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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kinematics" data-source="post: 7793661" data-attributes="member: 6932123">I'm not saying that the monster stats don't need skill proficiencies.  I'm saying that they don't need to shoulder all of the weight.  Your example ambush creature doesn't need +12 to stealth; it only needs maybe +6 total (including stat), and another +5 from circumstance.Having example circumstance modifiers in the book is fine, however.  The point about needing more explicit detail in the book is valid.  The MM stat blocks should be location agnostic, but creature behavior should give you more hints on how to actually use the creature, including the circumstances it might benefit from.Taking an example... the Ankheg.  CR2, and described as being "Lurkers in the earth", ambushing prey from where they're hidden, buried in the earth.And they have 11 Dex and no stealth skill.So how are you expected to interpret that?  Adventurers might notice evidence of the ankheg's burrowing, but may not even know what it means (Nature check).  Even if they do know what it means, they don't automatically know where the ankheg is located, if it's even still in the area.  Does the ankheg need to make a Stealth check? How do you determine what that is? What is it that the adventurers might notice on a Perception check?  How difficult is it?This is a creature where the circumstances about how it operates definitely needs more mechanical detail, while simply slapping on a Stealth skill likely wouldn't be appropriate.  The ankheg doesn't have "Stealth", it has "circumstances it makes use of that give it stealth".If I were to try to lay out the mechanics, I'd consider:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Passive perception against DC ~14 to notice the burrow trails.  Not to notice their existence, which is pretty much guaranteed, but to notice them as significant. Unlikely to fail.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nature check against DC 13 for anyone paying attention to recognize this as the remnants of a burrowing creature.  DC 15 might indicate that the area is of a type favored by ankhegs (plus some details about them). Might give disadvantage to urban-focused characters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">DC 15 Investigation to pinpoint an area that is the most likely location for the ankheg to set up its ambush.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">If they fail to discover the location of the ambush, and proceed across the ambush area, random check for which target is attacked, and surprise happens.  Obviously if they discover it, they can deliberately trigger it, or bypass it altogether.</li> </ol>Ultimately, minimal use of Perception, and no Stealth.  It's not an additional skill proficiency that's necessary; it's the mechanics of how to handle the attempted ambush that's lacking.Similar arguments might be made about animated objects.  They have a "false appearance", but not stealth.  In a room with a dozen suits of armor, how do you determine which one (if any) is the animated armor?  Rather than the armor making a stealth check, it might be an investigation check to notice a disturbance in the layout, or some damaged carpet, or something like that.These are situations where Perception vs Stealth is a stand-in for "How do the players determine that there's a threat, and where that threat is?"  The problem is that there's no simple number that fixes it, and depending on Perception (and thus Stealth on the enemy's side) isn't always the right approach. But there are idiomatic circumstances that make sense to document and provide to the GM.  "These are common elements and checks for handling an ambush by intelligent creatures." "These are common elements and checks for handling an ambush by non-intelligent creatures." "What circumstances are most likely to be used to augment certain skills, and how much benefit they provide." Etc.The only areas in the DMG that seems to go into such details is the section on Wilderness Survival (p.109), and the section on Traps (p.120), where there's DCs for various types of hazards, and certain types of checks allowed for in the example traps.  There's no analogous section in the MM.  Both books mostly focus on charts and categories.</blockquote>

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