I have player with the feat Alert, it says they can't be surprised, so how can I make a surprise round? Can it still happen just I don't get advantage on rolls? or do I make them roll to see if they can see my hidden enemies? I'm just trying to get a free round of attack for part of the story I want them to get captured and try to escape.
In fairness, if a character is surprised, or if a character surprises someone, the first round effectively becomes a surprise round.
To add content, sometimes when I want to manipulate initiative for a given battle without going the route of surprise, I will allow certain characters (or enemies) to roll initiative with advantage to simulate a situational circumstance where someone is a little more likely to be caught off guard, but not surprised in the RAW sense.
In fairness, if a character is surprised, or if a character surprises someone, the first round effectively becomes a surprise round.
To add content, sometimes when I want to manipulate initiative for a given battle without going the route of surprise, I will allow certain characters (or enemies) to roll initiative with advantage to simulate a situational circumstance where someone is a little more likely to be caught off guard, but not surprised in the RAW sense.
I might have to use the advantage on initiative thing, I like that.
The big thing to remember is individual creatures/players become surprised in 5e unlike previous editions where you could surprise the whole party with one roll. When checking to see if a creature/player is surprised each one checks their passive perception vs stealth. With a party of 4 players, one having Alert, that means you could end up with 3 surprised players and the one with Alert is able to act normally.
I'm just trying to get a free round of attack for part of the story I want them to get captured and try to escape.
Make sure the characters have an opportunity to either prevail or escape. If they choose to stand and fight and are defeated and then captured, that's fine. But don't railroad your players into being captured just because you want it to happen.
The Alert feat means a player can't be surprised as long as they are conscious. You can still surprise them if they're asleep.
Think of surprise not as a kind of round, but more as a condition. An Alert character doesn't have to make any kind of check to avoid being surprised - they're simply immune, barring unconsciousness.
The other players can still be surprised if they fail a Perception check against the enemies' Stealth check, but the Alert player would be able to act normally during the first round of combat.
As others have said, there is no such thing as a "Surprised" round within 5th Edition. Instead, when combat starts the DM determines if any creature would be surprised. Surprised creatures cannot move, take actions or take reactions until the end of their turn. Also, which is important in your case, a member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't. That means even though your Alert member cannot be surprised, that does not mean the rest of the party also cannot be surprised.
All this said, if you wanted to houserule surprise rounds, let that player act during the opponents surprise round and anyone without that feat has to wait for the first normal round. Make that player feel good about their choice and the opponent is still in a good spot.
Okay, instead of giving you an unwanted lesson in the differences between how surprise works between different editions how about an idea on how to achieve your goal and in a couple of words that idea is "readied action". So if I wanted to ensure I captured my PCs I would set up an ambush with an overwhelming force. When they PCs enter the ambush zone the enemies spring their trap and use their readied action thereby gaining first strike during the first round. You can then have all the players, with the exception of the one with the Alert feat, roll for surprise. Then drop everyone into initiative order. After the ambush turn the PCs find themselves surrounded by a large number of foes, if they fight then play out the combat, just have the final points of damage inflicted be non-lethal.
I hope this helps.
J
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As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
The ready action is set up as a combat action, so it can't really be used before combat starts.
I wouldn't focus on surprise. If you want them to be captured regardless of feats or player agency just do it. Have a spellcaster hit them with a mass charm spell and make his DC 19 or 20. Have two high level fighters roll 35 on their stealth roll and hit them all with multi-attack arrows dipped in a homebrew sleep potion with a CON save DC of wherever number is too high for them to make. Not being sarcastic, just focusing more on the you wanting them captured vs how to overcome the feat. If you don't want to completely take away his feat, let him know he can act in the first round, but they got a 29 initiative, so he'll be asleep by his turn anyway.
Readying an action when you're not in initiative order is a tricky prospect, especially when things like spells are concerned. It's not impossible and it's a potentially viable idea, but it would have to be done JUST before combat kicks off. In effect, you're manufacturing a surprise environment without explicitly doing so.
@Sigvard - 1st - The DM can decide that the opponents were able to have their actions readied with the trigger being once an opponent reached a certain location. So while you might not allow such a situation in a game you run is fine but to quote Barbosa "They aren't really rules more like guidelines really."
2nd - Giving another DM advice that is paramount "do whatever you want to make the game go how you want it" is really bad advice. A good DM sets up a situation where the players can always win if they are clever enough and use their resources correctly, and employ good strategies. What you suggest is basically the old trope of "you wake in a dungeon cell, chained to the wall, with no idea of how you got there" and anyone who has been a victim of that trope knows that it sucks.
We can do better and we owe to our players to do so.
J
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As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
We had this yesterday: A (human) ranger with alert was lurking through the nightly forest. A goblin guard nearby won his Perception roll against the ranger's Stealth, and the ranger lost his Perception against the goblin's Stealth. (Thus the goblin noticed the ranger, but the ranger not the goblin.)
Now the problem: The goblin wanted to throw his spear from his hideout. The ranger's player argued that the ranger couldn't be surprised, so we should roll for initiative (what the ranger probably would win). A valid point, but: And then? He's first, but has no clue that there is a goblin in the scrubs. So he actually can't attack and has to wait until the goblin shows his presence.
Our solution: Due to his aptitude (the alert feat) he ranger senses danger and may roll for his initiative. But as he can't see the danger, he's limited in his actions: He of course can't attack the goblin or run (deliberately) towards him, but he can for example ready an action, make the Dodge action, cast a spell etc. (In this case, he took the Dodge action, so the goblin missed his throw.)
In other words: A character with alert doesn't suffer the surprise qualities (i. e. can't move or take an action or a reaction in the first round), but that doesn't mean he may not have some hindrances if ambushed under certain circumstances.
I think that neatly solves the problem: The alert character gains a huge bonus (and, in many situations, indeed the first attack or offensive action in general), but this doesn't miraculously overrule failed perception or the like (especially magical means).
The condition of being surprised has very little consequence, aside from very specific classes and skills requiring it.
Lets compare Surprised and not surprised In the case of the ranger and goblin above:
Case 1: Surprise is possible (Ranger doesn't have Alert feat).
As soon as aggression is initiated by any creature, initiative is rolled for the order of attacks.
For this exercise, the Ranger loses initiative and is 'surprised' by the goblin's attack.
The goblin makes his attack with advantage since he is unseen by the ranger, damage is applied as normal, nothing special. The ranger can't even use a reaction if one would help the situation.
OR
As soon as aggression is initiated by any creature, initiative is rolled for the order of attacks.
For this exercise, the Ranger wins initiative but is 'surprised'. He goes first, but has no idea there is an attack coming. He can't do anything. Once his turn ends, he can use reactions.
The goblin makes his attack with advantage since he is unseen by the ranger ('Unseen' is not 'surprise'), damage is applied as normal, nothing special. The ranger CAN use a reaction if one would help the situation.
Case 2: Surprise is not possible (Ranger has the Alert feat).
As soon as aggression is initiated by any creature, initiative is rolled for the order of attacks.
For this exercise, the Ranger loses initiative but can't be 'surprised' by the goblin's attack.
The goblin makes his attack with advantage since he is unseen by the ranger, damage is applied as normal, nothing special. The ranger CAN se a reaction if one would help the situation.
OR
As soon as aggression is initiated by any creature, initiative is rolled for the order of attacks.
For this exercise, the Ranger wins initiative but can't be 'surprised'. He goes first, but has no idea there is a goblin there. As a DM I would insist the Ranger keep doing what he was doing, so moving. If the Ranger was making active perception checks before, I would allow him to make one again as his action. The ranger CAN use a reaction if one would help the situation.
The goblin makes his attack with advantage (or not, if the Ranger rolls perception again and does see the goblin), damage is applied as normal, nothing special. The ranger CAN use a reaction if one would help the situation.
It's not like the ranger can turn around an kill the goblin before the goblin attacks because of his Alert feat. So your goblin still gets to make an attack. The only difference is if the ranger wins initiative and makes another perception check, the ranger may see the goblin first and the goblin loses advantage on the attack.
When DOES surprise matter?
Look at various creatures that have a specific requirement for Surprise, such as:
Bugbear : Surprise Attack. If the bugbear surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) damage from the attack.
Doppleganger : Surprise Attack. If the doppelganger surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 10 (3d6) damage from the attack.
Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.
It's not like the ranger can turn around an kill the goblin before the goblin attacks because of his Alert feat. So your goblin still gets to make an attack. The only difference is if the ranger wins initiative and makes another perception check, the ranger may see the goblin first and the goblin loses advantage on the attack.
In the mentioned case, he couldn't attack, right. But as I said, he could cast a spell or use a special ability. (As a wizard f. e., there would be a lot useful.) Or he could Ready an action, such as: "If someone comes towards me, I attack." Or, as metioned, the can use the Dodge action to boost his defense. (All the more since Alert has "Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being hidden from you.")
It's not like the ranger can turn around an kill the goblin before the goblin attacks because of his Alert feat. So your goblin still gets to make an attack. The only difference is if the ranger wins initiative and makes another perception check, the ranger may see the goblin first and the goblin loses advantage on the attack.
In the mentioned case, he couldn't attack, right. But as I said, he could cast a spell or use a special ability. (As a wizard f. e., there would be a lot useful.) Or he could Ready an action, such as: "If someone comes towards me, I attack." Or, as metioned, the can use the Dodge action to boost his defense. (All the more since Alert has "Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being hidden from you.")
As the DM, you have to adjudicate situations like these. The player knows they're in initiative, but the character does not. If the character was moving through the woods doing perception checks to find dangers, that's about all I would allow the ranger to do as a movement + action. If the ranger was a wizard and the goblin threw a javelin, then the wizard could use their reaction to cast shield. But that's about it.
I think the character *would* know. After all, the alert feat says the character can't be surprised - I'd interpret that as the character being good enough at noticing threats that, even if they don't see the hidden threat, they are alert enough to notice that something is amiss. So I think it makes perfect sense for the character to notice that something is off, and act as if there's an unseen threat nearby.
The DM determines who might be surprised. If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter.
If you're surprised, you can't move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can't take a reaction until that turn ends. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't.
In the example of the ranger above in the thread, the ranger wins initiative but is not aware of the threat. Without the Alert feat, the DM would determine the Ranger is surprised. They wouldn't be allowed to move or take an action, period.
With the Alert feat, they CAN continue to move and take an action, because they can't be surprised. So they could move and roll a perception check for the sake of continuity, because the character doesn't know it's in initiative order, but any other action that would foil the goblin's ranged attack would be metagaming. If the ranger succeeds with a perception check, THEN they could move behind a tree for cover, or at the very least remove advantage from the goblin's attack as it is no longer an unseen attacker.
The Alert feat specifically states that "Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you."
So, no - the goblin in the above case would NOT make an attack roll with advantage if the Ranger was still unable to perceive the goblin after using their action to make a perception check.
Metagaming isn't really an issue here as you can hand-wave it away as "it was a bad throw" or "heard it when it flew past the leaves" or somesuch.
When an attack is made, initiative needs to be rolled regardless of whether or not surprise is to be applied. So if you're doing it differently then that's a houserule.
If the Ranger rolls a higher initiative, then they take their turn as normal. The enemy is hidden, so attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, the Unseen Attackers and Targets section. Or you can houserule that you ask the player in what direction they shoot and have even a "hit" miss due to the direction of the shot.
Otherwise, they can take the dodge action, using some flavor thing such as "the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, so I take the Dodge action and crouch and ready for whatever is in these woods." They can try a perception roll, using their action, and locate it, but I would actually advise against that as the goblin is about to reveal themselves anyway.
(Include moving in there as necessary.)
They have to take their turn before the DM reveals the location of the enemy, because the enemy hasn't attacked yet, and has not revealed itself. So, they might move closer or farther away - it's a gamble.
I think the rules are there to adjudicate this, just have to do a bit of digging to fit them together.
As far as whether or not the character knows they're in combat, I would rule in favor of the player/feat in this case. As I mentioned above, initiative is rolled either way. It's the mechanic of the feat that the character knows something is amiss. They don't know who is where or what is happening (other than inferring some sort of attack roll), but they know something's not right. That's the whole point of the feat. It's not metagaming. But, if you don't like it, feel free to houserule it as you want. Just let the player know when they take the feat.
Personally, I would play it that the goblin is making an attack roll - I would say "roll initiative." Ranger goes first? I would only say "What do you do", and give no context or information. I would maybe say, if I was being particularly nice that day, that "the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end", but nothing more than that. I would probably just allow them to make an attack roll with disadvantage, giving the goblin probably half cover at the very least. If they hit, lucky! Nice! A great use of their feat! Of course, they could do something else with their action, and a smart player would take the dodge action or make a perception check. Either way, the goblin would still attack with advantage, and combat starts in earnest!
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I have player with the feat Alert, it says they can't be surprised, so how can I make a surprise round? Can it still happen just I don't get advantage on rolls? or do I make them roll to see if they can see my hidden enemies? I'm just trying to get a free round of attack for part of the story I want them to get captured and try to escape.
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D&D Beyond FoundersThere's no such thing as a surprise round in Dungeons & Dragons, that's something that happened in previous editions of the rules.
Individual characters/monsters are deemed to be surprised (or not) during the first round of combat, until the end of their turn.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/combat#Surprise
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In fairness, if a character is surprised, or if a character surprises someone, the first round effectively becomes a surprise round.
To add content, sometimes when I want to manipulate initiative for a given battle without going the route of surprise, I will allow certain characters (or enemies) to roll initiative with advantage to simulate a situational circumstance where someone is a little more likely to be caught off guard, but not surprised in the RAW sense.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I might have to use the advantage on initiative thing, I like that.
The big thing to remember is individual creatures/players become surprised in 5e unlike previous editions where you could surprise the whole party with one roll. When checking to see if a creature/player is surprised each one checks their passive perception vs stealth. With a party of 4 players, one having Alert, that means you could end up with 3 surprised players and the one with Alert is able to act normally.
Make sure the characters have an opportunity to either prevail or escape. If they choose to stand and fight and are defeated and then captured, that's fine. But don't railroad your players into being captured just because you want it to happen.
The Alert feat means a player can't be surprised as long as they are conscious. You can still surprise them if they're asleep.
Think of surprise not as a kind of round, but more as a condition. An Alert character doesn't have to make any kind of check to avoid being surprised - they're simply immune, barring unconsciousness.
The other players can still be surprised if they fail a Perception check against the enemies' Stealth check, but the Alert player would be able to act normally during the first round of combat.
As others have said, there is no such thing as a "Surprised" round within 5th Edition. Instead, when combat starts the DM determines if any creature would be surprised. Surprised creatures cannot move, take actions or take reactions until the end of their turn. Also, which is important in your case, a member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't. That means even though your Alert member cannot be surprised, that does not mean the rest of the party also cannot be surprised.
All this said, if you wanted to houserule surprise rounds, let that player act during the opponents surprise round and anyone without that feat has to wait for the first normal round. Make that player feel good about their choice and the opponent is still in a good spot.
Okay, instead of giving you an unwanted lesson in the differences between how surprise works between different editions how about an idea on how to achieve your goal and in a couple of words that idea is "readied action". So if I wanted to ensure I captured my PCs I would set up an ambush with an overwhelming force. When they PCs enter the ambush zone the enemies spring their trap and use their readied action thereby gaining first strike during the first round. You can then have all the players, with the exception of the one with the Alert feat, roll for surprise. Then drop everyone into initiative order. After the ambush turn the PCs find themselves surrounded by a large number of foes, if they fight then play out the combat, just have the final points of damage inflicted be non-lethal.
I hope this helps.
J
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
The ready action is set up as a combat action, so it can't really be used before combat starts.
I wouldn't focus on surprise. If you want them to be captured regardless of feats or player agency just do it. Have a spellcaster hit them with a mass charm spell and make his DC 19 or 20. Have two high level fighters roll 35 on their stealth roll and hit them all with multi-attack arrows dipped in a homebrew sleep potion with a CON save DC of wherever number is too high for them to make. Not being sarcastic, just focusing more on the you wanting them captured vs how to overcome the feat. If you don't want to completely take away his feat, let him know he can act in the first round, but they got a 29 initiative, so he'll be asleep by his turn anyway.
Readying an action when you're not in initiative order is a tricky prospect, especially when things like spells are concerned. It's not impossible and it's a potentially viable idea, but it would have to be done JUST before combat kicks off. In effect, you're manufacturing a surprise environment without explicitly doing so.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
@Sigvard - 1st - The DM can decide that the opponents were able to have their actions readied with the trigger being once an opponent reached a certain location. So while you might not allow such a situation in a game you run is fine but to quote Barbosa "They aren't really rules more like guidelines really."
2nd - Giving another DM advice that is paramount "do whatever you want to make the game go how you want it" is really bad advice. A good DM sets up a situation where the players can always win if they are clever enough and use their resources correctly, and employ good strategies. What you suggest is basically the old trope of "you wake in a dungeon cell, chained to the wall, with no idea of how you got there" and anyone who has been a victim of that trope knows that it sucks.
We can do better and we owe to our players to do so.
J
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
We had this yesterday: A (human) ranger with alert was lurking through the nightly forest. A goblin guard nearby won his Perception roll against the ranger's Stealth, and the ranger lost his Perception against the goblin's Stealth. (Thus the goblin noticed the ranger, but the ranger not the goblin.)
Now the problem: The goblin wanted to throw his spear from his hideout. The ranger's player argued that the ranger couldn't be surprised, so we should roll for initiative (what the ranger probably would win). A valid point, but: And then? He's first, but has no clue that there is a goblin in the scrubs. So he actually can't attack and has to wait until the goblin shows his presence.
Our solution: Due to his aptitude (the alert feat) he ranger senses danger and may roll for his initiative. But as he can't see the danger, he's limited in his actions: He of course can't attack the goblin or run (deliberately) towards him, but he can for example ready an action, make the Dodge action, cast a spell etc. (In this case, he took the Dodge action, so the goblin missed his throw.)
In other words: A character with alert doesn't suffer the surprise qualities (i. e. can't move or take an action or a reaction in the first round), but that doesn't mean he may not have some hindrances if ambushed under certain circumstances.
I think that neatly solves the problem: The alert character gains a huge bonus (and, in many situations, indeed the first attack or offensive action in general), but this doesn't miraculously overrule failed perception or the like (especially magical means).
The condition of being surprised has very little consequence, aside from very specific classes and skills requiring it.
Lets compare Surprised and not surprised In the case of the ranger and goblin above:
Case 1: Surprise is possible (Ranger doesn't have Alert feat).
OR
Case 2: Surprise is not possible (Ranger has the Alert feat).
OR
It's not like the ranger can turn around an kill the goblin before the goblin attacks because of his Alert feat. So your goblin still gets to make an attack. The only difference is if the ranger wins initiative and makes another perception check, the ranger may see the goblin first and the goblin loses advantage on the attack.
When DOES surprise matter?
Look at various creatures that have a specific requirement for Surprise, such as:
Assassinate
Starting at 3rd level, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in the combat yet. In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit.
In the mentioned case, he couldn't attack, right. But as I said, he could cast a spell or use a special ability. (As a wizard f. e., there would be a lot useful.) Or he could Ready an action, such as: "If someone comes towards me, I attack." Or, as metioned, the can use the Dodge action to boost his defense. (All the more since Alert has "Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being hidden from you.")
I want to say thanks to everyone who responded and keeps responding, it is amazing how great this community is.
As the DM, you have to adjudicate situations like these. The player knows they're in initiative, but the character does not. If the character was moving through the woods doing perception checks to find dangers, that's about all I would allow the ranger to do as a movement + action. If the ranger was a wizard and the goblin threw a javelin, then the wizard could use their reaction to cast shield. But that's about it.
I think the character *would* know. After all, the alert feat says the character can't be surprised - I'd interpret that as the character being good enough at noticing threats that, even if they don't see the hidden threat, they are alert enough to notice that something is amiss. So I think it makes perfect sense for the character to notice that something is off, and act as if there's an unseen threat nearby.
No, because 'Surprised' is a very specific condition. It does not mean the character is aware of a creature that is about to attack it.
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Copied text, emphasis mine:
The DM determines who might be surprised. If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter.
If you're surprised, you can't move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can't take a reaction until that turn ends. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't.
In the example of the ranger above in the thread, the ranger wins initiative but is not aware of the threat. Without the Alert feat, the DM would determine the Ranger is surprised. They wouldn't be allowed to move or take an action, period.
With the Alert feat, they CAN continue to move and take an action, because they can't be surprised. So they could move and roll a perception check for the sake of continuity, because the character doesn't know it's in initiative order, but any other action that would foil the goblin's ranged attack would be metagaming. If the ranger succeeds with a perception check, THEN they could move behind a tree for cover, or at the very least remove advantage from the goblin's attack as it is no longer an unseen attacker.
Those are the benefits of the Alert Feat.
The Alert feat specifically states that "Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you."
So, no - the goblin in the above case would NOT make an attack roll with advantage if the Ranger was still unable to perceive the goblin after using their action to make a perception check.
Metagaming isn't really an issue here as you can hand-wave it away as "it was a bad throw" or "heard it when it flew past the leaves" or somesuch.
When an attack is made, initiative needs to be rolled regardless of whether or not surprise is to be applied. So if you're doing it differently then that's a houserule.
If the Ranger rolls a higher initiative, then they take their turn as normal. The enemy is hidden, so attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, the Unseen Attackers and Targets section. Or you can houserule that you ask the player in what direction they shoot and have even a "hit" miss due to the direction of the shot.
Otherwise, they can take the dodge action, using some flavor thing such as "the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, so I take the Dodge action and crouch and ready for whatever is in these woods." They can try a perception roll, using their action, and locate it, but I would actually advise against that as the goblin is about to reveal themselves anyway.
(Include moving in there as necessary.)
They have to take their turn before the DM reveals the location of the enemy, because the enemy hasn't attacked yet, and has not revealed itself. So, they might move closer or farther away - it's a gamble.
I think the rules are there to adjudicate this, just have to do a bit of digging to fit them together.
As far as whether or not the character knows they're in combat, I would rule in favor of the player/feat in this case. As I mentioned above, initiative is rolled either way. It's the mechanic of the feat that the character knows something is amiss. They don't know who is where or what is happening (other than inferring some sort of attack roll), but they know something's not right. That's the whole point of the feat. It's not metagaming. But, if you don't like it, feel free to houserule it as you want. Just let the player know when they take the feat.
Personally, I would play it that the goblin is making an attack roll - I would say "roll initiative." Ranger goes first? I would only say "What do you do", and give no context or information. I would maybe say, if I was being particularly nice that day, that "the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end", but nothing more than that. I would probably just allow them to make an attack roll with disadvantage, giving the goblin probably half cover at the very least. If they hit, lucky! Nice! A great use of their feat! Of course, they could do something else with their action, and a smart player would take the dodge action or make a perception check. Either way, the goblin would still attack with advantage, and combat starts in earnest!