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<blockquote data-quote="eamon" data-source="post: 4458676" data-attributes="member: 51942">I think the rules function best if you don't read too much into them - that's just a fancy way of saying that it won't help trying to pin down exactly what &quot;condition&quot; means and that there is no exact description possible which can tell you what a victim of an attack or effect knows about that attack or effect - it depends on the context.That said, it's clear that a creature suffering from one of the &quot;named&quot; conditions will generally be aware of that.&nbsp; A creature will generally not be aware of potential future attacks - it only knows what has happened, not future possibilities such as the &quot;Dance of Death&quot; counter or the combat challenge ability.So, in general it makes sense and follows the rules to not be aware of future possibilities.&nbsp; Nevertheless, I think you shouldn't hide combat challenge specifically, nor other abilities like it.&nbsp; These abilities aren't about being sneaky, but about tactical maneuvering that you'd presume might be visible.&nbsp; From a &quot;realism&quot; perspective it makes sense that just as you'd instinctively realize someone can take an OA, you'd instinctively realize someone that's actively threatening you a little differently.&nbsp; From a gaming point of view, it's hard enough to inject a little description into many actions, and it's a lot more fun if the DM describes a monster as controlling a large section of the battlefield with it's well coordinated limbs (threatening reach) or that a pair of monsters fights almost as one with their backs together (they gain an AC boost when adjacent to each other).It's simply unreasonable to assume that many of these fairly basic game mechanics are invisible in-game, and it's unfair to assume that somehow only the PC's can perceive the consequences of effects with significant game mechanic effects.&nbsp; So, whereas the rules don't dictate exactly what's obvious, your game will be more fun if you don't overdo the secrecy bit.Taking into account that that huge dude in the corner with the enormous jagged blade might actually hit you with it isn't metagaming, it's just being reasonable, even if there's no rule that permits you to conclude that he has an attack power using it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="eamon, post: 4458676, member: 51942"] I think the rules function best if you don't read too much into them - that's just a fancy way of saying that it won't help trying to pin down exactly what "condition" means and that there is no exact description possible which can tell you what a victim of an attack or effect knows about that attack or effect - it depends on the context. That said, it's clear that a creature suffering from one of the "named" conditions will generally be aware of that. A creature will generally [i]not[/i] be aware of potential future attacks - it only knows what has happened, not future possibilities such as the "Dance of Death" counter or the combat challenge ability. So, in [i]general[/i] it makes sense and follows the rules to not be aware of future possibilities. Nevertheless, I think you shouldn't hide combat challenge specifically, nor other abilities like it. These abilities aren't about being sneaky, but about tactical maneuvering that you'd presume might be visible. From a "realism" perspective it makes sense that just as you'd instinctively realize someone can take an OA, you'd instinctively realize someone that's actively threatening you a little differently. From a gaming point of view, it's hard enough to inject a little description into many actions, and it's a lot more fun if the DM describes a monster as controlling a large section of the battlefield with it's well coordinated limbs (threatening reach) or that a pair of monsters fights almost as one with their backs together (they gain an AC boost when adjacent to each other). It's simply unreasonable to assume that many of these fairly basic game mechanics are invisible in-game, and it's unfair to assume that somehow only the PC's can perceive the consequences of effects with significant game mechanic effects. So, whereas the rules don't dictate exactly what's obvious, your game will be more fun if you don't overdo the secrecy bit. Taking into account that that huge dude in the corner with the enormous jagged blade might actually hit you with it isn't metagaming, it's just being reasonable, even if there's no rule that permits you to conclude that he has an attack power using it. [/QUOTE]

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