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<blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 5150849" data-attributes="member: 15470">This may be one of the key points of contention in the discussion.It is my opinion that the current rules have a very explicit explanation of what defines &quot;awareness&quot;:Line of sight to.Perception check &gt;= opponent's Stealth check.Passive Perception &gt;= opponent's Stealth check.Full stop. (See PHB section on &quot;determining Surprise&quot;)You're describing what the character is expecting, not what they are aware of. The guarding monsters may be on alert, but unless they see, hear, or smell the PC's coming (LOS, Perception, Perception, respectively) they can still be surprised for the two seconds that the Surprise round lasts. The players may be on alert, but unless they see, hear, or smell the monsters who are hiding in an ambush, they can still be surprised for the two seconds that it takes to unleash a volley of crossbow bolts.Both sides may be on alert, but unaware of each other until the players come crashing through the door .. in which case, Initiative is the mechanic by which we decide who reacts to the situation most quickly. That's why I keep coming back to the sentiment that, &quot;Any attempt to 'ready an action on combat starting' is an attempt to shoehorn oneself into a Surprise round via a different mechanic than those explicitly stated in the PHB and DMG.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Amaroq, post: 5150849, member: 15470"] This may be one of the key points of contention in the discussion. It is my opinion that the current rules have a very explicit explanation of what defines "awareness": Line of sight to. Perception check >= opponent's Stealth check. Passive Perception >= opponent's Stealth check. Full stop. ([I]See PHB section on "determining Surprise"[/I]) You're describing what the character is [b]expecting[/b], not what they are [b]aware of[/b]. The guarding monsters may be on alert, but unless they see, hear, or smell the PC's coming (LOS, Perception, Perception, respectively) they can still be surprised for the two seconds that the Surprise round lasts. The players may be on alert, but unless they see, hear, or smell the monsters who are hiding in an ambush, they can still be surprised for the two seconds that it takes to unleash a volley of crossbow bolts. Both sides may be on alert, but unaware of each other until the players come crashing through the door .. in which case, [B]Initiative[/b] is the mechanic by which we decide [I]who reacts to the situation most quickly[/i]. That's why I keep coming back to the sentiment that, "[I]Any attempt to 'ready an action on combat starting' is an attempt to shoehorn oneself into a Surprise round via a different mechanic than those explicitly stated in the PHB and DMG.[/I]" [/QUOTE]

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