in octavianus' stealth levels, the player must use stealth to navigate various locations in rome. octavianus cannot kill enemies, he can only knock them out by hitting them from behind with objects such as vases, choking them with ropes or placing banana peels in front of them. once he has done so, he often has to drag their body into hiding to make sure other enemies don't find it. other ways to avoid enemies are by hiding in large pots, or by stealing clothes and impersonating guards or other people. during these levels, there is an alert gauge which appears when octavianus is spotted by an enemy. the gauge gradually empties over time if he is out of sight, and once it is completely empty, enemies stop looking for him. octavianus can also distract enemies by throwing items such as stones and by whistling. even if octavianus is disguised, enemies can become suspicious of him if he does anything unusual, such as running, standing still for no reason, or trying to open locked doors. often, enemies will stop him and question him. the player will be presented with a series of choices to try to assuage the guards' suspicions. if the player picks the wrong answer, octavianus' disguise will fail, and he will be killed. octavianus is also able to listen to conversations in locked rooms by peeking through keyholes. during levels where he must follow someone, he has a "tail gauge." when the person he is following is out of his sight, the gauge starts to empty, and when it is fully depleted he is adjudged to have lost the person he was tailing and the game is over.