Hiding in Combat?

[GodPhoenix]

So I have a character in my campaign who is a level 2 Halfling Druid/Rogue with the cammo spell (from masters of the wild)...who is trying to hide in the middle of combat. Because the spell gives him +10 to hide he's getting some pretty crazy hide rolls for a second level character. What are the rules for handling hiding during combat? Any advice, page numbers from rulebooks, or homebrew rules would help. Gracias.

 

[kreynolds]

You can't hide while being observed. So, if your player is being observed, it doesn't matter what they roll. Some classes and prestige classes allow you to do this.

PHB, page 69, under Hide...

If people are observing you, even casually, you can't hide.

You can, however, use a Bluff check to create a distraction and hide. See the skill description for more info.

 

[GodPhoenix]

ahhh..thanks

It's always the obvious places where you forget to look. I checked the DMG and the FAQ...darn the luck! Okie, thanks a lot KR

may this thread now die in peace

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Also remember that, unless a character is a shadowdancer, he needs a hiding place. Most characters can't hide on featureless plains or in well lit corridoors without nooks and crannies and/or suits of armor, etc.

And even shadowdancers can't hide without shadows.

-Glyn

 

[Zaruthustran]

Cover is everywhere

But also remember that a fair number of D&D combats occur in forests, grassy fields, city streets, mountains, large caves, or ruins--all places with plenty of hiding places (especially for Small creatures). Very few places (a dry lakebed, the middle of a huge audience chamber, an arena, some parts of deserts, open tundra) are without cover.

And if there are a large number of combatants and you're a Small rogue, even those places have cover--you can hide behind your friends, behind bodies, behind dropped shields and other battle debris.

The thing is, hiding in combat is a two-step (as in, two-turn) process unless you use bluff or have some other fancy trick like Spring Attack or Shot on the Run.

1) Move out of sight and into cover
2) Hide

The key point is that you have to move. So if you have buddies standing toe-to-toe in combat and you want to hide, you're taking yourself out of the fight for at least 3 turns (moving away, hiding, moving back while hidden).

-z

 

[FANGO]

There are also sniping rules in Song and Silence, and some other clarifications of hide and such. You might want to check that out.

 

[Shallown]

I had a Gm that allowed the +10 bonus from a cloak (in this case a spell for you) to provide the neccessary 1/2 cover you just lose the +10 since it is doing something else . It worked out fairly fair when I needed to sneak across open areas without having cover.

Later

 

[hong]

I had a Gm that allowed the +10 bonus from a cloak (in this case a spell for you) to provide the neccessary 1/2 cover you just lose the +10 since it is doing something else . It worked out fairly fair when I needed to sneak across open areas without having cover.

I'm not sure whether that's brilliantly original or outrageously silly.

 

[Shallown]

Another part I forgot to add is you couldn't do anything to suffer minuses. So no running across the room or whatever and he was pretty tight in assigning circumstance penalties and bonuses so it seemed fair. I seldom suceeded even with a +14 or so hide.