Garresh
2017-01-11, 01:41 PM
Since 5e was released, there has been some ongoing confusion as to the nature of hiding. The rules as written make a few key statements:
Hiding is an action.
You cannot hide while being seen.
You cannot hide unless you have at least light obscurement.
You cannot hide while making noise.
The thing is, this system in no way clarifies what exactly "sneaking" is. We know how hiding works. You hide behind some form of cover or concealment, and you hide as an action. But with regards to sneaking, there is basically no clear trend as to how it works. As written, it is impossible to sneak behind someone if you don't have some cover, even if they are facing the other direction, because the concept of "direction" doesn't exist. Classic fantasy scenes of slipping behind a guard are impossible. Likewise, guerilla warfare and combat are mechanically impossible, as movement without cover is not adequately defined.
This ambiguity is further amplified because does sneaking require an additional hide action on every turn? If you move around while concealed, is your action spent hiding again, or maintaining stealth? Does a rogue thief have to spend their action hiding, then sneak at half speed to get advantage, lowering their sneak speed to a mere 15 feet? These questions were never answered, and were intentionally left vague with a handwaving of "ask your DM". But if the DM and players have no concept of what the intent was to begin with, its hard to make any accurate judgments. As a result of all this, pretty much every table runs these mechanics drastically differently, to the point that a single skill(and classes that utilize that skill better) can fluctuate in power wildly.
So I'd like to put forward a loose reinterpretation and clarification of how these mechanics work, with the intention of not directly contradicting RAW in any way, but still allowing fun and interesting gameplay. Here are the new rules:
Hiding: An action which is taken to transition you from "Observed" to "Hidden". Hiding requires at least some concealment, and you cannot hide while directly seen.
Moving while Hidden: While "Hidden", you can move at normal speed without needing to use your action to hide again. Every round that you move while hidden, you must make another Stealth roll. If you use actions or bonus actions as movements, you only need to make the roll once for that round. Once you are hidden, you can move without requiring concealment or cover so long as you and the people you are hiding from are not engaged in combat. The assumption is you are moving while they are looking the other way. However, this may be subject to(and is designed to be) subject to additional restrictions depending on circumstances. If two guards are facing each other having a conversation, your DM may rule that you cannot sneak without concealment. A crowd of NPCs may provide concealment, but not if you're dressed differently. Regardless, the base function of "sneaking" is that you CAN sneak without needing concealment, without using an action, so long as you are not in combat.
Moving while Hidden in Combat: In combat, you can move at normal speed while hidden, as a move action. However, if at any point you lose concealment to the target, you are immediately "observed" and cannot must take the Hide action before you can resume sneaking again.
[New Action] Roll Between Cover: As an action(or bonus action for rogues with Cunning Action), you may move a distance up to half your movement speed(rounded down) without needing to maintain concealment, so long as you end the roll with partial concealment or cover to the target. If you have not yet moved that round, you will need to roll a Stealth check, but this is the same roll used for moving while hidden, which only needs to be rolled once per turn.
[New Restriction] Attacking While Hidden In Combat: If you attempt to attack from concealment, while you are hidden, you do not benefit from the Hidden status if you were last seen at your current location. Essentially, you cannot keep hiding behind a tree firing crossbow bolts at an enemy and expect them not to catch on. You can't even do it once if they saw you hide there. However, you may hide behind a thick tree, climb up 30 feet, and then peer out and fire down to benefit from the Hidden trait for that attack. Or you could hide between a hedge row, and sneak along the outside before popping your head up some 20-30 feet away to benefit from hidden.
Conclusion: Other than the "Roll Between Cover" action and the restriction on attacking while hidden, everything here seems to be loosely suggested by the current stealth rules. Furthermore, these changes codify a more consistent concept of stealth, which prevents the "whack a mole" abuse seen in some games, and the "I move 15 feet every round" stealth rules in other games. Out of combat, stealth is significantly easier, because the people you are hiding from are not particularly aware. But in combat, you can still hide or sneak so long as you don't mind spending an action AND a move to set up a hidden attack. The opportunity cost is high of course, but it still feels reasonable.
Hiding is an action.
You cannot hide while being seen.
You cannot hide unless you have at least light obscurement.
You cannot hide while making noise.
The thing is, this system in no way clarifies what exactly "sneaking" is. We know how hiding works. You hide behind some form of cover or concealment, and you hide as an action. But with regards to sneaking, there is basically no clear trend as to how it works. As written, it is impossible to sneak behind someone if you don't have some cover, even if they are facing the other direction, because the concept of "direction" doesn't exist. Classic fantasy scenes of slipping behind a guard are impossible. Likewise, guerilla warfare and combat are mechanically impossible, as movement without cover is not adequately defined.
This ambiguity is further amplified because does sneaking require an additional hide action on every turn? If you move around while concealed, is your action spent hiding again, or maintaining stealth? Does a rogue thief have to spend their action hiding, then sneak at half speed to get advantage, lowering their sneak speed to a mere 15 feet? These questions were never answered, and were intentionally left vague with a handwaving of "ask your DM". But if the DM and players have no concept of what the intent was to begin with, its hard to make any accurate judgments. As a result of all this, pretty much every table runs these mechanics drastically differently, to the point that a single skill(and classes that utilize that skill better) can fluctuate in power wildly.
So I'd like to put forward a loose reinterpretation and clarification of how these mechanics work, with the intention of not directly contradicting RAW in any way, but still allowing fun and interesting gameplay. Here are the new rules:
Hiding: An action which is taken to transition you from "Observed" to "Hidden". Hiding requires at least some concealment, and you cannot hide while directly seen.
Moving while Hidden: While "Hidden", you can move at normal speed without needing to use your action to hide again. Every round that you move while hidden, you must make another Stealth roll. If you use actions or bonus actions as movements, you only need to make the roll once for that round. Once you are hidden, you can move without requiring concealment or cover so long as you and the people you are hiding from are not engaged in combat. The assumption is you are moving while they are looking the other way. However, this may be subject to(and is designed to be) subject to additional restrictions depending on circumstances. If two guards are facing each other having a conversation, your DM may rule that you cannot sneak without concealment. A crowd of NPCs may provide concealment, but not if you're dressed differently. Regardless, the base function of "sneaking" is that you CAN sneak without needing concealment, without using an action, so long as you are not in combat.
Moving while Hidden in Combat: In combat, you can move at normal speed while hidden, as a move action. However, if at any point you lose concealment to the target, you are immediately "observed" and cannot must take the Hide action before you can resume sneaking again.
[New Action] Roll Between Cover: As an action(or bonus action for rogues with Cunning Action), you may move a distance up to half your movement speed(rounded down) without needing to maintain concealment, so long as you end the roll with partial concealment or cover to the target. If you have not yet moved that round, you will need to roll a Stealth check, but this is the same roll used for moving while hidden, which only needs to be rolled once per turn.
[New Restriction] Attacking While Hidden In Combat: If you attempt to attack from concealment, while you are hidden, you do not benefit from the Hidden status if you were last seen at your current location. Essentially, you cannot keep hiding behind a tree firing crossbow bolts at an enemy and expect them not to catch on. You can't even do it once if they saw you hide there. However, you may hide behind a thick tree, climb up 30 feet, and then peer out and fire down to benefit from the Hidden trait for that attack. Or you could hide between a hedge row, and sneak along the outside before popping your head up some 20-30 feet away to benefit from hidden.
Conclusion: Other than the "Roll Between Cover" action and the restriction on attacking while hidden, everything here seems to be loosely suggested by the current stealth rules. Furthermore, these changes codify a more consistent concept of stealth, which prevents the "whack a mole" abuse seen in some games, and the "I move 15 feet every round" stealth rules in other games. Out of combat, stealth is significantly easier, because the people you are hiding from are not particularly aware. But in combat, you can still hide or sneak so long as you don't mind spending an action AND a move to set up a hidden attack. The opportunity cost is high of course, but it still feels reasonable.