Since 5e was released, there has been some ongoing confusion as to the nature of hiding. The rules as written make a few key statements:
The thing is, this system in no way clarifies what exactly "sneaking" is. We know how hiding works. You hide behind some form of cover or concealment, and you hide as an action. But with regards to sneaking, there is basically no clear trend as to how it works. As written, it is impossible to sneak behind someone if you don't have some cover, even if they are facing the other direction, because the concept of "direction" doesn't exist. Classic fantasy scenes of slipping behind a guard are impossible. Likewise, guerilla warfare and combat are mechanically impossible, as movement without cover is not adequately defined.
This ambiguity is further amplified because does sneaking require an additional hide action on every turn? If you move around while concealed, is your action spent hiding again, or maintaining stealth? Does a rogue thief have to spend their action hiding, then sneak at half speed to get advantage, lowering their sneak speed to a mere 15 feet? These questions were never answered, and were intentionally left vague with a handwaving of "ask your DM". But if the DM and players have no concept of what the intent was to begin with, its hard to make any accurate judgments. As a result of all this, pretty much every table runs these mechanics drastically differently, to the point that a single skill(and classes that utilize that skill better) can fluctuate in power wildly.
So I'd like to put forward a loose reinterpretation and clarification of how these mechanics work, with the intention of not directly contradicting RAW in any way, but still allowing fun and interesting gameplay. Here are the new rules:
Conclusion: Other than the "Roll Between Cover" action and the restriction on attacking while hidden, everything here seems to be loosely suggested by the current stealth rules. Furthermore, these changes codify a more consistent concept of stealth, which prevents the "whack a mole" abuse seen in some games, and the "I move 15 feet every round" stealth rules in other games. Out of combat, stealth is significantly easier, because the people you are hiding from are not particularly aware. But in combat, you can still hide or sneak so long as you don't mind spending an action AND a move to set up a hidden attack. The opportunity cost is high of course, but it still feels reasonable.
- Hiding is an action.
- You cannot hide while being seen.
- You cannot hide unless you have at least light obscurement.
- You cannot hide while making noise.
The thing is, this system in no way clarifies what exactly "sneaking" is. We know how hiding works. You hide behind some form of cover or concealment, and you hide as an action. But with regards to sneaking, there is basically no clear trend as to how it works. As written, it is impossible to sneak behind someone if you don't have some cover, even if they are facing the other direction, because the concept of "direction" doesn't exist. Classic fantasy scenes of slipping behind a guard are impossible. Likewise, guerilla warfare and combat are mechanically impossible, as movement without cover is not adequately defined.
This ambiguity is further amplified because does sneaking require an additional hide action on every turn? If you move around while concealed, is your action spent hiding again, or maintaining stealth? Does a rogue thief have to spend their action hiding, then sneak at half speed to get advantage, lowering their sneak speed to a mere 15 feet? These questions were never answered, and were intentionally left vague with a handwaving of "ask your DM". But if the DM and players have no concept of what the intent was to begin with, its hard to make any accurate judgments. As a result of all this, pretty much every table runs these mechanics drastically differently, to the point that a single skill(and classes that utilize that skill better) can fluctuate in power wildly.
So I'd like to put forward a loose reinterpretation and clarification of how these mechanics work, with the intention of not directly contradicting RAW in any way, but still allowing fun and interesting gameplay. Here are the new rules:
Conclusion: Other than the "Roll Between Cover" action and the restriction on attacking while hidden, everything here seems to be loosely suggested by the current stealth rules. Furthermore, these changes codify a more consistent concept of stealth, which prevents the "whack a mole" abuse seen in some games, and the "I move 15 feet every round" stealth rules in other games. Out of combat, stealth is significantly easier, because the people you are hiding from are not particularly aware. But in combat, you can still hide or sneak so long as you don't mind spending an action AND a move to set up a hidden attack. The opportunity cost is high of course, but it still feels reasonable.
