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Greater Invis and Stealth checks, how do you rule it?
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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 8095846" data-attributes="member: 16814"><p>100% agree. This is the baseline and what the rules suggest should happen in most cases.</p><p>On a flat field, with clear lines of sight and no interesting physical features, yup, 100% agree.</p><p></p><p>I don't disagree that this is a fine narration of that sequence of events, if not the only possible narration. It's likely how I'd describe that scene. 95% agree, with 5% reserved for alternate descriptions.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I didn't see anything in the OP to suggest that this specific instance described shouldn't follow the rules guidance, but I strongly disagree that ruling otherwise is a Rule Zero invocation. I don't need to invoke Rule Zero and rewrite any rules to make a ruling that the monk has become Hidden, even with the situation as the OP presented. This is because the rules of the game, on page 4 of the PHB, have already given the GM the authority to determine if an action, even a persistent and assumed action, succeeds, fails, or is uncertain in a given situation. This is part and parcel of the "rulings not rules" approach of 5e. The "rule" that you're citing is an extrapolation of the rules presented for Hiding and for Invisible creatures. It's a good extrapolation, and I 100% agree it should be the baseline understanding of how things work. But, and this is a big but, that rule doesn't trump Page 4. That's because Page 4 tells us that the GM is the one that decides what the situation is and if a mechanic even needs to be invoked to adjudicate uncertainty. And that's because the Invisible/Hidden rules cannot account for the situation in the moment.</p><p></p><p>To reiterate, I don't see anything in the OP that would suggest to me that you shouldn't use the rule, but another GM might, because 100' is a pretty fair distance and they might consider that circumstance enough to make a ruling on the situation. Let me give you an example where making a ruling that the monk would be Hidden makes sense. The scene is a dungeon room, with doors to on all sides, with the north door open and the party having just entered the south door. An enemy monk is at the north door, and wins initiative. There are 4 orcs in the west room, behind the closed door. The monk attacks, then runs 70' away (he used 30' to close to attack), out the north door (30'), turns immediately right down the crosshallway that door opens into into one of the 3 doors at the end of that hallway (20' down the hallway), closes the door, steps further into the room (10'), and then leaps up to the upper floor balcony in this room (10' of movement). According to a strict reading of the invisible/hidden rules, this monk's location would be known, even while it's entirely possible the GM hasn't put the 4 orcs in the room next door on the map yet.</p><p></p><p>Rulings, man, not rules. Sometimes the situation at the table is such that the GM needs to make a call so silly things like the above don't happen. That's Page 4.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 8095846, member: 16814"] 100% agree. This is the baseline and what the rules suggest should happen in most cases. On a flat field, with clear lines of sight and no interesting physical features, yup, 100% agree. I don't disagree that this is a fine narration of that sequence of events, if not the only possible narration. It's likely how I'd describe that scene. 95% agree, with 5% reserved for alternate descriptions. I didn't see anything in the OP to suggest that this specific instance described shouldn't follow the rules guidance, but I strongly disagree that ruling otherwise is a Rule Zero invocation. I don't need to invoke Rule Zero and rewrite any rules to make a ruling that the monk has become Hidden, even with the situation as the OP presented. This is because the rules of the game, on page 4 of the PHB, have already given the GM the authority to determine if an action, even a persistent and assumed action, succeeds, fails, or is uncertain in a given situation. This is part and parcel of the "rulings not rules" approach of 5e. The "rule" that you're citing is an extrapolation of the rules presented for Hiding and for Invisible creatures. It's a good extrapolation, and I 100% agree it should be the baseline understanding of how things work. But, and this is a big but, that rule doesn't trump Page 4. That's because Page 4 tells us that the GM is the one that decides what the situation is and if a mechanic even needs to be invoked to adjudicate uncertainty. And that's because the Invisible/Hidden rules cannot account for the situation in the moment. To reiterate, I don't see anything in the OP that would suggest to me that you shouldn't use the rule, but another GM might, because 100' is a pretty fair distance and they might consider that circumstance enough to make a ruling on the situation. Let me give you an example where making a ruling that the monk would be Hidden makes sense. The scene is a dungeon room, with doors to on all sides, with the north door open and the party having just entered the south door. An enemy monk is at the north door, and wins initiative. There are 4 orcs in the west room, behind the closed door. The monk attacks, then runs 70' away (he used 30' to close to attack), out the north door (30'), turns immediately right down the crosshallway that door opens into into one of the 3 doors at the end of that hallway (20' down the hallway), closes the door, steps further into the room (10'), and then leaps up to the upper floor balcony in this room (10' of movement). According to a strict reading of the invisible/hidden rules, this monk's location would be known, even while it's entirely possible the GM hasn't put the 4 orcs in the room next door on the map yet. Rulings, man, not rules. Sometimes the situation at the table is such that the GM needs to make a call so silly things like the above don't happen. That's Page 4. [/QUOTE]
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