Lightfooted Skill

Lightfooted

Class	Skills
Type	Skill
Skill Group	Physical
Max Level	10
Total XP	32,775
Best Occupation	Burglar (+2)

The Lightfooted Skill governs how quietly a character walks. It lowers the noise of footsteps whether the character is running, walking or crouching. It belongs to the Physical group.

Noise draws zombies, and every footstep makes a little of it. A quiet walker can pass a group without turning heads and can slip through a house without waking the dead inside. The skill stacks with Nimble, which also reduces footstep noise. It also helps while sneaking, because zombies become more likely to ignore a footstep entirely. The Burglar starts with the most Lightfooted skill. The Nurse and Security Guard each start with a smaller head start, and the Gymnast trait adds one level.

How to Level Lightfooted

Lightfooted experience comes from sneaking near zombies without being spotted. The more zombies nearby, the more experience each moment gives.

That makes a crowd the best training ground. Drawing zombies together with a noise maker such as an alarm clock sets up a strong session. Crouching and creeping around the edge of the group keeps the experience flowing.

The experience keeps coming in the combat stance, as long as the character was crouching first.

The tape Grady v King gives a little experience. Watching only pays off in the first three levels, unless experience spills over from a level-up.

The Fast Learner trait raises the experience rate to 130 percent. The Slow Learner trait lowers it to 70 percent.

Lightfooted and Sneaking train from the same kind of activity. Creeping near zombies that have not noticed the character feeds both skills at once. A single careful session therefore raises two stealth skills together.

Safety matters more than speed in these sessions. A crowd drawn by an alarm clock is dangerous if it turns. Keep an escape route open, stay at the edge of the group and back away the moment a zombie looks over. A slow, steady session beats a quick one that ends in a chase.

The XP each Lightfooted level asks for, with the running total from level 0.

Level	XP Needed	Total XP
1	75	75
2	150	225
3	300	525
4	750	1,275
5	1,500	2,775
6	3,000	5,775
7	4,500	10,275
8	6,000	16,275
9	7,500	23,775
10	9,000	32,775

Lightfooted Level Effects

Each level shrinks the radius in which footsteps can be heard. That applies to every kind of movement, from sprinting to crouching.

The skill also raises the chance that zombies ignore a footstep while the character sneaks. At high levels, a sneaking character can pass close to zombies with little risk.

The effect stacks with Nimble. A character with both skills high moves very quietly in every stance.

Outside of sneaking, zombies have an even chance to hear a footstep within range. Lightfooted cuts that range, so fewer zombies hear anything at all.

The skill only covers footsteps. Doors, gunfire and vehicles still make their full noise. Zombies can also still see the character. Quiet feet work best when paired with other careful habits.

Light also gives a character away. A flashlight or a lit window draws attention at night far more than footsteps do. Approaching zombies from the side or behind keeps the character out of their sight. Lightfooted then keeps the approach quiet as well.

Two traits shape movement noise too. Graceful makes the character quieter while moving, and Clumsy makes the character louder. The two cannot be taken together.

Lightfooted Starting Levels

The Burglar begins with two levels of Lightfooted. The Nurse and Security Guard each begin with one level. The Gymnast trait adds one level at character creation.

A quiet start makes early looting safer. Houses and stores can be cleared with fewer surprise visitors.

The Burglar is the strongest stealth start. It brings Lightfooted, Nimble and Sneaking together, so every part of quiet movement starts higher. The Gymnast trait adds a level to both Lightfooted and Nimble, which suits the same style.

These occupations and traits start a character with levels in Lightfooted.