What is surprise in D&D 5e?
Surprise is a mechanic for catching creatures off-guard. Whether a party of adventurers sneaks up on a group of hobgoblins or an invisible stalker lies in wait for those adventurers in a dark dungeon, both are examples of the surprise mechanic in D&D 5e. Surprise is designed to give ambushers the upper hand in battle, leaving their quarry unprepared and vulnerable. Any creature can use the surprise mechanic—both players and enemies (or non-player characters) controlled by the dungeon master (DM). The rules of surprise differ slightly depending on whether you use the 2014 rules for D&D 5e or the 2024 revisions. We’ll cover both below!
How Surprise Works in D&D 5e
Surprise is based on stealth checks versus passive perception. When one creature (either a character or a DM-controlled enemy) tries to surprise another, that creature must roll a stealth (Dexterity) check contested by the passive perception scores of all creatures on the opposing side. Surprise is successful if a creature’s stealth check is higher than its opponent’s passive perception. For example, say your character is trying to take an enemy wizard by surprise, so you roll a stealth check and get a 22. If the wizard’s passive perception is below 22, they won’t notice your character and will be surprised. If the wizard’s passive perception is a 22 or above, they won’t be surprised.
Surprised creatures are affected at the start of combat. The DM must declare whether a surprise ambush is successful by comparing each combatant's passive perception scores and stealth checks (both players and their foes). However, the consequences of being surprised vary between 5e’s 2014 and 2024 rules: Surprise rules (2014): Surprised creatures can’t move or take an action on their first turn in combat and can’t take a reaction until that turn ends. Surprise rules (2024): Creatures that are surprised at the beginning of combat have disadvantage on their initiative rolls.
One group member can be surprised even if the others aren’t. In other words, the surprised condition applies to individual creatures; if your character has a lower passive perception score, they might be surprised even if a party member isn’t (or vice versa). However, to surprise an enemy, the entire party must bypass that enemy’s passive perception—which can be difficult. Basically, if an enemy sees even one party member coming, it won’t matter if the rest roll high stealth checks because that enemy still won’t be surprised. For example, a rogue might consistently make excellent stealth checks—but if the fighter rolls poorly, the party as a whole won’t surprise any targets. To fix this, try using group stealth checks. Have each player roll, and if the majority of the stealth checks are higher than an enemy’s passive perception, the entire group successfully surprises their foe.
Comparing 5e’s 2014 vs 2024 Surprise Rules
The 2024 revised rules reduce the power of surprise significantly. That’s not necessarily bad; because the 2014 rules prevent surprised creatures from taking a full turn in the first round of combat, it’s easier for ambushers to defeat enemies—or end entire combat encounters before they begin. In the 2024 rules, surprised creatures are simply less likely to act as quickly as their enemies. Ultimately, if you’re the DM, you can decide for yourself which version of the 5e surprise rules you’d rather use. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The 2014 rules can make an ambush feel super effective for players—but may throw off your plans when they wipe out a boss enemy in one turn. Surprise won’t impact combat as much in the 2024 rules, but it’ll prevent players from taking out important enemies too soon (and make clever enemies less likely to get lucky and decimate an entire party of characters).
How to Handle Surprise Rounds
Determine surprise at the beginning of combat before anything else. Combat begins the moment a hostile action is detected. So, “surprise rounds” aren’t actually real; instead, surprise is determined and enforced at the start of the first round of combat. Thus, any creature whose passive perception isn’t high enough to notice a sneaking enemy is surprised once combat begins. For example, if the party’s rogue hides and fires a crossbow bolt at an enemy, combat would begin as soon as the bolt hits. The entire party can’t also attack before rolling for initiative.
Have combatants roll initiative, factoring in any that are surprised. Once you’ve determined which creatures are surprised, everyone must roll initiative—since that determines the order of each combatant’s turn in every round. If you’re using 5e’s 2024 rules, have surprised creatures roll with disadvantage. If you’re using 5e’s 2014 rules, have all creatures—even surprised ones—roll initiative normally. To make an initiative check, roll a d20 and add your character’s initiative modifier (which is their Dexterity modifier plus any potential bonuses). Disadvantage simply means rolling 2d20 and taking the lower result; thus, in 2024’s rules, surprised creatures are more likely to have a low initiative roll.
Begin the combat using your established initiative order. When setting the initiative order of combat, rank each combatant’s initiative roll from highest to lowest, with the highest roll taking their turn first. If you’re using 2014’s rules, skip the turn of all surprised creatures for the first round of combat. If you’re using the 2024 rules, follow the initiative order as usual. Keep in mind that 2014’s surprise rules still allow surprised creatures to use a reaction in the first round of combat—it just can’t be until after their turn is skipped. For example, if your character is surprised, you must wait until the initiative order moves past your turn. Once you’ve been skipped and your turn is over, you can use a reaction (if you have one).
Which dice rolls are affected by surprise?
Surprise affects initiative rolls and certain attack rolls. In the 2024 rules, surprise imposes disadvantage on initiative rolls; in the 2014 rules, it simply affects how soon you can act. Beyond that, surprise can indirectly affect attack rolls; while the rules for surprise don’t say anything about attacks, any creature considered an “unseen attacker” has advantage on their first attack roll. Advantage on attack rolls means rolling a d20 twice and taking the higher result, then adding your attack bonus to that. So, if an enemy doesn’t see your character coming (meaning your stealth check is higher than their passive perception), you’ll have a higher chance of landing an attack. Surprise doesn’t officially affect any saving throws. Depending on the effect you’re using, however, the DM might allow you to impose disadvantage on an enemy’s saving throw. You can always ask!
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