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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Laurefindel" data-source="post: 8401158" data-attributes="member: 67296">TL;DR: use Stealth/Perception for initiative.I know, 5e has no surprise round per se. This variant doesn't either. This variant aims to provide an easy plug-and-play replacement for the RaW surprise rules. My dissatisfaction with 5e surprise rules are threefold:It's a long(ish) process. Ok, It's not that long, but its an extra step where you have to roll for the attacker's Stealth check and compare each NPC with the passive perception of each PC (or vice versa). Once this is done, you roll initiative for everyone and apply the proper condition to the "ambushees".It can lead to weird situations. This is mostly an artifact of 5e stealth rules and the turn-base nature of the system, but you can run into situations where PCs are aware of danger and not able to act on it because they do not see any threat (but have initiative). I guess PCs are entitled to some kind of "spider-sense", but I'd rather have that as a feat or a class ability.Ambushes are hard to set-up. In order to surprise a creature, the Stealth checks of every attacker must beat that creature's passive Perception's DC. If the party wants to ambush monsters, all PCs must roll well otherwise all enemies are tipped off. Similarly, a surprise gang-up by a handful of goblins or bugbears is almost certain to fail against the PCs. There is some verisimilitude in the fact that high numbers are harder to hide, but there is a difference between a small band of brigands and a whole army of them. Group checks fix this to a certain degree.So here's the variant houserule (concise version)What this variant does:It Makes it Easier and Faster. Every creature has one roll to make, no need to compare active checks with passive scores, and no need to track who can act on their first turn and who cannot.It's Backward Compatible. It respects the "against any creature that hasn't taken a turn in the combat yet" and "during the first round of combat" formulations in 5e for things related to surprise.Stealthy Characters act First. If you are proficient in the Stealth skill, you have better chances of acting before your opponents, regarldess of your initiative score.Perceptive Characters can React Quickly. If you are proficient in the Perception skill, you have better chances of acting before your attacker, regarldess of your initiative score. I'd suggest granting advantage on perception/investigation checks for characters with the Alert feat.It's Easy to Adjudicate on the Fly. It's easy for the DM to give advantage or disadvantage to the attackers or defenders based on various exploration factors, as they deem appropriate.What this variant does not fix:Ambushers can still be beaten at their own game. It is theoretically possible for all defenders to get their turns before their ambushed attackers. That's one of my initial dissatisfaction that this variant does not fix, but it has more to do with the nature of the turn-based system that D&D uses.I've never played with this houserule that - I must say - cannot be credited to me (altought I can't remember from whom or where i heard it first). Nevertheless, I'm interested to know what you think of it, and of what I didn't think of.'findel</blockquote>

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