D&D 5.5e Rules — Hiding and Cover and Surprise and Initiative

Some clearer rules on this would be great. Alas, things are fuzzier than ideal.

This post is just focusing on D&D 5.5e (2024) rules. This general category is so messy, I don’t dare try to simultaneously describe the 5e (2014) variants.

Some of this material is already covered (so to speak) in my posts on Cover and Surprise. At some point in time I should probably integrate it together, but, until then …

Surprise

5.5e significantly changed the Surprise rules. Gone is the “you’re frozen until your first turn, then you’re still gimped until your next turn” stuff, in exchange for being at Disadvantage on Initiative. 5.5e also tried to normalize the Hiding / Cover aspects of Surprise, in part by making being Hidden the functional equivalent (and called it by the name) of being Invisible (i.e., having the Invisible condition). Which sometimes makes for odd situations, but …

After a session where things got a bit complicated, I did a re-read of the 5.5e rules (links for all this are down below). The rules, as always, look straightforward, a framework that should make sense, whether it does or not. The devil, as always, is in applying it to an actual combat situation.

I’ve linked to some of the rules at the bottom of the post, and [footnoted] to them in what I’ve collected below.

At any rate, fundamentally Surprise happens under a combination of two conditions:

when a combatant is “caught unawares by the start of combat” [3] or, as phrased in the 5e rules, “doesn’t notice a threat.”
in a case where being covert (in movement / positioning (Stealth), or in behavior (Deception)) is better than a target’s awareness (spotting someone (Perception), or being aware of their motivation (Insight); this is likely a Passive check, since you only Actively try to perceive such things when you are already aware of the risk/threat of the situation, and so aren’t prone to Surprise because of the first condition).

That second condition is mechanical — dueling skills of various sorts. The first is a bit more subjective and narrative, and requires some adjudication. Can a guard who is watching for an attack be caught unawares? If you’re creeping down a dungeon corridor, looking for an ambush, are you aware that there is a threat (even if you don’t know it specifically)? How long can you be actively alert for such stuff (that guard might be flagging by the end of the third watch)? What if the type of combat or threat is itself unexpected (the goblins drop down through the illusory ceiling)?

That’s all why they pay DMs the big bucks.

Something that may tie into both of these aspects is Travel Pace[7]. This often comes up in overland travel from Point A to Point B, but can be applicable within a dungeon — and both affects some of the rolls above as well as the attitude: e.g., if the players say they are walking at a fast pace to get to the dungeon ahead, there are mechanical effect on their senses, but it’s also an implication they aren’t expecting an attack.

Walking Pace	Feet/min	MPH	Miles / day	Notes
Fast	400	4	30	DISadvantage on Percept, Survival, Stealth
Normal	300	3	24	DISadvantage on Stealth
Slow	200	2	18	ADVantage on Percept, Survival

Surprise is also individual — the Surprise status of each creature on one side or the other can vary depending on the above factors.

Our focus here is mostly on the Surprise that comes from an Attacker being physically Hidden, but bear in mind that it can be broader than that is useful.

Hiding = Invisibility

A potential Attacker can use the Hide action, making DC 15 Stealth check while out of the Opponent’s line of sight, and while[2] …

Heavily Obscured
behind Three-Quarter Cover
behind Total Cover

… to effectively become Invisible.[2] (The D20 check rolled by the person Hiding is the DC for someone to Perceive them[2]).

This can be for teeing up an ambush, or mid-battle sneaking about. To get all the advantages of being Hidden, though, you have to have explicitly taken the Hide action; otherwise you’re just getting protection from cover.

Rolling Initiative

First off, Initiative is rolled when combat starts.[4] Not after someone gets in the first blow or their sneaky alpha strike from cover, but when attack dice are about to be rolled.

If an Attacker is initiating the combat (“Okay, team, I’m going to be in front and cast Fireball!”), the Attacker gets (DM’s discretion) Advantage on their Initiative roll.[6] (This one is hidden in the DMG as an option, and is the sop to the “But nobody is supposed to move until I cast my spell” issue.) This rule holds regardless of being Hidden or Surprised or not (yes, the guy who throws the first punch in the bar brawl rolls Initiative on Advantage to do it), but often comes up in context of an ambush or bursting into the enemy’s room.
If an Attacker is Invisible (Hidden and unknown to be there by the target), the Attacker gets Advantage on their Initiative roll.[1]
If the Opponents are Surprised (they didn’t know the Attacker was there and weren’t in “expecting combat” mode), they roll Initiative with Disadvantage.[3,4]

So let’s say Bob wants to get the drop on an Orc heading off to sleep. He positions himself around a corner (in Total Cover), and explicitly Hides himself (makes sure nothing is showing, tries to stay quiet, etc.). The Orc figures the hallways is safe and isn’t expecting any surprises, and their Passive Perception isn’t enough to meet the Stealth roll Bob made when he Hid.

Bob gets Advantage on Initiative for starting things, and would also get Advantage on Initiative because he is (until he attacks) Invisible. Advantage only adds once, of course.

The Orc doesn’t know Bob is there, and has no reason to be worried, so they get Disadvantage on Initiative. If the Orc knew that Bob had run away in this direction, and were watching out for him, they would roll Initiative normally. Ditto if they heard a noise from ahead and advanced cautiously.

Results of Initiative

If, after Initiative is rolled, there are allies who go before the Attacker initiating combat, then if they want the Attacker to get that first strike off, they need to Dodge or Help (if that applies) or, more likely, Ready an action. (This seems counter-intuitive, as it seems to penalize quick-reflexes folks; a Readied action isn’t as robust or useful as one normally taken. But that’s how it goes; the alternative is to blow the plan for that initiating Attacker to actually initiate the attack.)

If, after Initiative is rolled, any of the Opponents (even Surprised ones) still get a better Initiative than the hidden Attacker, they are (on the honor system) aware something is about to happen and can, within limits, respond first. Effectively, they are reacting to the Attacker popping out of hiding, even if they can’t directly do anything about it this turn. Faster Opponents can Dodge, try to Perceive the hidden attackers, warn their fellows, throw up magical defenses, etc.

In other words, those Opponents are still reacting faster than the Attacker, even if they can’t see them or directly attack them (yet).

The faster Opponents could, theoretically, Ready an action to shoot anyone who shows up “where I heard that noise.” If the Attacker is effectively Hidden / “Invisible,” that Readied action would not go off until after the Attacker did their thing, because that attack (see below) is what technically drops the “Invisibility” they have.[2]

Okay, so that handles Initiative … how about actual attacks (and counter-attacks)?

Attacks from Hiding

If the Attacker is Invisible (Hidden and unknown to be there by the Opponent):

the Attacker gets Advantage on their Attack (this can be any time in the battle, not just on the first round)[1]
their Opponent attacks a still-Invisible target with (at best) Disadvantage.[1,5] If where the Opponent says they are attacking is not where their target is, the attack automatically misses.[5]

Note that if the “Invisibility” only comes from being behind Total Cover (the Attacker has not taken a Hide action, too):

the Attacker will not get Advantage for their attack
the Opponent can’t see them to target them in turn

The Attacker’s “Invisible” condition from Hiding ends immediately after an Attack roll (or a Verbal spell, or making a sound, or if the Opponent finds them).[2] (In other places it says after an “attack hits or misses,” but I think that’s effectively the same thing.[5])

Which, as written, implies that an Attacker with multiple attacks (e.g., Fighters at 5th Level) only get that Advantage to hit on their first attack roll, not on subsequent ones. The condition ends after an Attack roll, not an Attack action.
If the Attacker wants to get “Invisible” again, they must duck behind cover and do another Hide to regain that “Invisible” condition.[2] Just moving back behind Total Cover would give them physical protection, but the Opponent still knows they are there, so the Attacker won’t get Advantage on their next attack (“I know he’s behind that tree so I’m keeping an eye on that”).

Certain spell effects, like Greater Invisibility, can cause the Invisible condition to be instantly restored, or never actually lost, without having to Hide; these are a really annoying complications, just saying.

Net-Net

Is all this complex? Yeah, especially given player and DM cleverness and the wide variety of spaces and situations to which it could apply. Could it be simplified? Maybe, but only by handwaving more and more things that “should” be considered important in a combat.

I’ve tried to tie the material above to actual rules, but there is some DM interpretation going on. If you aren’t sure, discuss it with your DM first; they may have different interpretations than I do.

Would you like to know more?

Here are the rule links for the [footnotes] above.

D&D 5e Rules – Invisibility!

Invisibility seems like the most incredible defensive thing. But … in 5e? Not so much.

Know the Rules Part of an ongoing series of 5e (2014) Rules notes. See the end of the post for notes on 5.5e (2024) rules.

So Invisibility is often one of those “DM Bane” spells or abilities. Sneak past all the guards, unable to be targeted, overhearing all the secrets, scouting out all the ambushes. It can be really annoying, if not an OP way to get around a lot of hard work.

But (spoilers!) in D&D 5e, it’s … useful, but not game-breaking.

The Invisibility Spell:

A creature you touch becomes invisible until the spell ends [Concentration, up to 1 hour]. Anything the target is wearing or carrying is Invisible as long as it is on the target’s person. The spell ends for a target that attacks or casts a spell.

Well, that sounds ominous. Uber-rogues! Hidden assassins! Parties just waltzing through dungeons!

Hmmmm … but what does that really mean?

What does Invisibility mean?

An Invisible creature has the Invisibility condition, defined as:

An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a spe⁠cial sense. For the purpose of hiding, the creature is heavily obscured. The creature’s location can be detected by any noise it makes or any tracks it leaves.
Attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have advantage.

I.e.,

Impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense (see below for more detail).
Heavily Obscured — a Hazard defined as “A Heavily Obscured area—such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage—blocks vision entirely. A creature effectively suffers from the Blinded condition when trying to see something in that area.”
- It’s kind of funny to think of Invisibility as bringing an obscuring field (itself invisible) wrapped around you, but for purposes of the Hide action, that’s how it works. Being Heavily Obscured makes it much easier to Hide
- An attacker is effectively “Blinded” while dealing with such a target (thus attacking at Disadvantage).
Still detectable by any noise it makes or any tracks it leaves (or any scent it gives off). A fairly common ruling, though not backed by RAW, is that this (under certain circumstances) represents a Disadvantage on Perception checks. Note that being detected doesn’t necessarily change the Disadvantage to attack such a target; in general, it mainly offers the opportunity to attack it.
- “I have no visual or auditory or olfactory sign that there is anything near me. So I will not start swinging my sword.”
- On the other hand, “I saw footsteps running through the puddle!” while not making you an easy target, does make your presence known and, potentially, able to be dealt with. “I hear a footstep, I see a splash in a puddle, I smell a familiar perfume — I swing, but I know I am at a Disadvantage.”

It is sometimes observed that being Invisible is different from being (successfully) Hidden. Taking the Hide action entails the other senses that make one perceivable. (But check out the 5.5e info below.)

Looking at PHB 194:

When you attack a target that you can’t see, you have Disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you’re guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the DM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the target’s location correctly.

And …

When a creature can’t see you, you have Advantage on attack rolls against it.

What does that mean, basically?

Attack Rolls against an invisible creature have Disadvantage
Attack Rolls by an invisible creature have Advantage.

Which is pretty awesome, but is not game-dominating.

The Devil Is in the Details

Delving deeper, the Invisibility spell:

Requires Concentration. That makes it pretty good for “I will make you invisible, go scout ahead.” Less so for “Here, let me make you invisible mid-battle, as long as I OH MY GOD THE FIREBALL!”
- Unless you are an Invisible Stalker, where Invisibility an innate condition that doesn’t require Concentration. Such cases will are clearly stated in the rules.
Ends when an Invisible creature attacks or casts a spell.
- Prepping for an attack doesn’t drop the Invisibility (we’re not talking Romulan warbirds here)
- Actually making the attack roll signifies the attack, and drops the Invis (even if it misses).
  - But executing a spell that creates a saving throw result still counts as dropping the Invis, even though there is no attack roll.
  - Readying an Attack doesn’t drop the Invis, but Readying a spell does.
- For a Rogue, that attack that drops the spell is probably a Sneak Attack, since that gives them Advantage.
- For a multi-turn spell-casting, starting the spell breaks the Invisibility.

I see you!

So what might counter Invisibility (beyond footprints or being noisy)?

Blindsight: “A creature with blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on sight.”
Tremorsense: “A monster with tremorsense can detect and pinpoint the origin of vibrations within a specific radius, provided that the monster and the source of the vibrations are in contact with the same ground or substance “
Truesight: A creature with truesight can, out to a specific range, see in normal and magical darkness, and see Invisible creatures and objects.

In general, the above are either (a) creatures living belowground or in the dark or in the Underdark, or (b) beings of a higher order.

How about magic?

See Invisibility does what it says on the tin: “see invisible creatures and objects as if they were visible” for an hour. Similarly, the 10th Level Divination Wizard class feature, “The Third Eye,” giver an option to “See Invisibility: You can see invisible creatures and objects within 10 feet of you that are within line of sight.”
(Note that a 2020 Sage Advice Compendium defines line of sight (in another context) as requiring being able to see something, leading some people to assert that the Third Eye feature does nothing because it only sees invisible things that are in line of sight. But this is very clearly “that would be within line of sight if they were visible” in meaning, and ruling otherwise is untoward nitpicking of the SA’s statement in a different context.)
Dispel Magic will work against an Invisibility spell just fine … but you need to be able to target it, meaning (most likely) a Perception roll first, with the caveats above.
Create Water is also a good sneaky way to be able to perceive an invisible creature, either through raindrops or through puddles.

And, just as a general note, Area of Effect spells are an excellent tactical counter to Invisibility (think “Depth charges vs suspected enemy submarine”).

All right, then what about 5.5e?

In 5.5e, those with the Invisible condition get the following effects:

Surprise. If you’re Invisible when you roll Initiative, you have Advantage on the roll.

Concealed. You aren’t affected by any effect that requires its target to be seen unless the effect’s creator can somehow see you. Any equipment you are wearing or carrying is also concealed.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Disadvantage, and your attack rolls have Advantage. If a creature can somehow see you, you don’t gain this benefit against that creature.

Which all seems reasonable, but doesn’t actually define Invisibility — it almost arguably (and some folk have made the argument) doesn’t really state you can’t be seen.

The Invisibility spell simply conveys the Invisible condition to its target(s), which remains until the end of the spell duration or “immediately after the target makes an attack roll, deals damage, or casts a spell.” Greater Invisibility even lets you do those things and still be Invisible.

The rules on the Invisible condition contain nothing about using other senses (hearing, smell) other than special visual abilities to overcome the Invisibility (it’s implied by still being able to Attack, even at Disadvantage). More importantly, the rules no longer equate Invisibility with being Heavily Obscured, even though the effects (Disadvantage on Attack) are similar.

The Heavily Obscured description is terse.

You have the Blinded condition while trying to see something in a Heavily Obscured space.

Though in the “Exploration” section of the PHB, it does get some definition:

A Heavily Obscured area—such as an area with Darkness, heavy fog, or dense foliage—is opaque. You have the Blinded condition when trying to see something there.

The Hide Action notes (emphasis mine):

With the Hide action, you try to conceal yourself. To do so, you must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check while you’re Heavily Obscured or behind Three-Quarters Cover or Total Cover, and you must be out of any enemy’s line of sight; if you can see a creature, you can discern whether it can see you.

On a successful check, you have the Invisible condition while hidden. Make note of your check’s total, which is the DC for a creature to find you with a Wisdom (Perception) check.

You stop being hidden immediately after any of the following occurs: you make a sound louder than a whisper, an enemy finds you, you make an attack roll, or you cast a spell with a Verbal component.

This has three interesting implications:

First, if you have the Invisible condition, you don’t need to Hide because all Hide does is give you the Invisible condition.

Second, while we do not get anything explicit about how to detect a magically Invisible creature with other senses before they attack, do damage, or cast a spell, the Hide guidelines do provide some hints that could be used: a sound louder than a whisper, a suitable Perception roll against you, an attack, or a spell with a verbal component.

Third, the language that Hidden creatures gain the “Invisible” condition: does that mean the See Invisibility spell (“you see creatures and objects that have the Invisible condition as if they were visible”) or Truesight (“you see creatures and objects that have the Invisible condition”) should spot where people are hiding behind trees? RAW, it seems so, though that hardly appears to be the intent. Many people have spent a lot of time complaining about this.

But wait, there’s more. In a box under “Combat” and “Cover,” it discusses Unseen Enemies:

When you make an attack roll against a target you can’t see, you have Disadvantage on the roll. This is true whether you’re guessing the target’s location or targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you targeted, you miss.

When a creature can’t see you, you have Advantage on attack rolls against it.

If you are hidden when you make an attack roll, you give away your location when the attack hits or misses.

While that’s sort of focused on more conventionally hidden creatures, it also applies to magical invisibility as well.

Let’s mix it up even more.

In the order of combat rules on Initiative and Surprise, the rules read:

Surprise. If a combatant is surprised by combat starting, that combatant has Disadvantage on their Initiative roll. For example, if an ambusher starts combat while hidden from a foe who is unaware that combat is starting, that foe is surprised.

The term “hidden” isn’t defined anywhere. Is a person with the Invisible condition (from either a spell or from taking a Hide move) “hidden.” The “Surprise” section of the Invisible condition focuses just on the attacker getting Advantage on Init, not on this additional Disadvantage on Init for the defender.

(More on Surprise here.)

In short, all of this in 5.5e is kind of a mess — things aren’t defined clearly, or where defined are simplified in unhelpful ways. The 5e rules had their own messy issues, but 5.5e has only made them, um, messier.

As a result, game tables will almost inevitably have to adopt some sort of house rules (probably borrowing from 5e rules). These could be as simple as defining the term “hidden,” acknowledging that in almost all Surprise situations there will be both Advantage and Disadvantage on Init, and some ground rules for how to actually detect Invisible creatures. Others might go for more elaborate revisions to the rules set.

Or, perhaps, we’ll get an improved set of definitions with upcoming source book, Unearthed Arcana, or Sage Advice Compendium.