This came up in this thread https://forum.corvusbelli.com/threads/nco-and-lt.38724/page-4#post-384280 . It's a separate question from the original thread and warrants its own thread. The Stealth skill is Automatic and Optional. In the other thread, @ijw says that the rules say that when a skill is automatic and optional, the skill is always on unless the player says otherwise. I've tried to find the rule he's referring to, and all I can find is the definition of "Optional" in the Glossary, which says "the use of this Special Skill or Equipment is optional and can be waived." I guess the word "waived" implies that the skill is used by default unless you waive it. So, this is my question. I have a trooper in camo marker state. My opponent doesn't know whether the trooper has Stealth. I know that the trooper doesn't have Stealth. I declare Move and move the trooper. What if anything do I declare regarding Stealth? A) Since the trooper does not have Stealth, I don't have any automatic skill that needs to be waived, so I declare nothing. My opponent does not know whether I have used Stealth (since from their perspective the trooper might have Stealth, in which case my silence would mean that I had not waived Stealth and was therefore using it). B) Since the trooper might have Stealth, I am required to declare that I am not using Stealth. My opponent will have to remember that this might not mean that the trooper actually has the Stealth skill.
This strongly implies that you need to announce the use of the skill even though it's covered by Private Information.
Earlier in the other thread, we also have this post from @ijw : https://forum.corvusbelli.com/threads/nco-and-lt.38724/page-2#post-383544 This seems to say that in marker state, you're not using Stealth unless you declare it. The only way I can see to reconcile @ijw 's two posts is this: If a unit has an automatic optional skill which is visible to the opponent, then the skill is used by default unless the player declares they are waiving it. However, if a unit has an automatic optional skill which is not visible to the opponent, then the skill is not used unless the player declares they are using it.
https://infinitythewiki.com/Skills_and_Equipment_in_Infinity Sibylla's Advice A good player lets their adversary know when they don’t use one of the Special Skills with the Optional Label. To expedite the match, both players may consider that these Optional Special Skills are always applied, unless otherwise stated.
Thank you for the rules reference. Am I right that the correct way to play camo markers is that they don't use Stealth unless it's declared? That would seem to be consistent with Sibylla's advice, since it wouldn't expedite the match to have to declare non-Stealth every time a camo marker moved, even if the camo'd trooper didn't have the Stealth Skill.
Announcing the non-use of an open information skill is all well and good, but still need a system to handle how to handle skills that the opponent can not verify. Stealth is of course the one that's causing the issue, but some rare few like absence of Number 2 use when for example a Hafza pretends to be a Muyib is also a bit of an issue. I think this is basically what military intelligence calls "negative space reveal" or something similar I.e. a Hafza doesn't have Tactical Awareness even if they pretend to be a Muyib with such and a Tian Gou doesn't have Stealth even if they pretend to be a Hulang and a Sphinx doesn't have Stealth while there is another trooper in the same army that can hide as a Camouflage Mimetism -6 Marker as well... --- An interesting point in this, btw, as I parse through the Special Skills section is that most Optional and Automatic Skills other than Stealth and Sixth Sense are not of the nature that you can assume them to be used. Courage requires an active decision to use it, Regeneration is "if the player decides to use it", Specialist Operative is funnily enough an Optional skill which has some potentially funny interpretation issue with certain ITS missions, Super-Jump requires some specific skill declarations to use, etc This leaves a few (not an exhaustive list!): NCO - it seems spending orders through NCO can be done "silently" because of this assumptive play Veteran - it can be assumed that veteran will be used and that failing to generate a Regular Order, for instance, is an oversight unless the player specifically forgoes it. Tactical Awareness - same as above, not generating the order can be assumed to be an error that should be corrected Strategos - it seems this can be activated "silently" because of this assumptive play Number 2 - again, failing to migrate the team leadership if the leader dies can be assumed to be an error and should be corrected when noted. Generally speaking it seems that assumption advice was written with Stealth in mind, but not considering how it would clash with Holomask (and a few rare Camouflage units - or just an opponent who doesn't know all units abilities enough to act informed)
