Sound-Based Distraction Abilities

1. Summary

Sound-based distraction abilities let the player create controlled noise events that alter eligible guards' attention, facing, and movement without directly harming them. The system includes reusable thrown sounds, position-centered lures, pickup-gated thrown bait, and persistent companion noise, each with different targeting, reuse, and reaction constraints. These abilities convert enemy hearing into a tactical resource for opening patrol gaps, isolating targets, or setting up coordinated stealth actions.

2. Tags

advanceddocumented

3. Design Intent / Job Story

When a guard's position, patrol, or facing direction blocks a stealth route, I want to create a controlled sound at a chosen location, so that I can pull attention away from the route or isolate a target for a coordinated follow-up.

4. Role in Gameplay Loop

Provides the main non-lethal attention-redirection layer inside stealth encounters
Turns enemy hearing radius into a planning tool for moving, bypassing, or isolating guards
Supports combo play with traps, melee takedowns, body hiding, and Shadow Mode timing
Differentiates ability loadouts through distinct reuse models: cooldown, exposed user position, physical pickup, or persistent companion toggle
Creates risk-reward decisions because the same sound can attract unintended guards or expose the user if they remain visible

5. Preconditions

A mission is active and at least one character with a sound-based distraction ability is available
The selected distraction ability is unlocked and not blocked by cooldown, missing item, or owner/companion state
The target point is within the ability's valid targeting range or command radius
The target point is traversable or otherwise valid for the specific sound source
At least one enemy is close enough to hear or observe the sound if a lure effect is desired
The acting character or companion is not in an action-blocking state such as climbing, swimming, carrying a body, incapacitated, or already executing another command

6. Parameters

Parameter	Value	Type	Notes
Ability slot	D observed	input binding	Sound-based distraction tools are observed in the character ability row's D slot for the cited loadouts.
Targeting radius display	Blue circle	visual	Preview area showing which nearby enemies are expected to hear or react to the sound.
Thrown arc	Arc over cover	trajectory	Used by thrown sound sources to place noise behind or beyond obstacles.
Cooldown reuse	Short / TBD exact	duration	Recovery model for reusable thrown sound without physical retrieval.
Pickup reuse requirement	True for pickup-gated bait	boolean	Ability remains unavailable until the thrown item is recovered.
User-centered lure risk	True	boolean	Lure originates from the acting character's position and can expose them if they do not hide.
Persistent distraction toggle	Off / On	boolean	Companion noise can continue until stopped or until guards lose interest.
Guard investigation duration	Temporary / TBD exact	duration	Time guards spend investigating or watching before returning to prior behavior.
Eligible enemy filter	Normal / special-case by enemy type	enum	Determines which enemies respond to standard sound distractions.
Patrol group response	Group may move together	behavior	Patrol members can react together to a bait event rather than splitting cleanly.
Environmental trigger target	Animal / other valid sound-reactive object	enum	Some thrown sound hits can trigger additional environmental reactions such as animal kicks.

7. Core Rules

Activating a sound-based distraction creates a noise event at the ability's target position or at the user's current position, depending on the ability type.
Eligible enemies inside the sound's effective hearing or observation area interrupt their current behavior and investigate, turn toward, or move toward the source.
A visible targeting radius communicates which enemies are expected to hear the sound before the player commits the action.
Thrown sound sources can arc over cover and land at selected ground positions, enabling lures around obstacles.
Cooldown-based sound sources become reusable after a short recovery period without requiring item pickup.
Pickup-gated thrown bait remains unavailable after use until the physical item is recovered from the world.
User-centered whistle-style lures draw guards toward the user position, so the acting character must be hidden or able to escape before responders arrive.
Persistent companion noise continues attracting or holding attention until the player stops it or guards lose interest.
Some bait responses depend on line of sight or enemy noticing the lure object rather than only hearing a radius.
Patrol groups can react as a unit when the distraction affects one member of the patrol.
Certain enemy types may ignore standard sound distractions according to enemy hierarchy rules.
After investigation or interest ends, enemies return to prior posts, patrols, or facing behavior unless another detection, alarm, or combat event interrupts them.
Sound distractions do not suspend normal vision-cone detection; characters moving through the opening can still be seen by other guards.

8. BDD Scenarios

Scenario: Throw sound to pull a guard from a post

Given: an eligible guard is holding a position near a blocked route
When: the player targets the sound source behind or beside the guard
Then: the guard interrupts their current behavior and investigates the noise location
And: a thrown sound source can land inside the guard's hearing range
And: the route has a temporary opening while normal vision detection still applies

Scenario: User-centered whistle lure requires hiding

Given: an eligible guard is within the whistle's audible radius
When: the player activates the whistle
Then: the guard moves toward the acting character's position
And: the acting character is visible at the lure position
And: the acting character risks detection unless they hide or leave before the guard arrives

Scenario: Pickup-gated bait blocks reuse

Given: a thrown bait item has been used
When: the player tries to use the bait ability again before retrieving it
Then: the ability does not activate
And: the item is lying at its landing position
And: the item must be picked up before the ability becomes available again

Scenario: Companion holds attention with persistent noise

Given: the companion is positioned at a valid point inside the owner's command radius
When: the player toggles the companion's active noise state
Then: eligible guards who hear the companion approach and watch
And: the distraction continues until stopped or until the guards lose interest

Scenario: Enemy ignores standard distraction

Given: an enemy type is configured to ignore standard sound lures
When: the player creates a standard sound within that enemy's hearing area
Then: that enemy continues its current behavior
And: the player must use another tactic to change its position

Scenario: Sound lure attracts unintended guards

Given: multiple eligible guards are inside the targeting radius
When: the player activates the sound distraction
Then: every affected guard reacts according to its AI rules
And: the extra movement may create new vision-cone coverage or block the planned route

9. Edge Cases

No eligible enemy is within the sound radius, so the ability plays but does not change enemy behavior
The lure attracts more enemies than intended and blocks the player's escape route
The acting character remains visible at a user-centered sound source and is detected as guards approach
A patrol group reacts together instead of isolating a single guard
A high-tier enemy ignores the standard sound lure, leaving the route covered
A pickup-gated lure object lands in a dangerous or unreachable place and cannot be reused safely
A guard starts investigating the sound, then detects a body, footprint, or character and escalates to alarm
Multiple simultaneous sounds compete for the same guard's attention; AI should resolve to one investigation target
Persistent companion noise is stopped while guards are en route or watching, causing them to resume normal behavior according to AI rules
A thrown sound interacts with environmental targets such as animals, producing an additional environmental reaction

10. QA Notes

Verify each sound ability displays the correct targeting radius, range, or command radius before activation
Verify enemies inside the effective sound area react and enemies outside it do not
Verify cooldown-based reuse becomes available again after the expected recovery window
Verify pickup-gated bait cannot be reused until the item is physically recovered
Verify user-centered lures can expose the acting character if they remain in line of sight or reachable proximity
Verify patrol groups react consistently when one member is lured
Verify ignored enemy types continue their current behavior when affected by standard distractions
Verify persistent companion distraction starts, holds attention, stops manually, and releases guards cleanly
Verify enemy return behavior restores prior patrol or post after investigation ends
Verify sound distractions do not disable normal visual detection by unrelated guards
Verify environmental sound interactions such as animal kicks trigger only from valid target hits

11. Mechanic Dependencies

Stealth Detection System (The mechanic relies on the Stealth Detection System's auditory layer: noise radii cause guards to investigate while vision cones still determine whether characters are seen during the opening.)
Character Ability System (Sound-based distraction abilities are a character ability category and depend on the Character Ability System for ownership, availability, targeting, cooldown, and execution state.)
Enemy Type Hierarchy (Enemy type rules determine which enemies respond to or ignore standard sound distractions and whether a lure can safely reposition a guard.)
Four-Slot Ability Binding Framework (The observed distraction tools are exposed through the four-slot ability binding framework, especially the character-specific D-slot command position.)
Companion Command System (Persistent companion noise is a specialized sound-distraction implementation that uses companion positioning and a toggle state rather than a one-shot thrown or user-centered sound.)

12. UI Links

Ability Command Bar - The Ability Command Bar exposes distraction abilities as character ability icons with hotkey labels, availability state, and targeting activation.
Enemy Vision Cones - Enemy Vision Cones remain active while guards react to sound, making it visible whether the distraction has opened or created dangerous sight coverage.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun