Rules FAQ How Does Stealth Work in D&D 5E?

Stealth is a complex skill. The rules can be found in the Player’s Handbook, largely on page 177. On the surface, it seems simple: it is a Dexterity (Stealth) check opposed by a Wisdom (Perception) check. But, there is more to it than that.

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This is the part of a weekly series of articles by a team of designers answering D&D questions for beginners. Feel free to discuss the article and add your insights or comments!

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So let’s break it down step by step. Using stealth generally means using the Hide action. Hiding is a 4 step process:

1. Are you sufficiently obscured from the creatures you're hiding from?
2. Use Hide action; this could be a bonus action if you have certain abilities, like the rogue’s Cunning Action or the Ranger’s Vanish.
3. Compare Dexterity (Stealth) check to the passive perception scores of any creature you are hiding from and against any active Wisdom (perception) checks to search for you
4. While you remain hidden, use the same Dexterity (Stealth) result until you are detected or are no longer hiding.

While Hidden
When you are hidden (which means you have used the Hide action and a creature has not noticed you with passive or active perception):

• You have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that can’t see you.
• When you make your attack, though, you reveal your position and are no longer hidden, whether the attack hits or misses.
• If a creature tries to attack you while you are hidden (and is able to guess the space you are in), it makes its attack roll with disadvantage.

Staying Hidden
You remain hidden until you are discovered, you stop hiding, circumstances no longer allow you to hide, or you make a noise or otherwise alert others to your presence.

You do not need to continually use the Hide action every round to remain hidden, but you will need to use it again to hide once you become detected or stop hiding (this could be complex to track, as being hidden is relative to each creature).

When Can I Hide?
According to the Player’s Handbook, you “can’t hide from a creature that can see you clearly”. The complicating factor is the line "The DM decides when circumstances are appropriate for hiding”.

• The book reminds DMs that they might allow a player character to sneak up on a distracted creature, even leaving their concealment to do so, if circumstances allow it.
• It goes on to say "An invisible creature can always try to hide", noting that being unseen does not mean you are undetected.
• The Player's Handbook reminds us that the "Lightly obscured' and "heavily obscured" lighting affect what one can see. Being lightly obscured imposes a -5 penalty on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, while being heavily obscured effectively blinds creatures to things in the obscured area and makes Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight automatically fail.

We still do not have a definition for “clearly”; it is left up to DM interpretation in this context.

• We know that being invisible counts. Being invisible makes one heavily obscured "for the purposes of hiding", so heavily obscured also counts.
• Full cover is not mentioned, but since it fully blocks line of sight, it is safe to assume full cover for an opaque object would be sufficient to hide behind.

This leaves the question "Can I hide when I am only lightly obscured" or "Can I use half or 3/4ths cover to hide?" The answer seems to be left up to the DM, as there are special abilities which interact with creatures who are lightly obscured.

• The skulker feat allows you to try to hide when you are lightly obscured" implying you couldn't otherwise do this.
• Wood Elves have the mask of the wild ability that lets them use the hide action "when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena''.
• Lightfoot halflings have the naturally stealthy ability, which lets them hide "even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you".

There are two ways to read this. The strict interpretation would be that you need these abilities in order to hide within lightly obscured areas. The loose way to interpret would be that these abilities allow you to use stealth to Hide in certain kinds of light obscurement even while being observed. As the Hide rules state you "can't hide from a creature that can't see you clearly" it depends on how the DM interprets “clearly. And, if a DM is going to allow lightly obscured areas to count as “not seen clearly”, then they may allow half cover or three-quarters cover as well.

Be sure to discuss with your DM how they intend to interpret when a creature can and cannot see you clearly.

 

[clearstream]

Crikey, that’s a lot of thinking for very little pay off.

I just say ‘make a stealth check’ and set the difficulty in my head before they roll. If they pass they do what they wanted to do.

Have you run an extended campaign in the Underdark? (Or just one where there is a lot of obscurement and stealth?)

Each aspect of that explanation makes the game play far more interesting! Giving interesting options and challenges to players.

 

[Larnievc]

Have you run an extended campaign in the Underdark? (Or just one where there is a lot of obscurement and stealth?)

Each aspect of that explanation makes the game play far more interesting! Giving interesting options and challenges to players.

Yeah, we did OOTA. Took us two years but we did it.

 

[rationale]

Stealth is a complex skill. The rules can be found in the Player’s Handbook, largely on page 177. On the surface, it seems simple: it is a Dexterity (Stealth) check opposed by a Wisdom (Perception) check. But, there is more to it than that.

---

This is the part of a weekly series of articles by a team of designers answering D&D questions for beginners. Feel free to discuss the article and add your insights or comments!

---

So let’s break it down step by step. Using stealth generally means using the Hide action. Hiding is a 4 step process:

1. Are you sufficiently obscured from the creatures you're hiding from?
2. Use Hide action; this could be a bonus action if you have certain abilities, like the rogue’s Cunning Action or the Ranger’s Vanish.
3. Compare Dexterity (Stealth) check to the passive perception scores of any creature you are hiding from and against any active Wisdom (perception) checks to search for you
4. While you remain hidden, use the same Dexterity (Stealth) result until you are detected or are no longer hiding.

View attachment 141177​

While Hidden
When you are hidden (which means you have used the Hide action and a creature has not noticed you with passive or active perception):

• You have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that can’t see you.
• When you make your attack, though, you reveal your position and are no longer hidden, whether the attack hits or misses.
• If a creature tries to attack you while you are hidden (and is able to guess the space you are in), it makes its attack roll with disadvantage.

Staying Hidden
You remain hidden until you are discovered, you stop hiding, circumstances no longer allow you to hide, or you make a noise or otherwise alert others to your presence.

You do not need to continually use the Hide action every round to remain hidden, but you will need to use it again to hide once you become detected or stop hiding (this could be complex to track, as being hidden is relative to each creature).

When Can I Hide?
According to the Player’s Handbook, you “can’t hide from a creature that can see you clearly”. The complicating factor is the line "The DM decides when circumstances are appropriate for hiding”.

• The book reminds DMs that they might allow a player character to sneak up on a distracted creature, even leaving their concealment to do so, if circumstances allow it.
• It goes on to say "An invisible creature can always try to hide", noting that being unseen does not mean you are undetected.
• The Player's Handbook reminds us that the "Lightly obscured' and "heavily obscured" lighting affect what one can see. Being lightly obscured imposes a -5 penalty on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, while being heavily obscured effectively blinds creatures to things in the obscured area and makes Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight automatically fail.

We still do not have a definition for “clearly”; it is left up to DM interpretation in this context.

• We know that being invisible counts. Being invisible makes one heavily obscured "for the purposes of hiding", so heavily obscured also counts.
• Full cover is not mentioned, but since it fully blocks line of sight, it is safe to assume full cover for an opaque object would be sufficient to hide behind.

This leaves the question "Can I hide when I am only lightly obscured" or "Can I use half or 3/4ths cover to hide?" The answer seems to be left up to the DM, as there are special abilities which interact with creatures who are lightly obscured.

• The skulker feat allows you to try to hide when you are lightly obscured" implying you couldn't otherwise do this.
• Wood Elves have the mask of the wild ability that lets them use the hide action "when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena''.
• Lightfoot halflings have the naturally stealthy ability, which lets them hide "even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you".

There are two ways to read this. The strict interpretation would be that you need these abilities in order to hide within lightly obscured areas. The loose way to interpret would be that these abilities allow you to use stealth to Hide in certain kinds of light obscurement even while being observed. As the Hide rules state you "can't hide from a creature that can't see you clearly" it depends on how the DM interprets “clearly. And, if a DM is going to allow lightly obscured areas to count as “not seen clearly”, then they may allow half cover or three-quarters cover as well.

Be sure to discuss with your DM how they intend to interpret when a creature can and cannot see you clearly.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Thank you for the video.

But now please... everybody else... let us all do ourselves a favor and NOT argue about f-ing stealth again. The game has been out for over 7 years... you already know how YOUR table plays stealth, and it doesn't matter AT ALL whether you think your way is RAW or not (and there is no reason for you to care whether someone else thinks THEIR way of playing stealth is RAW too.) So arguing about the wording (or lack of wording thereof) is not at all necessary.

So let's all just move away from our keyboards and walk away, okay? Let this thread fall back into the Abyss from whence it was pulled from. We will all be a lot happier this holiday season.

 

[Oofta]

Thank you for the video.

But now please... everybody else... let us all do ourselves a favor and NOT argue about f-ing stealth again. The game has been out for over 7 years... you already know how YOUR table plays stealth, and it doesn't AT ALL whether you think your way is RAW or not (and there is no reason for you to care whether someone else thinks THEIR way of playing stealth is RAW too.) So arguing about the wording (or lack of wording thereof) is not at all necessary.

So let's all just move away from our keyboards and walk away, okay? Let this thread fall back into the Abyss from whence it was pulled from. We will all be a lot happier this holiday season.

But ... but ... I do stealth right! I must explain to everyone why they're doing it wrong!

 

[Bill Zebub]

It occurs to me that a common interpretation I see for ranged rogues is that they use their bonus action to hide behind cover, at which point the DM calls for a roll, and if successful they pop out of cover and shoot with advantage. It has always bugged me.

Next time I am DMing I think I will rule it this way:
1. If you have full cover you are Hidden.
2. If you want to come out of cover to shoot, without being seen, then I will (probably) ask for a roll. It might be with adv/dis, depending on circumstances.
3. You can also try to approach hidden, for a melee attack, with the same ruling.

 

[Lyxen]

It occurs to me that a common interpretation I see for ranged rogues is that they use their bonus action to hide behind cover, at which point the DM calls for a roll, and if successful they pop out of cover and shoot with advantage. It has always bugged me.

Me too, however there are simple ways to deal with it simply using the rules as written, just by applying circumstantial disadvantage for hiding at an obvious place or always at the same place, and/or advantage to the (passive) perception of adversaries confronted to that tactic.

 

[Oofta]

It occurs to me that a common interpretation I see for ranged rogues is that they use their bonus action to hide behind cover, at which point the DM calls for a roll, and if successful they pop out of cover and shoot with advantage. It has always bugged me.

Next time I am DMing I think I will rule it this way:
1. If you have full cover you are Hidden.
2. If you want to come out of cover to shoot, without being seen, then I will (probably) ask for a roll. It might be with adv/dis, depending on circumstances.
3. You can also try to approach hidden, for a melee attack, with the same ruling.

I could repeat what I said when this thread started up, but I'll just reference my post on page 3.

 

[Reynard]

In the future I am going to require the PLAYER to sneak around. If I don't see the attack roll coming, they get advantage.

 

[Oofta]

In the future I am going to require the PLAYER to sneak around. If I don't see the attack roll coming, they get advantage.