WhosAChaoticGoodBoy
Explorer
Hi Folks,
I realized the PHB had the rules on perception and stealth disastrously scattered throughout the book, and I thought it'd be useful to collect and edit them as if they belonged to a single section regarding hiding. Feedback is appreciated!
Notes:
I. I used https://olddungeonmaster.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/dd-5e-stealth-and-hiding/ as a reference to make sure certain rules were expressed consistently.
II. The blurb about multiple forms of obstruction not stacking is technically a house rule, but inspired from how Cover works in that the most covering/obscuring source defines your cover/obstruction.
HIDING
You can attempt to hide by making a Dexterity (Stealth) check to become hidden. In combat, you do this by taking the Hide action. If you are hidden from a creature when you attack it, you have advantage on your first attack roll and give away your location when the attack hits or misses. Likewise, you have disadvantage attacking a target that is hidden from you. If a target isn't in the location you targeted, you automatically miss.
You must be heavily obscured to attempt to hide. For example, an invisible creature is heavily obscured, so it can always try to hide. However, signs of its passage might still be noticed if its perceptible through other senses.
The DC of your Dexterity (Stealth) check is the Passive Perception of those you’re hiding from. Creatures with advantage or disadvantage to perceive you gain +5 or -5 to their Passive Perception, respectively. If a creature searches for signs of your presence, your check is contested by that creature's Wisdom (Perception) check.
You are discovered if the result your Dexterity (Stealth) check is below a creature’s Passive Perception or Wisdom (Perception) check. You are also discovered if you’re no longer heavily obscured from a creature you’re hiding from, make noise, or choose to stop hiding (no action required).
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.
You cannot hide from a creature that can see you, so success relies heavily on a character’s surrounding light levels and visual obstructions. You are UNCOVERED or UNOBSCURED in bright light where 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. 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. 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. Certain features (such as the Wood Elf’s Mask of the Wild trait or the Skulker feat) enable you to hide while only lightly obscured, otherwise, you can only hide while heavily obscured.
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. Any natural phenemona that blocks vision entirely (such as opaque fog, or dense foliage) also heavily obscure you. A heavily obscured area doesn’t blind you, but you are effectively blinded when you try to see something obscured by it.
If you have multiple forms of obstruction, you’re concealed only by the most covering source. For example, you're lightly obscured if you’re hiding in dimly lit moderate foliage.
I realized the PHB had the rules on perception and stealth disastrously scattered throughout the book, and I thought it'd be useful to collect and edit them as if they belonged to a single section regarding hiding. Feedback is appreciated!
Notes:
I. I used https://olddungeonmaster.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/dd-5e-stealth-and-hiding/ as a reference to make sure certain rules were expressed consistently.
II. The blurb about multiple forms of obstruction not stacking is technically a house rule, but inspired from how Cover works in that the most covering/obscuring source defines your cover/obstruction.
HIDING
You can attempt to hide by making a Dexterity (Stealth) check to become hidden. In combat, you do this by taking the Hide action. If you are hidden from a creature when you attack it, you have advantage on your first attack roll and give away your location when the attack hits or misses. Likewise, you have disadvantage attacking a target that is hidden from you. If a target isn't in the location you targeted, you automatically miss.
You must be heavily obscured to attempt to hide. For example, an invisible creature is heavily obscured, so it can always try to hide. However, signs of its passage might still be noticed if its perceptible through other senses.
The DC of your Dexterity (Stealth) check is the Passive Perception of those you’re hiding from. Creatures with advantage or disadvantage to perceive you gain +5 or -5 to their Passive Perception, respectively. If a creature searches for signs of your presence, your check is contested by that creature's Wisdom (Perception) check.
You are discovered if the result your Dexterity (Stealth) check is below a creature’s Passive Perception or Wisdom (Perception) check. You are also discovered if you’re no longer heavily obscured from a creature you’re hiding from, make noise, or choose to stop hiding (no action required).
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.
You cannot hide from a creature that can see you, so success relies heavily on a character’s surrounding light levels and visual obstructions. You are UNCOVERED or UNOBSCURED in bright light where 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. 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. 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. Certain features (such as the Wood Elf’s Mask of the Wild trait or the Skulker feat) enable you to hide while only lightly obscured, otherwise, you can only hide while heavily obscured.
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. Any natural phenemona that blocks vision entirely (such as opaque fog, or dense foliage) also heavily obscure you. A heavily obscured area doesn’t blind you, but you are effectively blinded when you try to see something obscured by it.
If you have multiple forms of obstruction, you’re concealed only by the most covering source. For example, you're lightly obscured if you’re hiding in dimly lit moderate foliage.
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