Mastering the Shadows: A Comprehensive Guide to Hiding in D&D 5e
Following the rules for hiding in D&D 5e involves a combination of mechanical actions, environmental awareness, and a dash of player creativity. At its core, hiding is an attempt to conceal your presence from creatures that might be looking for you. Here’s a breakdown of what it means to follow the rules for hiding:
The Core Mechanics:
- The Hide Action: To initiate hiding, you must use your action on your turn to take the Hide action. This isn’t a bonus action unless you are a rogue with the relevant class feature.
- Dexterity (Stealth) Check: When you take the Hide action, you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check. This check is your attempt to blend in and avoid detection. Your modifier in this roll comes from your Dexterity score.
- Contested Check: Your Stealth check is contested by the Wisdom (Perception) check of any creature actively searching for signs of your presence. This is key because even if you roll high, a creature with a high perception could still find you.
- Conditions for Hiding: You cannot hide if you are clearly visible to the creature you are trying to hide from. You need some form of obscurement such as a corner, a patch of dense foliage, or darkness to use the Hide action. Invisibility automatically grants you the conditions needed to hide, but being invisible does not grant an advantage on the stealth roll itself.
- Maintaining Stealth: Successfully hiding isn’t a one-and-done affair. To maintain your hidden status, you must adhere to certain conditions:
- Keep Quiet: If you speak louder than a whisper or make significant noise, you will break your cover.
- Keep Still: Excessive movement can also compromise your position. The rules specify that if you move more than 2 squares (or 10 feet) during your action, you must make a new Stealth check with a –5 penalty.
- No Attacking: Making an attack or any action that reveals your location, such as a spell, will cause you to break your hidden status, unless you have the Skulker feat.
Benefits of Successfully Hiding:
- Unseen Attacker: When you are hidden, you are considered an unseen attacker, which typically grants you advantage on your attack roll against a creature that doesn’t know where you are. If your attack hits, you will generally lose your hidden status unless you have the Skulker feat.
- Unseen Target: As long as you remain hidden, you are also considered an unseen target, meaning the creatures that can’t see you have disadvantage on attack rolls made against you.
In summary, following the rules of hiding in 5e requires utilizing the Hide action, making a successful Dexterity (Stealth) check, being obscured from the view of your target, and being mindful of noise, movement, and your actions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can you hide behind another creature?
No, you cannot use another creature as cover to remain hidden. You require some sort of environmental obscuration.
2. Does being invisible grant advantage on Stealth checks?
No, being invisible doesn’t automatically grant advantage on Stealth checks. However, it does grant you the condition necessary to attempt the Hide action, which you could not otherwise do if you are being clearly seen.
3. Can you hide in plain sight?
Generally, no. You cannot hide from a creature that can see you clearly. You require a visual obstruction or obscuring effect to attempt to hide.
4. What happens if you move more than 10 feet while hiding?
If you move more than 2 squares (10 feet) during your action while hiding, you must make a new Stealth check with a -5 penalty. This penalizes making a significant movement while in stealth.
5. Does making noise break stealth?
Yes, if you speak louder than a whisper or make any significant noise, you will break your hidden status from any creature that can hear you.
6. Is hiding an action or a bonus action?
Hiding is typically an action. Only Rogues with the Cunning Action class feature can hide as a bonus action.
7. Does attacking while hidden break your hidden status?
Yes, generally, attacking will reveal your position and you will lose your hidden status as soon as the attack hits or misses. This does not apply if you have the Skulker Feat which allows a missed ranged attack to not reveal your position.
8. What is the difference between being invisible and being hidden?
Being invisible means a creature cannot see you. Being hidden means a creature does not know your exact location. Invisibility gives you the opportunity to use the hide action freely, which can lead to being hidden. Both conditions offer advantages in combat.
9. How does heavy obscurement work with hiding?
A heavily obscured area, such as darkness, fog, or dense foliage, blocks vision entirely. In such areas, you have the conditions you need to hide but if a creature within the obscured area uses an action to search it will try to see you regardless of the conditions. It can be difficult to tell what has vision of you or not while in heavy obscurement.
10. Can a creature with Blindsight see through hiding?
Blindsight allows a creature to detect the presence of things without sight within its radius. While it can sense you, it doesn’t automatically mean you can’t be hidden from it. You can still attempt to Hide with a successful Stealth check using your available cover or obscuration. Blindsight will reveal you in plain sight however.
11. Can you use the Dash action while trying to be stealthy?
When you use the Dash action, you will roll your next Stealth check with disadvantage. This penalizes any sudden movement while in stealth.
12. Does the Skulker feat change how hiding works?
Yes, the Skulker Feat allows you to attempt to hide when lightly obscured, or when you are in heavy obscurement, which is not normally possible and does not reveal your location when making a ranged attack that misses.
13. Does armor have any affect on stealth?
Heavy armor imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks because the clanking sound of the metal makes it harder to move quietly.
14. What do you do if a creature is invisible and you are trying to find it?
You can use an action to look for signs of the invisible creature and point out its location for allies. You can also try to target them with area-of-effect attacks, as you only need a general location.
15. What happens if I am grappled while hiding?
Being grappled doesn’t automatically break your hidden status, but it severely limits your ability to move and likely make future stealth checks difficult. If your location is revealed due to being grappled, you would lose hidden status. If the creature is grappling you while blind, it could not determine your location unless it is using another sense such as hearing.