I'm quite happy leaving most of the rulings to the DM.
There's just a few areas where some additional clarification would be good, especially when it comes to Organised Play.
Stealth and Hiding being the big issues. The rules make a lot, lot more sense when you hear Mike Mearls talking about how they should work and leaving things up to the DM to cover those cases that writing comprehensive rules wouldn't really work for, but they aren't expressed that way in the PHB. Instead, they read like a set of hard-and-fast rules with bits missing.
So, clarification of that sort of stuff in the DMG would be appreciated.
Cheers!
I personally find the rules for stealth to be the exact level of precise. You need some level of obscurity, low level for skulkers/wood elves, a medium person for lightfoot halflings, and heavy obscurity for the rest.
Wood Elf :
"
Mask o f the Wild. You can attempt to hide even when
you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain,
falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena.
" - I'm guessing this DOES NOT include low light alone. but behind a tree would be sufficient.
In terms of what Mike refers to, giving disadvantage, I personally only feel that applies when there is only low level. If the creature/target saw you when you fired, then yes, they are going to know if you pop behind the same tree, you aren't hidden. However, if you pop behind a different tree/object... maybe. Giving a DM rule to control this makes perfect sense.
If a creature keeps hitting you when they are in darkness(heavy obscurity) with darkvision, and you are 100 feet away with a torch and can't see them. They should always have advantage with a successful hide. Heck as a DM I would always give them advantage due to not being seen on obscurity alone (no check needed).
The fuzziness I feel really isn't there, between dim light causing low level of obscurity.
"
Unseen Attackers and Targets
Combatants often try to escape their foes’ notice
by hiding, casting the invisibility spell, or lurking
in darkness.
When you attack a target that you can’t see, you have
disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether
you’re guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting
a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in
the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but
the DM typically just says that the attack missed, not
whether you guessed the target’s location correctly.
When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on
attack rolls against it.
If you are hidden—both unseen and unheard—when
you make an attack, you give away your location when
the attack hits or misses.
"
"
The most fundamental tasks of adventuring—noticing
danger, finding hidden objects, hitting an enemy in
combat, and targeting a spell, to name just a few—
rely heavily on a character’s ability to see. Darkness
and other effects that obscure vision can prove a
significant hindrance.
A given area might be lightly or heavily obscured. In
a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog,
or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on
Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
A heavily obscured area—such as darkness, opaque
fog, or dense foliage—blocks vision entirely. A creature
in a heavily obscured area effectively suffers from the
blinded condition (see appendix A).
The presence or absence of light in an environment
creates three categories of illumination: bright light, dim
light, and darkness.
Bright light lets most creatures see normally. Even
gloomy days provide bright light, as do torches, lanterns,
fires, and other sources of illumination within a
specific radius.
Dim light, also called shadows, creates a lightly
obscured area. An area of dim light is usually a
boundary between a source of bright light, such as
a torch, and surrounding darkness. The soft light
of twilight and dawn also counts as dim light. A
particularly brilliant full moon might bathe the land
in dim light.
Darkness creates a heavily obscured area. Characters
face darkness outdoors at night (even most moonlit
nights), within the confines of an unlit dungeon or a
subterranean vault, or in an area of magical darkness.
"
"
Hiding
When you try to hide, make a Dexterity (Stealth) check. Until
you are discovered or you stop hiding, that check’s total is
contested by the Wisdom (Perception) check of any creature
that actively searches for signs of your presence.
You can’t hide from a creature that can see you, and if you
make noise (such as shouting a warning or knocking over a
vase), you give away your position. An invisible creature can’t
be seen, so it can always try to hide. Signs of its passage
might still be noticed, however, and it still has to stay quiet.
In combat, most creatures stay alert for signs of danger
all around, so if you come out of hiding and approach
a creature, it usually sees you. However, under certain
circumstances, the Dungeon Master might allow you to stay
hidden as you approach a creature that is distracted, allowing
you to gain advantage on an attack before you are seen.
Passive Perception. When you hide, there’s a chance
someone will notice you even if they aren’t searching. To
determine whether such a creature notices you, the DM
compares your Dexterity (Stealth) check with that creature’s
passive Wisdom (Perception) score, which equals 10 + the
creature’s Wisdom modifier, as well as any other bonuses
or penalties. If the creature has advantage, add 5. For
disadvantage, subtract 5.
For example, if a 1st-level character (with a proficiency
bonus of +2) has a Wisdom of 15 (a +2 modifier) and
proficiency in Perception, he or she has a passive Wisdom
(Perception) of 14.
What Can You See? One of the main factors in determining
whether you can find a hidden creature or object is how well
you can see in an area, which might be lightly or heavily
obscured, as explained in chapter 8
"
All from Player Basic Rules.