3e SRD:Disguise Skill

This material is published under the OGL

Disguise (Cha)

The effort requires at least a few props, some makeup, and 1d3 X 10 minutes of work. The use of a disguise kit provides a +2 circumstance bonus to a Disguise check. A disguise can include an apparent change of height or weight of no more than one-tenth the original.

The character can also impersonate people, either individuals or types, so that, for example, the character might, with little or no actual disguise, make the character seem like a traveler even if the character is a local.

Check

The character's Disguise check result determines how good the disguise is, and it is opposed by others' Spot check results. Make one Disguise check even if several people make Spot checks. The DM makes the character's Disguise check secretly so that the character is not sure how good it is.

If the character doesn't draw any attention to him or herself, however, others do not get to make Spot checks. If the character comes to the attention of people who are suspicious (such as a guard who is watching commoners walking through a city gate), the DM can assume that such observers are taking 10 on their Spot checks.

The effectiveness of the character's disguise depends in part on how much the character is attempting to change his or her appearance:

Disguise	Modifier
Minor details only	+5
Disguised as different sex	-2
Disguised as different race	-2
Disguised as different age category	-2*
Disguised as specific class	-2
*Per step of difference between character's actual age category and disguised age category (young [younger than adulthood], adulthood, middle age, old, venerable).

If the character is impersonating a particular individual, those who know what that person looks like get a bonus on their Spot checks (and are automatically considered to be suspicious of the character, so opposed checks are always invoked).

Table:Familiarity

Familiarity	Bonus
Recognizes on sight	+4
Friends or associates	+6
Close friends	+8
Intimate	+10

Usually, an individual makes a check for detection immediately upon meeting the character and each hour thereafter. If the character casually meet many different creatures, each for a short time, check once per day or hour, using an average Spot bonus for the group. For example, if a character is trying to pass for a merchant at a bazaar, the DM can make one Spot check per hour for the people she encounters using a +1 bonus on the check to represent the average of the crowd (most people with no Spot ranks and a few with good Spot skills).

Retry

A character may try to redo a failed disguise, but once others know that a disguise was attempted they'll be more suspicious.

Special

If the character has 5 or more ranks of Bluff, the character gets a +2 synergy bonus on Disguise checks when the character knows that the character is being observed and the character tries to act in character.

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