What is the purpose of Move Silently and when is it used.

Hide in Shadows is the skill used to determine if a character can hide in shadows, and I am confused as to what (if anything) move silently actually does.

Thoughts?

for example if you want to sneak in a room full of treasures and its full of dragons (well I know wery bad example) and since you probably dont wanna fight a room full of dragons just to get a treasure just sneak in a thief to try and get the treasure.

maybe moving if you're hidden? being hidden doesn't mean NPCs and monsters can't hear you but with moving silently the chance is less. at least that seems logical to me (and it's this way in 3rd but i haven't played SoA for some time now)

Move Silently is moving around avoiding anyone who is out of sight, but might hear you instead. Try making no sounds and stuff ;)

Hide in Shadows, IIRC, is the initial check if you make it. Move Silently, IIRC, is to check if you stay in the shadows.

So, does anyone know this for fact, or is it just speculation? Has anyone actually sat down and done some testing of Move Silently?

I seem to remember one of the 'gurus' saying a while ago that it's useless as the value used for that is just Hide in Shadows & Move Silently added together and divided by 2.

It helps the hide in shadow ability

Yes this is true. Hide Shadows determines if you will actually get in the shadows, but "MOVE SILENTLY" determines if you will STAY in the shadows.

2 Thieves, each with 100% Hide in Shadows.
One (Jethro) has 100% Move Silently.
The other (Bubba) has 0% Move Silently.

Both plan an attack where they try to Backstab an Umber Hulk. They attempt to Hide in Shadows; both succeed. They move in behind the Umber Hulk. Bubba takes a swing, but misses. Due to his poor MS score, he almost instantly becomes visible, and has to drink his only Potion of Invisibility to avoid becoming Umber Hulk Chow. Jethro, meanwhile, moves behind the Umber Hulk, takes a swing, and <u>also</u> misses. He has now left the Shadows, but due to his high MS score, he is not yet visible. He keeps attacking in the few seconds left to him, and finally connects his Backstab on the third swing. He now, however, has the same problem that Bubba had (a pissed-off Umber Hulk), and he solves it the same way.

Jethro and Bubba, being out of Invisibility Potions, decide that a second Backstab might kill the Umber Hulk--but then again, it might not. Being Thieves, they decide to prefer discretion over valor, and leave the Umber Hulk for the next party of adventurers to kill. Being Invisible, they mosey on past the Umber Hulk into the next room, which (typically enough for a dungeon) is filled with treasure. They happily fill their pockets, forgetting that opening a container or picking an item up off the ground will automatically cause them to become Visible once again. They will have to go Stealth again to get past the Umber Hulk again and reach the exit.

They both attempt to Hide in Shadows again, and again, both succeed. They walk on past, but Bubba's lousy MS score causes him to make some noise, and the Umber Hulk quickly turns and spots him. One Confusion later, Bubba is quickly no more. Jethro pauses for a repectful moment of silence for his slain companion, but during that time, he just happens to fail his Stealth check, and starts to Leave Shadows. Due to his high MS score, though, he is able to scuttle out the door before he becomes visible.