“The oldest trick in the book isn't a lie. It's a distraction. A lie requires them to trust you; a diversion just requires them to have eyes.”
— Aris 'Glitch' Thorne, Azure Archivist defector
In the chaotic sprawl of the Starfall Galaxy, where attention is a currency as valuable as the Yom, the ability to control where people look is often the difference between a successful heist and a summary execution. Whether it's a jury-rigged smoke canister tossed into a crowded bazaar, a hacked billboard suddenly blaring "FREE CREDITS," or simply a well-timed shout about a Rift-breach, creating a diversion is the scoundrel’s exit strategy.
For the Ebon Syndicate, it’s a business expense—chaos covers the movement of illicit goods. For the Crimson Concord, it’s an art form, a way to turn a battlefield into a stage where the enemy is always looking at the wrong thing. Even the Chronologists respect the diversion, seeing it as a momentary manipulation of the timeline’s focus.
Create a Diversion Untrained
Source Player Core pg. 198
(one action)
With a gesture, a trick, or some distracting words, you can create a diversion that draws creatures' attention elsewhere. If you use a gesture or trick, this action gains the manipulate trait. If you use distracting words, it gains the auditory and linguistic traits.
Attempt a single Deception check and compare it to the Perception DCs of the creatures whose attention you're trying to divert. Whether or not you succeed, creatures you attempt to divert gain a +4 circumstance bonus to their Perception DCs against your attempts to Create a Diversion for 1 minute.
Success You become hidden to each creature whose Perception DC is less than or equal to your result. (The hidden condition allows you to Sneak away.) This lasts until the end of your turn or until you do anything except Step or use the Stealth skill to Hide or Sneak. If you Strike a creature, the creature remains off-guard against that attack, and you then become observed. If you do anything else, you become observed just before you act unless the GM determines otherwise.
Failure You don't divert the attention of any creatures whose Perception DC exceeds your result, and those creatures are aware you were trying to trick them.
The Cost of Repetition
The galaxy isn't stupid. Whether you succeed or fail, any creature you attempt to divert gains a +4 circumstance bonus to their Perception DCs against your attempts to Create a Diversion for 1 minute. You can’t keep pointing at the ceiling and yelling "Gullible!" forever.
Strategic Uses
The Vanishing Act: This is the primary combat entry for the Sneak action. If you are out in the open and need to disappear, you Create a Diversion to break observation (becoming Hidden), then use your remaining actions to Sneak into actual cover.
Tech-Assisted Diversions: In Starfall, "gesturing" can include remote-activating a drone, overloading a nearby steam pipe, or hacking a light fixture. Players are encouraged to describe how their gear aids the diversion.
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