D&D 5E Do you know a creatures location if they are in heavy concealment but not actively hiding and other location questions

[Plaguescarred]

Again, logical error. Just because one part is inconsistent doesn't mean that another part can't be consistent.

Logical error. Just because one part is consistent doesn't mean that another part can't be inconsistent.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Logical error. Just because one part is not inconsistent doesn't mean that another part can't be inconsistent.

Yes, that is a logical error; good job, you seem to be catching on. Now, you just need to find someone that says that so you can use your knowledge appropriately.

 

[Shiroiken]

Are you sure?

Yes. I hear him crying

 

[Plaguescarred]

Yes. I hear him crying

You smell it too

 

[Hriston]

A goblin runs away from you, down a corridor, and around a corner into an area you haven't explored yet. It does not take the hide action. Do you know where the goblin is?

Assuming the walls aren't transparent, I have a question to make this scenario even more adjudicable. Is it possible to hear the goblin or sense it in any other way? If so, then the answer to your question is yes you do. If not, then your question is irrelevant because you are no longer having an encounter with a goblin.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Or, to be a bit more charitable...

Adventurers (even 1st level) are better than the average person at various "adventuring things", which include having a sense of the flows of combat and the people involved. And thus are better at noticing things that other people miss, like footfalls, air movement, heavy breathing, the stench of sweat and the like.

The rules apply equally to everyone, though. A typical peasant will still notice an invisible orc in the darkness, unless it takes an action to hide. Or that's what the rules say, at least. The only difference between an adventurer and anyone else, as far as these particular rules are concerned, is that adventurers tend to have a better chance of detecting an orc who is actively hiding.

 

[Prakriti]

Assuming the walls aren't transparent, I have a question to make this scenario even more adjudicable. Is it possible to hear the goblin or sense it in any other way? If so, then the answer to your question is yes you do.

This plays hell with narrative conventions, though. A fleeing rogue drops a smoke-bomb. An invisible man eavesdrops on a private conversation. A blinded monster struggles to locate its prey. These scenarios are found across multiple genres, and not only do players buy into them, they expect to experience them through roleplay. Turning them into ordinary encounters with a few attack-roll penalties thrown into the mix doesn't do them justice.

 

[Plaguescarred]

This plays hell with narrative conventions, though. A fleeing rogue drops a smoke-bomb. An invisible man eavesdrops on a private conversation. A blinded monster struggles to locate its prey. These scenarios are found across multiple genres, and not only do players buy into them, they expect to experience them through roleplay. Turning them into ordinary encounters with a few attack-roll penalties thrown into the mix doesn't do them justice.

Why would some of these situations not use the hide action?

Also not being seen grant more than disadvantage to attacks against you, it also allow you to try to hide, grant advantage to attacks, and makes you unaffected by OAs, spells and abilities targeting creature that can be seen....

 

[Limond]

This plays hell with narrative conventions, though. A fleeing rogue drops a smoke-bomb. An invisible man eavesdrops on a private conversation. A blinded monster struggles to locate its prey. These scenarios are found across multiple genres, and not only do players buy into them, they expect to experience them through roleplay. Turning them into ordinary encounters with a few attack-roll penalties thrown into the mix doesn't do them justice.

You can see the wake of the fleeing rogue left in the smoke. The invisible man has a peculiar smell to him. The blinded monster can smell the scent of its attackers. All those are reasonable roleplay reasons that explain the disadvantage mechanic in those scenarios.

It does seem that there is generally a reasonable concession to be made for longer distances. However the part unexplained in the rules is what that cutoff is.

Also im seeing a lot of names I recognize from the old WoTC boards, neat.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Why would some of these situations not use the hide action?

I'm pretty sure that most of the objections come down to it requiring an action to hide. When someone drops a smoke-bomb, they should get a chance to be quiet immediately instead of being perfectly located until they get a chance to hide six seconds later. (This, of course, ignoring the fact that rogues can hide as a bonus action.)

It's roughly as weird as a ranger requiring their entire action to command a pet to attack someone, which was clearly done as a sort of game balance issue rather than because it makes particular sense within the game world.