D&D 5E Do summoned monsters alter CR? Or award XP?

[Delandel]

That said, be sure to give check the passive perception of the PC's vs all of the stealth rolls for everyone in the encounter to see if they notice the waiting ambush... Also if the shaman is trying to cast the spell the round before the crocs don't start in hiding, they appear (likely giving away the ambush) and then need to take an action to hide on their turn, or the shaman needs to spend his first round casting the summon once the ambush starts.

I plan on having the lizardfolk shaman keeping watch in croc form amongst reeds and plant debris on the other side of the river bank. His eyes and a bit of snout poke above the murky brown water's surface. The other lizardfolk are underwater, coming up only once every 15min for a breath of air. Once the PCs are spotted, they wait until the PCs are halfway through the river before swimming underwater over to them. I plan on making it a DC 20 Perception, since spotting a hiding croc like this would be extremely hard, especially if you don't know what to look for.

The summon croc spell will be after the other lizardfolk, so they can block the melee from interfering with the cast.

 

[Faradon]

if you are trying to embrace the 5e you might consider just giving advantage to the crocs/lizardmen, but still having them all roll. They easily could come up for air at the wrong time, splash some water with a tail, move in a way that stirs some scum on top of the water, etc. There are plenty of chances for failure still present. You could also do it as a group check.

Just remember that stealth is normally being measured against passive perceptions, so by just setting a static number you already know if it is automatic surprise rather than rolling to give them a chance to notice something amiss.

 

[KarinsDad]

Kill the shaman in round one and the question becomes moot.

 

[Delandel]

if you are trying to embrace the 5e you might consider just giving advantage to the crocs/lizardmen, but still having them all roll. They easily could come up for air at the wrong time, splash some water with a tail, move in a way that stirs some scum on top of the water, etc. There are plenty of chances for failure still present. You could also do it as a group check.

Just remember that stealth is normally being measured against passive perceptions, so by just setting a static number you already know if it is automatic surprise rather than rolling to give them a chance to notice something amiss.

Hmm. I agree to an extent. I think this patrol would have worked out an optimal hiding location and appropriate times to surface, so I like the DC 20. I don't think it's something you'd passively notice unless your perception is supernaturally keen. A cautious group of PCs would make an active perception check to spot anything in the water before hopping in, so it's not an auto-fail. They're in the jungles of Chult and should be on their toes, plus anyone with Knowledge Nature should know what things could potentially lurk in the waters, further prompting caution.

I'd also like to give anyone who has knowledge of crocodiles a bonus to their active perception check if they're looking for one. After all, they'd know where to look -- spots where the croc can be concealed, and they'd more easily identify the snout amongst some debris. I'd give a PC with such knowledge an advantage on Perception to find the lizardfolk.

But when they move towards the PCs, I'd make a group stealth check with advantage versus the PC's passive perception. Creeping up on something is riskier than staying put in a perfect hiding spot. As you say, the PCs may catch a glimpse of what's approaching.

 

[Scorpio616]

Make the crocs actual trained animals instead of summons and give the shaman a different spell to cast. Solves any XP questions.

 

[Tormyr]

Hmm. I agree to an extent. I think this patrol would have worked out an optimal hiding location and appropriate times to surface, so I like the DC 20. I don't think it's something you'd passively notice unless your perception is supernaturally keen. A cautious group of PCs would make an active perception check to spot anything in the water before hopping in, so it's not an auto-fail. They're in the jungles of Chult and should be on their toes, plus anyone with Knowledge Nature should know what things could potentially lurk in the waters, further prompting caution.

I'd also like to give anyone who has knowledge of crocodiles a bonus to their active perception check if they're looking for one. After all, they'd know where to look -- spots where the croc can be concealed, and they'd more easily identify the snout amongst some debris. I'd give a PC with such knowledge an advantage on Perception to find the lizardfolk.

But when they move towards the PCs, I'd make a group stealth check with advantage versus the PC's passive perception. Creeping up on something is riskier than staying put in a perfect hiding spot. As you say, the PCs may catch a glimpse of what's approaching.

I would suggest not giving better than advantage to them. The giant octopus gets advantage for stealth underwater, and it stays under all the time.

 

[dco]

It's one spell, if you give XP for using conjure animal you could give XP for any other spell casted, or give less XP to the party if they use spells.