Rules Updates: Surprise, and Negative Energy Fortitude

The skill Negative Energy Fortitude has been revised as follows:

This skill offers the character a degree of protection from the attacks of Negative Energy beings. The character must concentrate for five seconds before using this skill, which can be the same five seconds of concentration required to charge the skill Positive Energy Concentration, if the character wishes. When active, this skill grants the character a soak of five against all attacks from Negative Energy beings. In addition, the character is immune to all innate claw or bite effects that the being might possess, such as a paralyzing strike or the ability to inflict Direct Body damage. These protections have a duration of ten minutes.

The rules for Surprise have been updated, as follows:

A character can make a surprise attack if she has not been directly acting in combat for at least one minute prior to making the attack. A character is considered to be directly acting in combat if she makes an attack other than a surprise attack or if she is struck by or defends against the attack of another by any means.

As a note - this allows you to call multiple waylays on a single victim, provided you are not hit by someone before you get them all out or you use another non-surprise attack.  The important thing to note here is that using ANY tag skill on a target (conscious or otherwise)  uses up the skill, unless it is actively blocked by a weapon or shield.  (i.e. - if you blow 4 waylays on a victim, you used all 4 uses, even if she goes down with the first one.)

Re: Surprise

I can chain my surprise attacks if I can get them off fast enough, but does this still knock someone out of a hiding skill or spell?

If I defend against it, and turn, seeing the target as they reach for another surprise attack, can they?

If they go into hiding, you cannot attack them.  They would need to defend against any attacks that landed before they hid within 5 seconds, but once they are in hiding, you can't keep attacking them.  (This is no different than non-surprise attacks, such as break limb or even normal damage.)

If you defend, and do not attack, they still have Surprise.  They're not in combat until you attack them (and hit, or cause them to defend - A miss on your part doesn't put them in combat).  In other words, don't ignore a rogue that just hit you from behind - deal with him.  Turning so your back is not facing him is usually a good start...

But if one is invisible, does any kind of attack, they still drop out of invisibility, right?

Ah, yes - if you're invisible, as soon as you perform any attack - surprise or not - it drops.  (I thought if the target called it in the middle of a flurry of attacks.)

Would the Negative Energy Soak stack with those offered by:

1 - armor
2- Prayer (Holy Vestments)
3- Ceremony (Divine Vestments)