Hide

Hide is an action that can be used both in and out of combat allows the user to obscure and conceal their location.

In Combat

Please see the Combat Rulings for more information:

Any character may hide on their turn as long as no hostile creature can see them. Rogues can hide using a bonus action.

The following is checked automatically:

• If the character is inside Heavily Obscured area (Cloudkill, Darkness, Fog Cloud, Hunger of Hadar), they can hide.
• If the character is invisible, they can hide.
• If the character is hidden behind an obstacle (out of Line of Sight of all non-defeated, non-blinded, hostile creatures), they can hide.

In all other cases, the character may not hide.

Foes may use Spot free action only on their turn to reveal a character they can see. That means that inside Heavily Obscured areas, or if you are Blinded, or if they are Invisible, you cannot use the Spot ability.

Out of Combat

Characters may hide whenever it makes sense. Rangers may hide in plain sight using the feature of the same name, but they cannot move as they are camouflaged in that spot, otherwise hide behind some obstacles, sneak near walls, and simply use common sense.

Other characters may use Spot ability once, unless the hiding player moved too close or into their sight, in which case they may use it again. Of course, communicate with other players and you may roll multiple times based on mutual agreement if it makes sense in the situation based on movement of the hiding player, etc.

When using the Spot ability, contested roll of Stealth vs Perception is used, and the following is taken into account:

• If you are missing one eye, you get -5 to your Perception check, -10 if you are missing both.
• If the target is camouflaged, they have +5 to their Stealth check.
• If the target is under influence of Pass Without Trace spell, they have +5 to their Stealth check.
• If the target is more than 6 tiles away, they roll their Stealth check with advantage.
• If the target is closer than 2 tiles, they roll their Stealth check with disadvantage.
• If the target is outside of your Line of Sight, you roll your Perception with disadvantage.
• If the target is in your Line of Sight and also within 45° spot angle of the direction you are looking, you roll your Perception with advantage.
• If the target is in your Line of Sight but also outside of 100° peripheral vision angle of the direction you are looking, you roll your Perception with disadvantage.

In all other cases, ability checks are rolled without (dis)advantage, unless they are influenced by some external conditions. This is all automatic, you just use the ability.