[RPG] surprise round

dnd-5esurprise

Our party disguised ourselves as merchants, but when the enemy appeared and we attacked them, the DM just said, "Roll for initiative."

Is there a surprise round in D&D 5e like there was in previous editions like 3e?

Best Answer

There is still certainly "surprise", though not quite a "surprise round".

See the surprise rules.

It is generally up to the DM whether there is a chance that one side (or some of the combatants) may be surprised.

The rules given are keyed towards one side being stealthy (rather than disguised) and so it becomes a Dex(Stealth) check vs a Wis(Perception) check. Initiatives are still rolled for everyone, but anyone surprised is unable to take actions on their first turn of combat.

For your disguise tactic, a DM might shake things up and ask for the party members to make Cha(Deception) checks vs a Wis(Perception or Insight) check of the enemy in order to determine surprise instead. But this would be up to the DM and veers away slightly from the surprise rules exactly as written.