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Message: <blockquote data-quote="designbot" data-source="post: 6366041" data-attributes="member: 6777589">I've seen a lot of theories for when hiding is allowed, and what it does. After reviewing all of the relevant rules in the 5th edition PHB, I think it does make sense, but you have to jump all over the place to put it together.Key points:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"Hidden" is not defined as a condition.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You don't gain advantage specifically from being hidden. (You can gain surprise.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You gain advantage from being unseen. (p. 194)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You can give away your location, but still remain unseen.</li> </ul>Hiding is an action that you can attempt. It can serve at least two purposes:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">You're trying to keep a creature unaware of your presence so you can surprise or sneak past it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">A creature is aware of your presence and/or location, but you don't want it to see you.</li> </ol>You can try to hide from a creature's sight, even if the creature is aware of your exact location. (Just like an invisible creature can remain unseen, even if everyone knows where it is.)To attempt to hide, you make a Stealth check that is contested by the Perception check of any creature looking for you (or the passive Perception of a creature that is not looking for you).In a lightly obscured area, the creature has disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight. In a heavily obscured area, the creature is effectively blinded, which means it automatically fails any ability check that requires sight. If a creature can't see you, it can try to guess where you are, or aim at your known location. If it aims at the wrong location, it misses, and if it aims at your correct location, it attacks with disadvantage.By default, most creatures can only hide when they are unseen by a creature (for instance, in a heavily obscured area, or behind total cover). Page 177 states:Various features override this rule by allowing you to hide when you are "only lightly obscured" or "obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you". These sentences (on pages 177 and 194) have been interpreted to mean that, once a creature knows your location, you can't hide from that creature in the same spot again:I disagree. Giving away your location is different from remaining unseen. You should be able to attack, and hide in the same spot again, as long as you still meet the vision requirements that allowed you to hide in the first place. Creatures will know you are there, but they will have disadvantage on attacks because they can't see you.In summary, for most creatures, hiding is only useful as a way to avoid detection (because being unseen is both the prerequisite and the effect). However, if you have an ability that allows you to attempt to hide in a lightly obscured area, or behind another creature, then hiding can be useful even when creatures are aware of your location, because it makes you unseen, which grants advantage.Edge case:If you hide in an area that a creature can't see, then sneak into a less-obscured area, are you still hidden?If you move into an area that is not obscured from the creature's vision, it usually sees you unless it is distracted:If you move into a lightly or heavily obscured area, the creature has to make Perception vs. Stealth checks to see you.Edit: One could interpret the rules to mean that, if you are hiding and you move into a lightly obscured area, you are automatically spotted, unless you have an ability that lets you "try to hide when you are lightly obscured".I interpret that as just describing where you can try to hide. Once you have successfully hidden, you stay hidden "until you are discovered or you stop hiding". (p. 177)</blockquote>

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