Level Up (A5E) If a cheetah bites through the sentry's skull, and nobody else hears, did it really happen?

[Jacob Vardy]

Is there a specific rule about waking up? Like if a party only has one sentry, a cheetah is currently biting through that sentry's skull, and neither of them are making much noise, when does the rest of the party wake up? There is a hint about a Constitution + Perception check in the ability scores section. And there are plenty of exploration knacks but i couldn't find a general rule about what it takes to wake up. I presume i am also too tired.

The party is exploring an abandoned manor out on the savannah. They found a black cheetah sleeping on a four poster bed. And decided to pass on by, let it live its best life. The cheetah had been hunting the baboons that sleep in the lobby. But i think it is going to go for the adventurers next. Since they don't keep nearly the watch that the baboons do.

 

[Anselm]

I don't recall seeing any in the AG. Xanathars Guide had the following:
"A creature that is naturally sleeping, as opposed to being in a magically or chemically induced sleep, wakes up if it takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake or slap the creature awake. A sudden loud noise—such as yelling, thunder, or a ringing bell—also awakens someone that is sleeping naturally.

Whispers don't disturb sleep, unless a sleeper's passive Wisdom (Perception) score is 20 or higher and the whispers are within 10 feet of the sleeper. Speech at a normal volume awakens a sleeper if the environment is otherwise silent (no wind, birdsong, crickets, street sounds, or the like) and the sleeper has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or higher."

Also when sleeping you could still roll stealth checks against the sleeping target's passive perception at the dms discretion (is the thing something that could be accomplished stealthily in the first place?) but their passive perception would be at a -5 for disadvantage.

 

[Morrus]

I think that's just the basic usage of the perception rules?

 

[Steampunkette]

A human skull is a thick hard heavy bone. It does not break silently.

Between that and the loud squishing noise of the contents schlorping out... There should be enough noise to wake a nearby sleeper.

 

[lichmaster]

I'd roll with disadvantage, or use passive perception with -5 for the disadvantage.
Unless, as @Steampunkette says, the cracking skull will produce a sound loud enough to avoid the disadvantage or even awake the PCs outright

EDIT: on second thought, I really don't see why the cheetah would go for the toughest bone in any creature's body instead of simply on the throat, as they normally do. A bite on the throat would most likely produce very little to no sound, except maybe some gurgling /choking

 

[Seramus]

I mean, I always remain fairly docile and quiet when a cheetah is biting through my skull. My throat and lungs are intact, but I wouldn't want to strain them or anything. It might startle the cat.

 

[aco175]

From what I'm seeing in a brief search, a cheetah cannot crush a human head with its bite- even if it could fit one in his mouth. The cheetah bite force is about 500psi and a head needs about 1500psi. A lion is about 1000 and a jaguar is about 1500psi. Cheetahs are built for speed and not force and their heads have adapted for that.

Now a D&D monster stat block for a cheetah alpha in my game could likely do that since I would likely be more lazy and have the same stat block for most large cats.

As for noise, I do not see the cat putting one paw over the victim's mouth like in movies when Rambo slits a throat so there would be noise. I generally allow a Perception check to wake up. It can be with disadvantage and opposed by the cats Stealth check. The next round I would have a straight DC10 check though.

 

[Steampunkette]

The medical effects of one punch on the human body | Queensland Health

It can be hard to believe that one punch can kill someone, but the medical effects of a blow to the head can be swift and severe, causing death or permanent disability.

www.health.qld.gov.au

 

[Steampunkette]

... hello FBI Agent. Yes. I am a writer. No. I'm not looking to shatter anyone's skull to hear the sound of pool balls hitting each other. Thanks!

 

[W'rkncacnter]

i mean, if you have the cheetah bite the head (which as stated above doesn't make sense), it's gonna be loud. if you have the jaguar bite the throat, the victim's still gonna be able to flail around before they bleed out. either way i think there's easily gonna be enough noise to wake the rest of the party.