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Message: <blockquote data-quote="abirdcall" data-source="post: 7687076" data-attributes="member: 6748898">You don't need a perception check to see something that is plainly in the open such as an arrow coming at you.If you are incapacitated you are not aware of your surroundings at all and so you don't get a chance. That is represented by the rules. No one is arguing that is what happens. It's a last second defense against something that was going to hit you.You have never seen this represented in TV or movies?I have seen it countless times. It happens a lot in both noir and ninja stories but also pops up elsewhere. An assassin sneaks up on the hero and then unleashes their deadly attack completely unawares. Only the hero catches the poisoned arrow or blocks the garrote with their hands or whatever. This trope is even directly represented in D&D with the Monk arrow catching ability.There are many other takes on this depending on genre from preternatural instinct (see Spider-Man), super reflexes, and even the coincidental dodge (trip and fall on a banana peel or get distracted by something unrelated). It really doesn't take much for the target to move in a way the assassin didn't predict and be a couple inches off their heart.5e is not built to mimic reality. It is built to enable action fantasy genre tropes and it does a damn good job. If you are going to use assassins in your game, assassin tropes are going to pop up too.</blockquote>