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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 6061815" data-attributes="member: 22424">Under the rules, it's handled rather differently than most DMs (including myself) would actually handle it.That's flavour text. The PC gets no benefit from declaring he's alert - he's assumed to always be reasonably alert.When the PCs enter the "encounter", you make opposed checks - each bandit makes an opposed Hide check against each PC's Spot check. If the bandit is moving (before they "jump from the rock"), you also have each bandit make an opposed Move Silently check against each PC's Listen check.(Note - if there are three bandits and four PCs, then each bandit makes four Hide checks. Each PC makes one Spot check, and uses that value to oppose all the bandits.)Because the PCs are making no effort to be hidden, they cannot win surprise. Each bandit may win surprise against all, some, or none of the PCs (any PC who notices any of the bandits gets to act in the surprise round; any PC who does not notice a bandit does not get to act in the surprise round - and don't let your players pull the "I quickly warn the others" trick. They've already had three chances to spot the bandits, if they've failed all three then they're surprised.)And you proceed from there.Now, as I said, that's not how I would handle the situation. Instead, simply put, I would make one Hide check for the bandits (with a -2 penalty for there being three of them), and would secretly make Spot checks on behalf of the PCs. And, as above, it is possible that all, some, or none of the PCs will be surprised. (But I still wouldn't allow the "I quickly warn the others" trick!)</blockquote>

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