Surprise (game mechanic)

Surprised

 Surprised is a special condition that can affect creatures during the first round of combat. When one side of a combat encounter is unaware of the other side, they may be Surprised. A Surprised creature cannot take any Actions or Reactions for one combat round. Characters with the Alert feat, the Feral Instinct feature or under the effects of certain items (like the Elixir of Vigilance) cannot be Surprised.

Certain combat encounters, especially ones that occur after an in-game cutscene, are set to always  Surprise the party. These can usually be countered by utilizing conditions such as  Invisible or hiding in heavily obscured areas with spells such as  Darkness before triggering them.

List of Surprise encounters

• Sneaking into the Overgrown Ruins Refectory will leave Andorn  Surprised.
• Interacting with certain caskets in the cave inside the Apothecary's Cellar will cause an Agile Guardian to burst out and  Surprise the party.
• Attacking the bloated hyenas along the Risen Road will leave them  Surprised.
• Magma Mephits will  Surprise the party if they approach the mithral vein closest to the Adamantine Forge.
• All Mimic combat encounters will always  Surprise the party when interacting with them in their disguised form. Attacking them from range will start the battle without being surprised.
• In the Underdark, approaching the Petrified Battlefield will initiate combat with a Spectator, triggering a cutscene which leaves the party  Surprised.
• Approaching the Underdark Beach will trigger a conversation with a Duergar. If attacked immediately, the whole Duergar party will be left  Surprised. If Gekh Coal is called and he turns hostile, the player's party will be  Surprised instead.
• At the end of "Dribbles'" performance at the Circus of the Last Days, the party will be left  Surprised unless the ambush is observed through passive Perception checks, in which case the ambushers will be  Surprised instead.