Jarvis on 11/10/2006 at 09:34
I've always been a sneak, even long before I ever heard of Thief. Granted, Thief and Thievery UT have had a shaping touch on my appraoch to stealth. Though the most signifigant source of insipiration and skills have been Tom Brown JR. and his wilderness survival and tracking school.
(
http://www.trackerschool.com/) http://www.trackerschool.com/
Through his books and classes I've learned natural camouflage techniques and stalking steps. Honestly, when it comes to blending to shadows Garrett is an unsurpassed master, but when it comes to silent movement he sucks. Ok so he's better at dropping from ledges silently than me, but I can move around more silently. Especially on tile.
Anyway, I reached a new milestone this past summer. I work at a boyscout camp every summer, and on one particular week end I helped organize a game of CTF. I wasn't particularly interested in the rules, I was just after the environment within which to test my skills. So I did my whole charcoal and mud get up, and set out to do my thing.
I took a rather round about flank to get to the opposing team's base. I know camp better than most since I've been there so many years, so I knew what areas to avoid and where the openings would be. However, when moving through the woods behind the dining hall I was surprised by two people coming up behind me.
They were on my team, I confirmed it later but at the time I was still pretty sure. As previously stated, I wasn't interested in the game so much as I wanted to push my skills, so I decided to remain hidden and shadow these two people.
As they appraoched, I layed flat in the scout crawl position. It's designed to be as flat as possible, hiding the high points on the human body. Of course, knowing my luck, the two people start to veer right towards me. Inwardly I cursed myself. Camp is a big place, I couldn't believe I was about to be stepped on given how far from the main action I was.
Yet still they came straight for me. I calmed my mind, let out a deep breath, and prepared myself to recieve a bit of pain. The first guy stubbed his toe on my hip, but managed to lunge forward to keep from falling over. Fortunately that put him over me. He turned to his partner and whispered a warning that he had just stepped on something, so his friend should step carefully.
Well the second didn't do so well either, and stepped on my thigh. He didn't commit much wieght to it, and upon feeling some roundish and soft he lifted his foot and stepped well over me.
I had my head turned to watch their appraoch, so with them so close and now on the other side of me, I was too afraid to move my head to watch them depart. They didn't say anything else to each other, and I heard them walk off. It took me a few minutes before I was willing to risk movement, mostly because I was in disbelief as to what just happened. When I did look they were completely gone.
I accomplished some other good stuff that night, but that was by far and away my crowning achievement in stealth to date. After the game I heard two guys talking about how they flanked around the dining hall, so I proclaimed "you stepped on me!"
They thought for a moment, confused, until their faces shone with understanding. They had both thought I was a half-rotten log in the darkness.
Any other great stories like this floating around?
dlw6 on 11/10/2006 at 10:25
During Army training back in 1987 I got stepped on by an instructor who was a Ranger. Those guys have all kinds of special training so you'd think he'd have known I was there somehow, but it was dark and I wasn't moving. He didn't know I was there until I moved. I probably startled him a bit, not that he admitted it. Moving silently in the woods is tough. In the city, on the other hand, I sneak up on people without meaning to do so.
My night vision is very good, and I am observant, which are two important sneaking skills. I was known in some places for being able to recognize people in the dark, at a distance, before they said anything. Nobody realized that I recognized not the face but the way they walked or moved.
We need an FM where Garrett steals some of that mechanist non-slip carpet, gets some shoes made from them, and returns to First City Bank so he can run silently on tile floors.
Don
cradle_curdled on 11/10/2006 at 18:20
Quote Posted by dlw6
We need an FM where Garrett steals some of that mechanist non-slip carpet, gets some shoes made from them, and returns to First City Bank so he can run silently on tile floors.
Nah...real men wear stylish shoes, and manage to sneak anyway. Plus, moss arrows are too cool.
Scytale on 12/10/2006 at 01:32
Based on the sound Garrett makes in TDP/TMA, I'd say he's wearing high heels. Either that, or clogs. Made of iron. How else do you explain the sounds he makes on tile and metal surfaces?
