I pretty much sneak through every dungeon, run, fort, etc. So my sneak skill usually levels higher than any other skill. Right now its a 58. But as I become more proficient with it, I am beginning to wonder, does it just work too well making the game unrealistic?

I intentionally only take on of the Stealth perks so I've only got a 20% bonus on my sneak. I will not take another one. However, I did take muffled movement because I thought that would allow me to sneak in heavy armor. And it does. The "problem" not is that often times guards are complete morons. I can be crouched right in front of them in a fairly well-lit area and they won't see me. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't taken muffled movement. Is this the reason that guards are so oblivious?

I have 100 on sneak yet I have to keep in shadows because in plainly lit rooms I'm still seen if looked directly.

Especially true outdoors.

also that first thieves guild quest? the bandit guards are morons. They could hear me but they would get up, walk over and look at me... then say "must have been my imAAAAAAAgination!"

Take a look at the guards helmet. Do you reckon you could see out of one of those things??

Not really. Sneaking is just really overpowered to begin with.

Ha. Well, when someone is standing right smack-dab in front of me, yes. Especially if I bump into them. I might just notice them.

Sneaking is overpowered, To the poster who has 100 sneak, Your being seen because its a bug, Any bonus equipment or even the first 20% perk bugs your sneak so that it rolls over level 100 and starts over from level 1 again. Otherwise sneak is way too overpowered.

well... why do you think sneaking is so popular? it's because sneaking is overpowered.

This should be addressed by difficulty level. The higher the difficulty level, the more aware enemies are.

And Sage Aldaris, so you're saying if you have 100 sneak, and you have the 20% stealth perk, your sneak goes back to 20?

Otherwise I'm completely silent when not directly seen. Wierd.

I love sneaking past Falmer and laughing at the blond [censored]. I hate it when they walk straight into you though and you get killed by a gloomstalker or whatever they are called.

I'm adding this to my list of self-imposed, house rules. If an NPC bumps into me to the point where I actually move, I have to stand up.

Please don't say that it is 'overpowered' YOU ARE SNEAKING, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SEEN. There is nothing OP about it.

If you're in a position where NPCs are bumping into you, clearly you're not that good of a sneak anyway.

That's my point. If I get myself into a position, NPCs should not be complete morons.

if your sneak is 100 and you have fortify sneak by 47% on boots, gauntlets, ring and necklace then no matter what you do or where you stand you will never be detected.

Does anyone know if different NPCs have different levels of awareness? Like the Falmer, are they easier to sneak by than, say a sabre cat?

Yeah man all NPCs creatures have different awareness. For example standard bandit, you could jump up and down on his head (not literally) and he'd be docile, however, a bandit chief is a different matter.

Being blind, Light doesn't play a factor when sneaking around Falmer. However, Falmer are more likely to hear you. So they'll hear somebody in heavy armor in, for an example, 30 meters away, while a sabrecat might hear them from 15 meters away. However, a sabrecat will see you in the light, whereas Falmer won't.

I have the muffled movement perk, which I kind of wish I didn't take now that makes noise from armor 50% reduced. I wonder if this also affects light armor, in terms of sneaking.

I guess really muffled movement only reduces noise. It doesn't have anything to do with where you are positioned and whether or not an enemy can see you.

predators grace is a cool pair of boots.

Yeah sneak is overpowered. But its so amusing to sneak right in front of somebody. I kill a bandit in sneak mode, in front of his buddies and they run around trying to find me and I'm like right there in chaos. Its funny actually.

Its funny the first time, but it gets old. It completely unrealistic.

I've always thought that sneaking past something in the wilderness at 30 yards should be a little easier, with all the ambient noise and such, and sneaking through a room RIGHT BEHIND SOMEONE should be a little harder.

Very wierd.