildup is to suddenly have an avalanche, and how great a shake, or how loud a shout is necessary to cause one.

Snow/Ice Stability: How likely snow is to fall off of an elevated area (like a branch), whether snow is too deep to walk through, if one will sink into snow, and whether or not a layer of ice is thick enough to walk across without it cracking, breaking or segmenting.

Hidden Caves: Small, narrow, semi-buried, or otherwise not easily seen cave entrances that blend very well in the snowlands that might house some beast or monster, or could work as shelter.

Hiding Animals: Animals (not monstrosities or magical creatures) that use the white snow to blend in, hide their presence and appearance, and so forth.

Deserts

Bearings/Changed Landscapes:

Quicksand:

Buried Water:

Buried Animals:

Swamplands

Water Depth:

Sinking Mud/Unstable Peat:

Spores/Gas:

Hiding Animals:

Underground

Cavern Stability:

Approximate Depth:

Spores/Gas:

Stone Traps:

Seas, Lakes & Rivers

Water Depth:

Current Strength/Shift:

Hidden Reefs:

Hiding Animals:

Cities

Suspicious Structures:

Structure Stability:

Secret Doors/Portals:

Hidden Symbols:

Spiritual

True-Aligned Beings:

Cursed/Blessed Grounds:

Passive True-Aligned Powers:

Possessed Creatures: