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<blockquote data-quote="aco175" data-source="post: 8047136" data-attributes="member: 27385">I tend to have problems with the first part of your post saying that the party walks into a dungeon and is not looking for danger.&nbsp; You can argue that the players did not say they are looking for danger, but you can also say it is assumed in a dungeon.&nbsp; I could see if the PCs were in a tavern and maybe easier to say they are not on the lookout for danger.&nbsp; We have other threads on this before with things like drinking water throughout the day and not refilling your canteen or not cleaning your pots and pans so now you may get sick.&nbsp; This also come down with parties developing 'standard door opening procedures', developed from clashes with the DM playing gotcha and the players becoming paranoid. Not my game but some like it.I would tend to rule in the above situation that the party is surprised if they can not see the kobold and fail a perception roll.&nbsp; I would allow a roll entering the room even if they can not see everything, they may hear something or come up with a reason.&nbsp; I may even have them roll with disadvantage if they is a lot of debris or other factors like running water or something distracting them.&nbsp; The kobold runs into the light would still have surprise if the PCs failed Perception in the first place since something just rushes out of the darkness at you.&nbsp; I give the PCs would have weapons drawn in a dungeon (even if they did not actively say so) but would still think they are surprised.Some may argue that adventurers are professionals and this is their job, so they should always get a chance, but I would point to the Perception check that gave them a chance and internal that it is just a kobold that the PCs should be able to handle.&nbsp; A bigger point is what is the kobold hiding that he would charge a party by himself or why he didn't hide or just run away.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="aco175, post: 8047136, member: 27385"] I tend to have problems with the first part of your post saying that the party walks into a dungeon and is not looking for danger. You can argue that the players did not say they are looking for danger, but you can also say it is assumed in a dungeon. I could see if the PCs were in a tavern and maybe easier to say they are not on the lookout for danger. We have other threads on this before with things like drinking water throughout the day and not refilling your canteen or not cleaning your pots and pans so now you may get sick. This also come down with parties developing 'standard door opening procedures', developed from clashes with the DM playing gotcha and the players becoming paranoid. Not my game but some like it. I would tend to rule in the above situation that the party is surprised if they can not see the kobold and fail a perception roll. I would allow a roll entering the room even if they can not see everything, they may hear something or come up with a reason. I may even have them roll with disadvantage if they is a lot of debris or other factors like running water or something distracting them. The kobold runs into the light would still have surprise if the PCs failed Perception in the first place since something just rushes out of the darkness at you. I give the PCs would have weapons drawn in a dungeon (even if they did not actively say so) but would still think they are surprised. Some may argue that adventurers are professionals and this is their job, so they should always get a chance, but I would point to the Perception check that gave them a chance and internal that it is just a kobold that the PCs should be able to handle. A bigger point is what is the kobold hiding that he would charge a party by himself or why he didn't hide or just run away. [/QUOTE]

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