D&D 5E Can Objects Be Hidden?

[Jester David]

The rules state you can find hidden objects, but they also don't state you can hide them.
Similarity, they state you suffocate if you can't breathe but don't provide rules for inhalation.

I don't see any problem with a DM ruling a character can hide an object, using their Dexterity check.

 

[Caliban]

I just put the object under the seat cushions. People never look there.

 

[Gradine]

An ability check tests a character's or monster's innate talent and training in an effort to overcome a challenge. The DM calls for an ability check when a character or monster attempts an action (other than an attack) that has a chance of failure. When the outcome is uncertain, the dice determine the results.
For every ability check, the DM decides which of the six abilities is relevant to the task at hand and the difficulty of the task, represented by a Difficulty Class.

This is a solved problem.

 

[Argyle King]

I feel like this is an area of the game in which I'd use backgrounds to help. Using different abilities with a skill would work too.

My first instinct: Yes, objects can be hidden or camouflaged.

My second instinct: I'd ask the PC what they are trying to do as their method of hiding something and then likely consider using different abilities with skills. For example, I could see a dexterity or intelligence based survival check making sense for hiding a trap in the wilderness. I might also be inclined to say that the smuggler background adds a proficiency die to an attempt at hiding something in a vehicle.

 

[Iry]

And yet you create a hidden poll to do so...

Sorry, I cannot figure out how to edit the poll.

 

[Maxperson]

Sorry, I cannot figure out how to edit the poll.

Heh. No worries. If you can see the results, though, would you post them here?

 

[Iry]

Heh. No worries. If you can see the results, though, would you post them here?

Certainly.

 

[Caliban]

On a more serious note, I'm guessing the real questions is "How can PC's hide objects". Because obviously they can be hidden, it's just a matter of determining the Perception/Investigate DC to find them.

It can be as simple as "I put it behind this seat cushion" and the DM goes "OK, that's a DC 13 Investigate."

But if you actually want to make it hard to find, then it's probably a skill check. I'd probably have it depend on how you are trying to hide it.

Hiding something by using camouflage? Survival check.

Hiding something in plain sight? Deception check.

Hiding/planting it on someone? Sleight of Hand check.

Finding a good place to hide an object? Investigate check.

Almost never an actual Stealth check. That's all about hiding yourself and being quiet.

 

[Aenorgreen]

What if you animated an object, commanded it to hide itself, then let the spell end?

 

[Harzel]

I recently got into a debate about whether or not objects could be hidden. I thought it would be interesting to turn this into a poll and discussion about the topic. And when I say hidden, I mean gaining the same benefits as having taken the Hide Action.

The thread seems to have moved on with people adopting various reasonable definitions of 'hidden', but the above makes no sense to me. Here is what the PHB says about the benefits of the Hide Action.

If you succeed, you gain certain benefits, as described in the "Unseen Attackers and Targets" section later in this chapter.

Objects aren't usually attackers, so are you talking about the object as the target of an attack? This doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rest of your post. So what exactly did you mean by the bolded phrase?