D&D 5E is stealth an action?

[BoldItalic]

My take:

If the monster has left the room and no-one is overtly chasing it, combat has ended and you are back into "exploration" where actions are not limited by rounds. You can move to the next room at a slow pace (200ft per minute).

As you enter the room with the monster in it, assuming that it wasn't expecting to be followed and isn't watching the doorway, you can attempt to hide from it by making a stealth check against its passive perception. This presupposes that there is something in the room to hide behind, or deep shadows to hide in. If you succeed, and if you then decide to attack, a new combat is started; initiative is rolled, the monster loses its first turn by virtue of being surprised and you get advantage on your first attack by virtue of being hidden.

That's how I would apply the rules.

n.b. - I'm sometimes wrong.

 

[mellored]

Entering stealth is an action. Once you did that, you remain hidden for all future turns until your spotted, attack, make noise, or something like that. Then you need to take another action to hide again.

There is no speed penalty for moving in stealth mode, so you can dash on your next turn if you want.

It doesn't really negate the rogue. He could follow stealthily faster, since he can hide and dash in the same turn. Not to mention expertise.

 

[GreenTengu]

My take:

If the monster has left the room and no-one is overtly chasing it, combat has ended and you are back into "exploration" where actions are not limited by rounds. You can move to the next room at a slow pace (200ft per minute).

As you enter the room with the monster in it, assuming that it wasn't expecting to be followed and isn't watching the doorway, you can attempt to hide from it by making a stealth check against its passive perception. This presupposes that there is something in the room to hide behind, or deep shadows to hide in. If you succeed, and if you then decide to attack, a new combat is started; initiative is rolled, the monster loses its first turn by virtue of being surprised and you get advantage on your first attack by virtue of being hidden.

That's how I would apply the rules.

n.b. - I'm sometimes wrong.

Well, technically what he is clearly trying to do is to overtly "give chase", he just wants to be hidden while doing it... even though the monster knows exactly from where the threat was coming from as would anyone else in that room who just saw the monster flee there.

 

[Nytmare]

my intenetion was to follow the monster sneaking. the monster went out the door and on my turn I followed it using stealth.
I figured it'll cost me 2/3 movement, as in the PHB rules for stealth which is part of the movement.
I saw stealth as a special movement as in PHB 182, which can be taken as part of the movement allowed in a turn

Yeah, but those are rules for handling things that exist outside of the combat scale. That rule is talking about traveling at a scale of miles and over hours and days, not squares and seconds. Once you scale down to the point where you're talking about actions it talks about it costing an action to hide and it talks about it costing an action to move. It never says that you can spend an action to hide and move at the same time.

 

[BoldItalic]

Yeah, but those are rules for handling things that exist outside of the combat scale. That rule is talking about traveling at a scale of miles and over hours and days, not squares and seconds. Once you scale down to the point where you're talking about actions it talks about it costing an action to hide and it talks about it costing an action to move. It never says that you can spend an action to hide and move at the same time.

Er .. we are talking about 5e, aren't we? Movement is not an action, it's just movement.

 

[Flamestrike]

last session, we had an encounter and the monster left the hall to another room.
I tried stealting there and the DM said that attempting stealth is an action, otherwise it negates the rouge bonus action benefit.
I claimed that hiding is an action, but moving stealthy just slows the pace.
I know that DM has the final word, but I still want to know how is it by the rules.

'Hiding' includes moving silently.

In order to move silently on your turn you need to take the 'Hide' action. This represents the opportunity cost for being silent.

If you dont want to move silent, you can intstead take the dash action and move much quicker.

Rogues can (via cunning action) do both.

 

[mellored]

It never says that you can spend an action to hide and move at the same time.

You can take an action (including hide) and also move on the same turn.

 

[BoldItalic]

Well, technically what he is clearly trying to do is to overtly "give chase", he just wants to be hidden while doing it... even though the monster knows exactly from where the threat was coming from as would anyone else in that room who just saw the monster flee there.

If the reason for wanting to chase the monster stealthily is so that it can be surprised, well, you have to declare the combat over and start a new combat to get surprise. If you are continuing a previous combat, there is nothing you can do to gain surprise.

If the reason for wanting the movement to be stealthy is to be able to claim advantage for attacking whilst hidden, well, you have to hide somewhere the monster can't see you but in such a place that, on your combat turn, you can emerge from hiding and make your attack. So you have to hide in the same room as the monster, having somehow got in through the door without it noticing. If the door is out of sight of the monster, round a corner or behind a curtain, for example, then the DM might call for a stealth check for getting into the room unnoticed, and that's the same as trying to hide. It takes an action (or just a bonus action if you are a rogue).

 

[Nytmare]

Er .. we are talking about 5e, aren't we? Movement is not an action, it's just movement.

You can take an action (including hide) and also move on the same turn.

I misspoke, too many cross edition terms rattling around in my head. What I was trying to say is that hiding is the action, is is not something that just happens automatically by taking your move differently. Or more to the point there are rules for passive perception in combat, there are none for passive stealth.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Hiding takes an action. Being hidden does not. You are arguing about one turn of taking an action to hide when there are no real time constraints. It is about 3 seconds you are arguing about.

Bein invisible or in darkness does not make you hidden. Which is unseen and unheard. Invisibility makes it very easy to hide. Maybe give advantage because you only have to be silent. Remember that if someone becomes invisible right before you he should move, else his location is easy to guess.
Also you leave footprints.

However: if you are in a zone of silence or it is very noisy outside and the floor is made of stone with mo dust on it, I would give an auto success for not even trying to hide. Brcause it is imöossible to follow you.