In one of my campaigns an NPC traveling with the party is planning to betray them during combat with another monster. Would it be possible for the characters to be surprised by his attack, but not by the general combat? How would that play out? The main reason I’m asking this is for features like assassinate that require surprise to activate. Or should I just give the betraying character advantage or an attack bonus for the first round instead?
Additionally, I’ve noticed surprise is usually perception against stealth, but could it also be determined by deception against insight? What I mean by this is that if someone at first appears to be a friendly ally, but is really trying to gather information before attempting to kill the characters. Shouldn’t the characters be surprised by the attack?
In one of my campaigns an NPC traveling with the party is planning to betray them during combat with another monster. Would it be possible for the characters to be surprised by his attack, but not by the general combat? How would that play out? The main reason I’m asking this is for features like assassinate that require surprise to activate. Or should I just give the betraying character advantage or an attack bonus for the first round instead?
Surprise is meant to be used in situations where a creature was completely off-guard when combat broke out. Once combat starts and the creature knows it's in danger, it can't be surprised again until the encounter ends and they drop their guard. I would give the attacker advantage. The reason Assassinate is so strong is that successfully sneaking up on the victim usually isn't easy, especially when traveling as a group (it only takes one low Stealth roll to ruin the ambush.)
Additionally, I’ve noticed surprise is usually perception against stealth, but could it also be determined by deception against insight? What I mean by this is that if someone at first appears to be a friendly ally, but is really trying to gather information before attempting to kill the characters. Shouldn’t the characters be surprised by the attack?
This is possible, though you should handle the situation with care. The players should only be surprised if they fully trust the attacker, which usually won't be the case for someone they've just met. If you punish the players with a surprise attack from an NPC they didn't regard as a friend, it's going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and they're going to start shooting first and asking questions later to prevent that from happening again.
In one of my campaigns an NPC traveling with the party is planning to betray them during combat with another monster. Would it be possible for the characters to be surprised by his attack, but not by the general combat? How would that play out? The main reason I’m asking this is for features like assassinate that require surprise to activate. Or should I just give the betraying character advantage or an attack bonus for the first round instead?
Additionally, I’ve noticed surprise is usually perception against stealth, but could it also be determined by deception against insight? What I mean by this is that if someone at first appears to be a friendly ally, but is really trying to gather information before attempting to kill the characters. Shouldn’t the characters be surprised by the attack?
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
You could give the npc a surprise round mid combat, effectivly let them take 2 actions?
Surprise is meant to be used in situations where a creature was completely off-guard when combat broke out. Once combat starts and the creature knows it's in danger, it can't be surprised again until the encounter ends and they drop their guard. I would give the attacker advantage. The reason Assassinate is so strong is that successfully sneaking up on the victim usually isn't easy, especially when traveling as a group (it only takes one low Stealth roll to ruin the ambush.)
This is possible, though you should handle the situation with care. The players should only be surprised if they fully trust the attacker, which usually won't be the case for someone they've just met. If you punish the players with a surprise attack from an NPC they didn't regard as a friend, it's going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and they're going to start shooting first and asking questions later to prevent that from happening again.
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