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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Paul Farquhar" data-source="post: 8551864" data-attributes="member: 6906155">It's going back to a much earlier point (I've been away), but I would like to point something out that is specific to the beastmaster.I think most of us are agreed that if a bunch of orcs attempt to ambush the party passive perceptions are compared to the orcs' stealth, and those that are lower don't get to act on their turn in the first round.However, a beastmaster companion "doesn't take an action unless you command it to" -PHB. Ergo, if the ranger is surprised but the companion is not, the companion cannot take an action*. Less clear, but what happens if the companion is surprised but the ranger is not? It looks like the ranger can still use their bonus action to command the companion to act. You could argue that the ranger and companion cannot be surprised separately. Which means RAW having a companion with keen senses is no benefit.*more recent rules allow the companion to act if the ranger is "incapacitated", but that does not apply to the original PHB beastmaster, not is it strictly RAW to treat a surprised character as incapacitated.</blockquote>