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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 7214185" data-attributes="member: 6787503">The hiding sidebar from PBR, p. 60, begins, "The DM decides when circumstances are appropriate for hiding." What does this mean to you?Many will reply that it means it's the DM's job to determine if you can hide under a given set of circumstances, making hiding a matter of "DM, may I?"I read it slightly differently. The way I read it, it means it's the DM's job to determine whether or not, and where, to place said appropriate circumstances in an encounter area or an area of exploration, just as it's the DM's job to determine the existence and placement of monsters, traps, treasures, and other elements of the game's fictional world.But what are the appropriate circumstances for hiding? I think the rule-book tells us pretty clearly what they are. Here's my list of appropriate circumstances under which you can try to hide:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are in an area that is heavily obscured by such things as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are completely concealed by an object that blocks vision entirely.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are obscured by a creature that is at least two sizes larger than you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are invisible.</li> </ul>I would add to the top two above circumstances the requirement that the area or object must be of sufficient size to create uncertainty as to your precise location, or you must not be observed entering the area or getting behind the object by the creature from which you are hiding, whereas invisibility creates its own uncertainty as long as the invisible creature is free to move.For some characters, there are additional circumstances under which they can try to hide, i.e.:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are a wood elf and in an area that is lightly obscured by natural phenomena such as moderate foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist/patchy fog, twilight, dawn, or a particularly brilliant full moon.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are a lightfoot halfling and obscured by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are a ranger, 10th level or above, camouflaged as per the Hide in Plain Sight feature, and pressed against a solid surface at least as tall and wide as you are.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You are a character with the Skulker feat and in an area that is lightly obscured from the point of view of the creature from which you are hiding.</li> </ul>Because these characters can hide under conditions which would otherwise allow them to be seen, I would stipulate the additional requirement that they are not being directly observed by the creature from which they are trying to hide while becoming so hidden.Of course the DM is also free to determine what colorful details attend such circumstances. For example, while many seem to consider darkness absolute, because it blocks vision entirely, clearly there are many moonlit nights that are not so dark but which would still be considered to impose the condition of darkness.Hiding is also possible while travelling at a slow pace under any of the above circumstances that apply, which for most characters would be travelling through heavily obscured areas such as a dense forest, thick fog, or under cover of darkness.What circumstances do you consider appropriate for hiding?</blockquote>

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