I rolled a 20 on a stealth check and my DM thinks I have to reroll stealth everytime I perform an action. (I.e.: opening a door, walking up stairs, grabbing something.) If this were true I would have to reroll stealth a lot. I know that the drow that I'm sneaking by are supposed to make perception checks, but do I have to keep making stealth checks?
[RPG] I rolled a 20 on a stealth check. What now
dnd-5estealth
Related Solutions
No, you can't hide in plain sight just by saying so, even with a really high Stealth buffed by magic. Rule One of hiding in 5e:
- If someone can see you, you can't attempt to hide from them.
You have find some where or some way of hiding before you can make the check to see if your hiding works. Hide first, roll the check second, always. For example (from the same link), you could all get down on the ground under your cloaks, and pretend to be lumps of rags. The goblins would see the rags, but they'd have to beat at least one of your party's stealth checks in order to notice that they don't belong there (and note that your DM might give the goblins Advantage if they're intimately familiar with this room and would usually notice something out of place).
So step one, find a hiding place. Do this like it makes sense in real life, using camo, breaking your outline, staying motionless deep in confusing shadows, getting up above the normal height people think to look at, etc. Make at least some minimal attempt to leverage that enhanced bonus. Then, and only then, can you roll your Stealth to see if you execute the method you thought up.
Now, the spell itself gives you some ideas for free, but you have to use them. Work those shadows, don't just stand around. Say how you're hiding, then find out if it worked.
No method, no Stealth check to see if the non-existent method works!
RAW the Rogue does receive the benefits of Expertise to his passive.
A passive check is a special kind of ability check that doesn’t involve any die rolls. Such a check can represent the average result for a task done repeatedly, such as searching for secret doors over and over again, or can be used when the DM wants to secretly determine whether the characters succeed at something without rolling dice, such as noticing a hidden monster. Here’s how to determine a character’s total for a passive check: 10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check. - Player's Handbook P.174
The player has invested in making this character good at this, this is not a bad thing.
Rogues in general are supposed to be good at this type of thing, hence the proficiency bonus class feature and the player specifically spent a feat on making his passive perception better. The player could've spent this on another feat to specialize in another area (or gain a combat ability). This is a good thing, while it may make it difficult for the Rogue to be surprised by a trap or an ambush you should in no way try to outmaneuver this.
Don't worry, there are downsides to the Rogue for this.
To reliably spot traps and ambushes the rogue will need to be at the head of the marching order so that he has clear sight lines. Rogue's are not particularly hardy and the party as a whole is inviting more risk for this reward. Likewise while he is extremely excellent at spotting physical dangers, the Rogue will not be able to detect magic wards and other dangerous enchantments and may equally blunder into them.
Ways to handle his detection of a trap or an ambush
You are correct in assuming that only that PC has seen the trap/enemy. Unless he has some mode of telepathic communication he will need to speak out and announce the threat to everyone. The best way to handle this sort of thing is to pass notes or send text messages to the player(s) able to see/detect the issue and leave it to them to react and tell someone else. Intelligent enemies will see/hear the rogue warning the party and the combat should start immediately (no surprise round though).
The PC does not become omniscient of the trap upon detecting it.
The PHB itself is very, very vague on what information is received when a PC detects a trap. However, the DMG does have a nice little section about traps, their detection, and disarming them:
If the adventurers detect a trap before triggering it, they might be able to disarm it, either permanently or long enough to move past it. You might call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check for a character to deduce what needs to be done, followed by a Dexterity check using thieves' tools to perform the necessary sabotage...
...In most cases, a trap's description is clear enough that you can adjudicate whether a character's actions locate or foil the trap. As with many situations, you shouldn't allow die rolling to override clever play and good planning...
...Foiling traps can be a little more complicated. Consider a trapped treasure chest. If the chest is opened without first pulling on the two handles set in its sides, a mechanism inside fires a hail of poison needles toward anyone in front of it. After inspecting the chest and making a few checks, the characters are still unsure if it's trapped. Rather than simply open the chest, they prop a shield in front of it and push the chest open at a distance with an iron rod. In this case, the trap still triggers, but the hail of needles fires harmlessly into the shield. - Dungeon Master's Guide p. 121
Essentially though whether trap disarming is simply a dex check, a series of checks, and/or involves serious RP is up to you as a DM. I would encourage the open-ended approach the book suggests as it adds complexity and makes trap checking and disarming a more engaging process. Sitdown with the party OOC and discuss what the table as a whole thinks should happen for trap checks and move forward based on that consensus.
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Best Answer
Your DM is wrong
PHB p.177:
Hiding (as a verb) means "To keep oneself out of sight or notice" - it is not inherent in this definition that you cannot move or take any other action. Indeed the skill is called Stealth which means "The act of moving, proceeding, or acting in a covert way". It is entirely reasonable to "hide" in plain sight if the intent is not to be noticed rather than not be seen.
The only ways that a character ceases to be hidden is if somebody finds them (and communicates this to others who have not found them) by beating the Dexterity (Stealth) check with a Wisdom (Perception) check or if the character "stop[s] hiding" - a conscious choice. A new Dexterity (Stealth) check is only called for when you want to hide again after being discovered or circumstances change such that your method of hiding is no longer appropriate (e.g. you were hiding in a crowd which disperses, you move from a paved area to an area covered with fallen branches and leaves).
Remember, this cuts both ways: a really bad roll has to be kept even though eventually the player knows character will encounter someone with enough Wisdom (Perception) to overcome it. This is potentially a problem with out-of-game knowledge affecting game play but mature gamers can usually keep these separate OR the DM can roll Dexterity (Stealth) checks and keep the results secret from the players (equivalently, the DM can roll active Wisdom (Perception) checks and use the PC's passive Dexterity (Stealth) - the odds are identical). It also means that creatures sneaking up on the players only get one roll too which may be to the benefit or detriment of the players.
Doing otherwise will simply result in the character failing eventually. For example a character with +5 to Dexterity (Stealth) facing an opponent with a 10 passive Wisdom (Perception) will succeed 75% with one roll, 56% will 2 rolls, 42% with 3 and only 32% with 4. This is an unfair nerfing of a skill the player chose over another skill - does the DM require multiple Intelligence (Investigation) checks to find a secret door, multiple Dexterity (Athletics) checks to jump a chasm, or multiple Wisdom (Perception) checks to find someone who is hidden? The Alexandrian has an excellent article on this.
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