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How does Surprise work in 5e?
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<blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 6469038" data-attributes="member: 6787503"><p>Here's a quote from the Basic Rules: "The DM determines who might be surprised. If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn’t notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter."</p><p></p><p>So the snipers are hiding and the PCs don't notice them. That means that when hostilities commence between the PCs and the other group, of which the snipers are a part, they are surprised.</p><p></p><p>"If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a reaction until that turn ends." Notice that this is not limited to the particular creature who surprised you, but is a general prohibition on all actions. I like, however, that the first thing the rules say about this is that it is up to the DM to determine.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hriston, post: 6469038, member: 6787503"] Here's a quote from the Basic Rules: "The DM determines who might be surprised. If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn’t notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter." So the snipers are hiding and the PCs don't notice them. That means that when hostilities commence between the PCs and the other group, of which the snipers are a part, they are surprised. "If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a reaction until that turn ends." Notice that this is not limited to the particular creature who surprised you, but is a general prohibition on all actions. I like, however, that the first thing the rules say about this is that it is up to the DM to determine. [/QUOTE]
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How does Surprise work in 5e?
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