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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 6511930" data-attributes="member: 6787503"><p>This is why I posted up thread that I don't think that stated levels of alertness have much bearing on whether or not a creature is surprised. Whether you call it "on alert," or "kill mode," or "full readiness," the game only has one way for characters to raise their level of awareness mechanically within the normal rules, and that's to travel at slower than a fast pace so as not to incur the penalty to passive perception that comes with a fast pace. Other than this, the Observant feat grants a bonus to passive perception which can help prevent surprise by making it easier to notice hidden creatures, and then there's the Alert feat, which grants immunity to surprise except when unconscious. So it seems that throughout the game, whether you're trekking through the wilderness, or exploring a dungeon, or taking a short rest, the default level of awareness, or alertness, or readiness is that which is represented by your normal passive perception score. When creatures let their guard down they travel fast, sacrificing their passive perception because they aren't anticipating a threat around every corner. To give characters the option to gain immunity to surprise whenever it suits them by declaring that they suspect a threat or are on alert devalues the Alert feat and the investment that other characters have made in Wisdom and perception.</p></blockquote><p></p>