D&D 5E Stealth Checks - How do you handle them?

[RealmSmith]

How does everyone handle stealth checks? Do you let the players know right away that they failed or keep it to yourself until they get found out. Always feels a little weird to say, "You feel like you're not quite moving so quietly as you hoped." Thoughts?

 

[Caliban]

The group I play with and run for, the DM generally says "you think you are sufficiently hidden" and the player doesn't know for sure. The character always thinks they are hiding to the best of their ability, barring rolling a 1 and the DM telling you that you stepped on a twig or something obvious.

After all, it's not just about your stealth check - distance and visibility plus other factors that you aren't aware of may adjust your stealth roll or their perception roll.

 

[DEFCON 1]

There are two situations we're talking about there... 1) The party moving stealthily across the dungeon/landscape just to avoid notice in general... and 2) The party moving stealthily around an obvious target they see that could possibly hear/see them and who they want to avoid.

For 1) it's easy... the party makes Dexterity (Stealth) checks... I use whatever "Group Stealth" modifiers to all the rolls as I see fit... and the party is told they're moving as silently as they can. Whether or not they get noticed depends on whatever is out there they eventually run into, and whether they have a Passive Perception higher than the group's or any individual's check. Or if someone out there is actually "on guard" looking for threats, then I let that creature also make an Active Perception check if their Passive one didn't have them notice the group.

For 2) it's pretty much the same thing. Individuals make Dexterity (Stealth) checks and I then internal decide whether I'm taking each checks separately or combining them in whatever "Group check" formula I'm going with. It is then compared to the Passive and/or Active Perception check of the target to be avoided, and the narration of that target's reaction (or lack thereof) makes it pretty clear whether or not the group was successful. Unless of course the target is really smart and I also make a Charisma (Deception) check on the part of the target to see if they can not give away that they noticed the party, and whether they can then alert the rest of the guards without the party noticing that.

 

[iserith]

How does everyone handle stealth checks? Do you let the players know right away that they failed or keep it to yourself until they get found out. Always feels a little weird to say, "You feel like you're not quite moving so quietly as you hoped." Thoughts?

It should feel weird to say that in my view because the DM doesn't determine how a character thinks or feels. That's the player's role.

As with any other stated action, the DM determines the outcome. Maybe they succeed outright, maybe they fail outright, depending on the DM's interpretation of the circumstances. But if you're not certain either way, you ask for an ability check when it actually matters (such as when the character is approaching a monster or when a monster enters a chamber where the character is lurking).

 

[Mercule]

I keep it a secret until something, usually a monster, reveals that the PC blew it. The players tried to have the other characters watch whether the character was hiding, but, well, they were watching, so they always knew where the Rogue was, unless he really did awesome.

What I do allow, is if the Rogue totally botches the roll, the other PCs can tell him the light pebble got caught on his shoe, or whatever.

 

[robus]

For 1) it's easy... the party makes Dexterity (Stealth) checks... I use whatever "Group Stealth" modifiers to all the rolls as I see fit... and the party is told they're moving as silently as they can. Whether or not they get noticed depends on whatever is out there they eventually run into, and whether they have a Passive Perception higher than the group's or any individual's check. Or if someone out there is actually "on guard" looking for threats, then I let that creature also make an Active Perception check if their Passive one didn't have them notice the group.

I actually run this differently. For a general "we're stealthily wandering around the dungeon" I use the passive stealth for each - because the stealth is being maintained on an ongoing basis. So it really depends on the perception of the creatures they encounter whether they're detected. (and it encourages the most stealthy character to take the van and scout ahead).

For 2) it's pretty much the same thing. Individuals make Dexterity (Stealth) checks and I then internal decide whether I'm taking each checks separately or combining them in whatever "Group check" formula I'm going with. It is then compared to the Passive and/or Active Perception check of the target to be avoided, and the narration of that target's reaction (or lack thereof) makes it pretty clear whether or not the group was successful. Unless of course the target is really smart and I also make a Charisma (Deception) check on the part of the target to see if they can not give away that they noticed the party, and whether they can then alert the rest of the guards without the party noticing that.

And here, if the group has come up with a collective plan to reduce their chance of getting caught while sneaking past some particular obstacle I'll let them make a group check (for example they've shared some supplies to muffle their gear or something). Otherwise it's an individual check for each as they try, individually, to sneak past the particular obstacle.

 

[TheSwartz]

Transcript from a recent game

Dwarf Priest "Hey, send someone across the field to see if there's any baddies waitin' on us in the winery!"

Elf Wizard "But... the rogue didn't come tonight... his kid had baseball or something..."

Dragonborn Trickery Domain Cleric "I've got this! I cast Pass Without Trace on myself!"

DM "OK, you cast Pass Without Trace. Your party members find it harder to notice you. You have to maintain concentration on this. The field is completely open between the tree line where you guys are and the winery. Also. It is fairly bright out right now. It's about noon and the weather is good. Tell us how you plan to approach the winery."

Dragonborn Trickery Domain Cleric "I'm just gonna run across. I'll use dash and cross the distance quickly before anyone spots me!"

Human Paladin "In your armor? Aren't you wearing chainmail? That'll be noisy!"

DM [looks it up and confirms that stealth checks are at disadvantage while in chainmail. He says nothing, but kinda chuckles to himself imagining the possibilities]

Dragonborn Trickery Domain Cleric "OK. You're right. I won't need it. I take my chainmail off and hand it to the Paladin for safe keeping"

Elf Wizard "This doesn't sound like a good idea..."

Dragonborn Trickery Domain Cleric "OK. Ready. I'm running across"

DM "You dash across the field magically concealed, but not invisible." [DM looks up the cleric's passive perception] "As you approach the building, you see multiple figures inside actively looking outside, and you also note multiple figures outside keeping guard that were not previously visible from where you were at. I need you to roll a Dexterity (Stealth) Check. This is not an easy situation to hide, but you get to add +10 for Pass Without Trace."

DM is thinking of how to mediate this.. maybe set a DC of 15? that's very generous because he's thinking that really it should be 20 but if they fail there will be a bloodbath.. or maybe do opposing Stealth vs Perception checks?

Dragonborn Trickery Domain Cleric [rolls...] "I rolled a 1...."

Elf Wizard "..."

DM "I need you to roll for initiative while 10 blights move in on the cleric's position with multiple more inside. The party will need a round to run up to your position. And.. remember that you don't have any armor on."

Hilarity ensues...

 

[CydKnight]

In my games they don't ever know unless something in game happens to reveal whether they did or not. Another creature's perception may trump your stealth role but that doesn't mean that creature will always react (or even want to react) in a way that will let you know it knows. This is but one general example and there are numerous others so I typically see more reasons not to directly reveal the outcome of a stealth roll immediately unless the game condition dictates that I should.

 

[transcendantviewer]

My DM handles group checks by taking everyone's stealth check result, adding it together, then dividing it by the number of players making checks. It's a bit less forgiving than the standard rule, but we're also level 20 in our game, so he has to inconvenience us wherever he can. It's made for some interesting situations.
As for your question, the best way to do it is to always separate the character from the player using them. Describe how the character acts if their roll is abysmally bad. It can sometimes inject a bit of comedy into a stealthy mission.
Player rolls natural 1 on stealth check. DM rolls natural 1 on enemy opposed perception check to find them. "I'M BEING REALLY SNEAKY GUYS! THEY'LL NEVER HEAR ME COMING!" guard turns to other guard "Did you hear anything? Sounded like an idiot." "Nope. Didn't hear anything." "Must've been the wind."

 

[fjw70]

They never know for sure until a monster reacts but if they roll really low then it is narrated by them doing something that would be easy for some to notice them.