Disguise
Full rules text, use cases, and edge-case handling for this skill.
Description
Disguise lets you change your appearance — altering your face, posture, clothing, and manner to pass as someone else or simply to look different enough to avoid recognition. A successful disguise lets you move through hostile territory, infiltrate organizations, or escape pursuit.
Check
Creating a disguise takes 1d3 × 10 minutes. Your Disguise check result is compared against any observer's Perception check (not opposed — the Disguise check is made once and then any number of observers may check against it).
Disguise Modifiers
| Disguise | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Minor change (different clothes, hat) | +5 |
| Same gender, same race | +0 |
| Different gender (same race) | –2 |
| Different race (same size category) | –2 |
| Different size category | –10 |
| Disguising as a specific individual (known to observers) | –10 |
| Using a disguise kit | +2 |
Observer Scrutiny
| Observer's Familiarity with Target | Modifier to Perception |
|---|---|
| Recognizes only on sight | –4 |
| Friend or associate | +4 |
| Close friend | +8 |
| Intimate (spouse, twin) | +16 |
If an observer beats your Disguise result with their Perception check, they see through the disguise and recognize you (or recognize that you are disguised, even if they cannot identify you).
Action
Creating a full disguise takes 1d3 × 10 minutes. A disguise self spell reduces this to a standard action (the spell does the disguising for you).
Try Again
Generally no — once a disguise is seen through by an observer, that observer is not fooled again by the same disguise. You may prepare an entirely new disguise and try again with that, taking the full preparation time.
Special
- Disguise kit: Grants +2 on Disguise checks. A kit has 10 uses; after that, you get no bonus but can still attempt disguises.
- Bluff synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you gain +2 on Disguise checks when impersonating a specific individual.
- Disguise Self (spell): Grants a +10 bonus on Disguise checks but does not change your actual physical form — observers who touch you (or use see invisibility etc.) immediately see through it.
- Alter Self / Polymorph: These spells actually change your body, granting +10 on Disguise checks and more reliably fooling physical inspection.
- Master of Disguise archetype: Some rogue archetypes increase the bonus from disguise kits and reduce preparation time significantly.
- Rogue: Disguise is a class skill; many infiltration-focused rogues invest heavily in it.
Untrained
Yes. Any character can attempt a disguise, though without ranks and a disguise kit the results are often unconvincing. Casual observers may be fooled; close acquaintances of the target almost never are.