D&D (2024) New stealth rules.

[Maxperson]

I still can't believe stealth rules are so ambiguous that there's a thread 100 pages long of people who know D&D arguing over what they mean...before the rules have actually come out!

And without the actual stealth rules!! The Hide Action, though, is written terribly. And Invisible Condition is waaaaay too vague with the "somehow see you." I really didn't think they would look at the 2014 rules as vague as those were and say, "hold my beer."

 

[pukunui]

And without the actual stealth rules!! The Hide Action, though, is written terribly. And Invisible Condition is waaaaay too vague with the "somehow see you." I really didn't think they would look at the 2014 rules as vague as those were and say, "hold my beer."

Unless they've been moved to the DMG, there are no actual stealth rules. The PHB literally just says that the Stealth skill is used to move silently and to "hide behind things". That's it. This was confirmed by @DavyGreenwind, who has one of the GenCon PHBs.

 

[Maxperson]

Unless they've been moved to the DMG, there are no actual stealth rules. The PHB literally just says that the Stealth skill is used to move silently and to "hide behind things". That's it. This was confirmed by @DavyGreenwind, who has one of the GenCon PHBs.

That's.........................amazing. In a bad way. If all players get to see of stealth is that Hide Action and the Invisible Condition...

 

[pukunui]

That's.........................amazing. In a bad way. If all players get to see of stealth is that Hide Action and the Invisible Condition...

As far as I can tell, there's not even anything in the PHB about moving silently.

 

[Xetheral]

As far as I can tell, there's not even anything in the PHB about moving silently.

Which is particularly noteworthy since, under many interpretations, becoming/staying unheard was the only benefit of hiding in the 2014 stealth rules (absent special features allowing hiding in light obscurement).

 

[Maxperson]

As far as I can tell, there's not even anything in the PHB about moving silently.

Wow! The more I learn the more my decision not to purchase the 2024 books is being reinforced.

 

[pukunui]

Wow! The more I learn the more my decision not to purchase the 2024 books is being reinforced.

I'm waiting to see if the DMG expands on any of this stuff. If not, I will most likely end up running a hybrid 2014/2024 version rather than going full 2024 (or staying fully with 2014).

 

[Remathilis]

As far as I can tell, there's not even anything in the PHB about moving silently.

So the PHB has NO rules for using skills, as far as I can tell.

There is a one sentence description for all skills and the rules for the hide, search, influence and study actions. I've heard this is because players never initiate skills; they either take an action that uses a skill or the DM calls for a skill test. For example, a PC doesn't declare they are making a perception check to look for something. They can take the search action and the DM says the skill that is relevant. Likewise, a player doesn't declare he is making an open locks roll, the player says he's going to pick the lock and the DM tells them what skill to roll.

Honestly, I can see both sides of this. On the one hand, a lot of players declare what they want to roll vs what they want to do and the DM decides what is the appropriate roll. On the other hand, it would be nice to know what a skill can actually do. I wager it won't matter as the minute the DMG is readable, everyone is going to be reading it and know what the skills do anyway.

But these months in between are going to be agony.

 

[pukunui]

So the PHB has NO rules for using skills, as far as I can tell.

There is a one sentence description for all skills and the rules for the hide, search, influence and study actions. I've heard this is because players never initiate skills; they either take an action that uses a skill or the DM calls for a skill test. For example, a PC doesn't declare they are making a perception check to look for something. They can take the search action and the DM says the skill that is relevant. Likewise, a player doesn't declare he is making an open locks roll, the player says he's going to pick the lock and the DM tells them what skill to roll.

Honestly, I can see both sides of this. On the one hand, a lot of players declare what they want to roll vs what they want to do and the DM decides what is the appropriate roll. On the other hand, it would be nice to know what a skill can actually do. I wager it won't matter as the minute the DMG is readable, everyone is going to be reading it and know what the skills do anyway.

But these months in between are going to be agony.

Exactly. I completely understand why they didn't release all three books at once, but it's still darned annoying to have to wait so long to get the full picture.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Because you have to be out of their line of sight to initiate the condition. It is reasonable to read that as the condition automatically ends if you are in their line of sight, hence why it cannot be initiated. If you are going to tell me "but it doesn't say that"

Well, it doesn't.

then explain why I need to break line of sight to hide, since a DC 15 stealth check allows me to fade into transparency per your interpretation.

Because the rule is stupid and badly written, like people have been saying for hundred pages!