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<blockquote data-quote="jodyjohnson" data-source="post: 6817534" data-attributes="member: 5590">Surprised is a state that creatures can be in at the start of combat when they are not aware of any threats.&nbsp; If they are aware of any threats at all they are not surprised (such as when already in combat, hearing burrowing creatures nearby, or approached by visible potential enemies).The designation surprised/i] means they do not act or move and cannot take reactions until their turn (they still roll initiative) has ended.&nbsp; It does not grants detection of hidden or unseen foes.&nbsp; It is just a special status effect only applying to the first round of an encounter when one side is trying to Hide or disguise its intentions (during a nonthreatening encounter).It does not grant auto-detection abilities, but rather a 'spidey-sense' that there is a threat.&nbsp; Creatures can still be unseen through invisibility or blindness (note bullet 3 - unseen creatures do not get advantage).&nbsp; It does not allow you any special ability to detect hidden foes although most of the offensive benefits from being Hidden are negated (no advantage from being unseen, which also disallows one means of Sneak Attack).&nbsp; Regarding Assassinate, it negates the auto-crit but still allows for Advantage (and thus sneak attack) for beating a foe's initiative. To hide a creature needs to be both unseen and unheard.&nbsp; I wouldn't expect Bulletes to be silent while burrowing so it wouldn't be unusual for a party to hear something coming and prepare but not necessarily know what the threat is.&nbsp; Just that there is a threat.Many DMs rule differently - in interpreting the rules, or in ignoring the rules.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="jodyjohnson, post: 6817534, member: 5590"] [i]Surprised[/i] is a state that creatures can be in at the start of combat when they are not aware of any threats. If they are aware of any threats at all they are not surprised (such as when already in combat, hearing burrowing creatures nearby, or approached by visible potential enemies). The designation [i]surprised/i] means they do not act or move and cannot take reactions until their turn (they still roll initiative) has ended. It does not grants detection of hidden or unseen foes. It is just a special status effect only applying to the first round of an encounter when one side is trying to Hide or disguise its intentions (during a nonthreatening encounter). It does not grant auto-detection abilities, but rather a 'spidey-sense' that there is a threat. Creatures can still be unseen through invisibility or blindness (note bullet 3 - unseen creatures do not get advantage). It does not allow you any special ability to detect hidden foes although most of the offensive benefits from being Hidden are negated (no advantage from being unseen, which also disallows one means of Sneak Attack). Regarding Assassinate, it negates the auto-crit but still allows for Advantage (and thus sneak attack) for beating a foe's initiative. To hide a creature needs to be both unseen and unheard. I wouldn't expect Bulletes to be silent while burrowing so it wouldn't be unusual for a party to hear something coming and prepare but not necessarily know what the threat is. Just that there is a threat. Many DMs rule differently - in interpreting the rules, or in ignoring the rules.[/i] [/QUOTE]

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