Like I said, just one anecdote. If the random encounter had been any of the 7 other results that didn't include an /Ambush/ Drake, I probably wouldn't have even had the monsters try to hide. As it was, they were +4 stealth vs passive perceptions of 11-14 - they got lucky.
Did you roll group stealth checks? That's very important in 5E. Taking your example here:
5 PCs: PPs of 11, 11, 12, 13, 14
Monsters each roll: 6, 11, 13, 19.
Surprise round: PCs 1, 2, and 3 are surprised. PC 4 and 5 are not surprised since only one monster had a Stealth DC higher than their passive perception. In a group stealth check, half of the one side's stealth rolls has to beat the passive perception of a given creature of the other side.
Hmmm. Still working on which system is better.
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