If a character with the Alert feat rolls a crit fail on their Perception check, are they surprised?After successfully hitting with an attack roll, when rolling for damage, if you roll a 1, is that a negative crit?Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?If you roll a 1 on a saving throw against a damage spell, do you take extra damage?Does a single PC who is stealthy get to surprise monsters when the rest of the group is not?Is the Alert Feat better than an Ability Score Improvement for a Rogue?Does the Alert feat make it impossible to pickpocket a character?How might a dex Fighter multiclass to maximize AC and damage per round?When Perception contests Stealth, how do you know which side gets advantage or disadvantage?Does Assassinate bypass Alert feat?Should a low roll mean my players get false information?Grappler Feat: Advantage on Attack Rolls While Being Grappled?How can I modify attacks on creatures making Death Saves to have less Coup de Grace?Advice on TWO troublesome players and their characters

Why isn't KTEX's runway designation 10/28 instead of 9/27?

What does 사자 in this picture means?

Freedom of speech and where it applies

Simple recursive Sudoku solver

Resetting two CD4017 counters simultaneously, only one resets

What if somebody invests in my application?

Adding empty element to declared container without declaring type of element

Could solar power be utilized and substitute coal in the 19th century?

A workplace installs custom certificates on personal devices, can this be used to decrypt HTTPS traffic?

Female=gender counterpart?

Proving by induction of n. Is this correct until this point?

I2C signal and power over long range (10meter cable)

Partial sums of primes

Greatest common substring

Java - What do constructor type arguments mean when placed *before* the type?

How can I raise concerns with a new DM about XP splitting?

Teaching indefinite integrals that require special-casing

Was the picture area of a CRT a parallelogram (instead of a true rectangle)?

Is there enough fresh water in the world to eradicate the drinking water crisis?

Can I Retrieve Email Addresses from BCC?

Does "Dominei" mean something?

How can a jailer prevent the Forge Cleric's Artisan's Blessing from being used?

Why is delta-v is the most useful quantity for planning space travel?

Is there an wasy way to program in Tikz something like the one in the image?



If a character with the Alert feat rolls a crit fail on their Perception check, are they surprised?


After successfully hitting with an attack roll, when rolling for damage, if you roll a 1, is that a negative crit?Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?If you roll a 1 on a saving throw against a damage spell, do you take extra damage?Does a single PC who is stealthy get to surprise monsters when the rest of the group is not?Is the Alert Feat better than an Ability Score Improvement for a Rogue?Does the Alert feat make it impossible to pickpocket a character?How might a dex Fighter multiclass to maximize AC and damage per round?When Perception contests Stealth, how do you know which side gets advantage or disadvantage?Does Assassinate bypass Alert feat?Should a low roll mean my players get false information?Grappler Feat: Advantage on Attack Rolls While Being Grappled?How can I modify attacks on creatures making Death Saves to have less Coup de Grace?Advice on TWO troublesome players and their characters













12












$begingroup$


A Druid in my campaign has the Alert feat, which stops her from being surprised.



If she rolls a critical failure on her Perception check, would:



  1. She get surprised because she crit-failed?


  2. The Alert feat negate that?


I'm leaning more toward it's "up to the DM," but I wanted to get a second perspective on this.










share|improve this question









New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$











  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Possible duplicate of Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    see also rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/93831 , rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/135860
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @enkryptor Don't think it's a dupe, this one has the feat as an added consideration.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @KorvinStarmast the feat is irrelevant. The question basically asks "does the feat beat crit fail", but there is no such thing as "crit fail" in 5e. This would be valid for any "does X beat crit fail" question.
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    20 hours ago















12












$begingroup$


A Druid in my campaign has the Alert feat, which stops her from being surprised.



If she rolls a critical failure on her Perception check, would:



  1. She get surprised because she crit-failed?


  2. The Alert feat negate that?


I'm leaning more toward it's "up to the DM," but I wanted to get a second perspective on this.










share|improve this question









New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$











  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Possible duplicate of Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    see also rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/93831 , rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/135860
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @enkryptor Don't think it's a dupe, this one has the feat as an added consideration.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @KorvinStarmast the feat is irrelevant. The question basically asks "does the feat beat crit fail", but there is no such thing as "crit fail" in 5e. This would be valid for any "does X beat crit fail" question.
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    20 hours ago













12












12








12





$begingroup$


A Druid in my campaign has the Alert feat, which stops her from being surprised.



If she rolls a critical failure on her Perception check, would:



  1. She get surprised because she crit-failed?


  2. The Alert feat negate that?


I'm leaning more toward it's "up to the DM," but I wanted to get a second perspective on this.










share|improve this question









New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$




A Druid in my campaign has the Alert feat, which stops her from being surprised.



If she rolls a critical failure on her Perception check, would:



  1. She get surprised because she crit-failed?


  2. The Alert feat negate that?


I'm leaning more toward it's "up to the DM," but I wanted to get a second perspective on this.







dnd-5e feats skills critical-fail






share|improve this question









New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited yesterday









V2Blast

25.6k488158




25.6k488158






New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked yesterday









tbrotbro

613




613




New contributor




tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






tbro is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Possible duplicate of Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    see also rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/93831 , rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/135860
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @enkryptor Don't think it's a dupe, this one has the feat as an added consideration.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @KorvinStarmast the feat is irrelevant. The question basically asks "does the feat beat crit fail", but there is no such thing as "crit fail" in 5e. This would be valid for any "does X beat crit fail" question.
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    20 hours ago
















  • $begingroup$
    Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
    $endgroup$
    – V2Blast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    Possible duplicate of Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    see also rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/93831 , rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/135860
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @enkryptor Don't think it's a dupe, this one has the feat as an added consideration.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    yesterday










  • $begingroup$
    @KorvinStarmast the feat is irrelevant. The question basically asks "does the feat beat crit fail", but there is no such thing as "crit fail" in 5e. This would be valid for any "does X beat crit fail" question.
    $endgroup$
    – enkryptor
    20 hours ago















$begingroup$
Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
yesterday




$begingroup$
Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance.
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
yesterday












$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
yesterday




$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is a critical failure on a natural 1 a rule or house rule?
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
yesterday












$begingroup$
see also rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/93831 , rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/135860
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
yesterday




$begingroup$
see also rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/93831 , rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/135860
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
yesterday












$begingroup$
@enkryptor Don't think it's a dupe, this one has the feat as an added consideration.
$endgroup$
– KorvinStarmast
yesterday




$begingroup$
@enkryptor Don't think it's a dupe, this one has the feat as an added consideration.
$endgroup$
– KorvinStarmast
yesterday












$begingroup$
@KorvinStarmast the feat is irrelevant. The question basically asks "does the feat beat crit fail", but there is no such thing as "crit fail" in 5e. This would be valid for any "does X beat crit fail" question.
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
20 hours ago




$begingroup$
@KorvinStarmast the feat is irrelevant. The question basically asks "does the feat beat crit fail", but there is no such thing as "crit fail" in 5e. This would be valid for any "does X beat crit fail" question.
$endgroup$
– enkryptor
20 hours ago










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















41












$begingroup$

2. The Alert feat negates surprise



Because the Alert feat (PHB, p. 165) states:




You can't be surprised while you are conscious




A character with the Alert feat cannot be surprised while they are conscious.



"Surprised" has a clear mechanical meaning.



If a character is surprised, they cannot act on their first turn of combat, and after their first turn, they are no longer surprised.



A character with the Alert feat who rolls a low perception check can be unprepared, but never surprised. Perhaps they don't have enough time to wake all their allies before combat starts or they don't have time to get into position or take the action required to don a shield (before combat). But they can never be "surprised".



Rules as Written, critical failures are only for attack rolls.



It is a common house rule that rolling a 1 on a d20 results in a critical fail, whatever the context - but there is no rule in D&D 5e that states that is the case for anything but attack rolls, where the result is simply "you miss".




Notes:



  1. The optional rule on page 242 of the DMG ("Critical Success or
    Failure") doesn't explicitly state that a 1 rolled on an ability
    check overrides a feat's features.

  2. While it is not called "critical fail" or "critical success" the
    death saving throw is a unique case in the rules where the
    mechanics of a benefit, or harm, accrues to a saving throw coming up
    20 or 1. (On a 20 you have 1 HP and are no longer unconscious, on a
    1 you get two fails).





share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
    $endgroup$
    – Nacht
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    16 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    16 hours ago










Your Answer





StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function ()
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function ()
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix)
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["\$", "\$"]]);
);
);
, "mathjax-editing");

StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "122"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);






tbro is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f143837%2fif-a-character-with-the-alert-feat-rolls-a-crit-fail-on-their-perception-check%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









41












$begingroup$

2. The Alert feat negates surprise



Because the Alert feat (PHB, p. 165) states:




You can't be surprised while you are conscious




A character with the Alert feat cannot be surprised while they are conscious.



"Surprised" has a clear mechanical meaning.



If a character is surprised, they cannot act on their first turn of combat, and after their first turn, they are no longer surprised.



A character with the Alert feat who rolls a low perception check can be unprepared, but never surprised. Perhaps they don't have enough time to wake all their allies before combat starts or they don't have time to get into position or take the action required to don a shield (before combat). But they can never be "surprised".



Rules as Written, critical failures are only for attack rolls.



It is a common house rule that rolling a 1 on a d20 results in a critical fail, whatever the context - but there is no rule in D&D 5e that states that is the case for anything but attack rolls, where the result is simply "you miss".




Notes:



  1. The optional rule on page 242 of the DMG ("Critical Success or
    Failure") doesn't explicitly state that a 1 rolled on an ability
    check overrides a feat's features.

  2. While it is not called "critical fail" or "critical success" the
    death saving throw is a unique case in the rules where the
    mechanics of a benefit, or harm, accrues to a saving throw coming up
    20 or 1. (On a 20 you have 1 HP and are no longer unconscious, on a
    1 you get two fails).





share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
    $endgroup$
    – Nacht
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    16 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    16 hours ago















41












$begingroup$

2. The Alert feat negates surprise



Because the Alert feat (PHB, p. 165) states:




You can't be surprised while you are conscious




A character with the Alert feat cannot be surprised while they are conscious.



"Surprised" has a clear mechanical meaning.



If a character is surprised, they cannot act on their first turn of combat, and after their first turn, they are no longer surprised.



A character with the Alert feat who rolls a low perception check can be unprepared, but never surprised. Perhaps they don't have enough time to wake all their allies before combat starts or they don't have time to get into position or take the action required to don a shield (before combat). But they can never be "surprised".



Rules as Written, critical failures are only for attack rolls.



It is a common house rule that rolling a 1 on a d20 results in a critical fail, whatever the context - but there is no rule in D&D 5e that states that is the case for anything but attack rolls, where the result is simply "you miss".




Notes:



  1. The optional rule on page 242 of the DMG ("Critical Success or
    Failure") doesn't explicitly state that a 1 rolled on an ability
    check overrides a feat's features.

  2. While it is not called "critical fail" or "critical success" the
    death saving throw is a unique case in the rules where the
    mechanics of a benefit, or harm, accrues to a saving throw coming up
    20 or 1. (On a 20 you have 1 HP and are no longer unconscious, on a
    1 you get two fails).





share|improve this answer











$endgroup$








  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
    $endgroup$
    – Nacht
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    16 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    16 hours ago













41












41








41





$begingroup$

2. The Alert feat negates surprise



Because the Alert feat (PHB, p. 165) states:




You can't be surprised while you are conscious




A character with the Alert feat cannot be surprised while they are conscious.



"Surprised" has a clear mechanical meaning.



If a character is surprised, they cannot act on their first turn of combat, and after their first turn, they are no longer surprised.



A character with the Alert feat who rolls a low perception check can be unprepared, but never surprised. Perhaps they don't have enough time to wake all their allies before combat starts or they don't have time to get into position or take the action required to don a shield (before combat). But they can never be "surprised".



Rules as Written, critical failures are only for attack rolls.



It is a common house rule that rolling a 1 on a d20 results in a critical fail, whatever the context - but there is no rule in D&D 5e that states that is the case for anything but attack rolls, where the result is simply "you miss".




Notes:



  1. The optional rule on page 242 of the DMG ("Critical Success or
    Failure") doesn't explicitly state that a 1 rolled on an ability
    check overrides a feat's features.

  2. While it is not called "critical fail" or "critical success" the
    death saving throw is a unique case in the rules where the
    mechanics of a benefit, or harm, accrues to a saving throw coming up
    20 or 1. (On a 20 you have 1 HP and are no longer unconscious, on a
    1 you get two fails).





share|improve this answer











$endgroup$



2. The Alert feat negates surprise



Because the Alert feat (PHB, p. 165) states:




You can't be surprised while you are conscious




A character with the Alert feat cannot be surprised while they are conscious.



"Surprised" has a clear mechanical meaning.



If a character is surprised, they cannot act on their first turn of combat, and after their first turn, they are no longer surprised.



A character with the Alert feat who rolls a low perception check can be unprepared, but never surprised. Perhaps they don't have enough time to wake all their allies before combat starts or they don't have time to get into position or take the action required to don a shield (before combat). But they can never be "surprised".



Rules as Written, critical failures are only for attack rolls.



It is a common house rule that rolling a 1 on a d20 results in a critical fail, whatever the context - but there is no rule in D&D 5e that states that is the case for anything but attack rolls, where the result is simply "you miss".




Notes:



  1. The optional rule on page 242 of the DMG ("Critical Success or
    Failure") doesn't explicitly state that a 1 rolled on an ability
    check overrides a feat's features.

  2. While it is not called "critical fail" or "critical success" the
    death saving throw is a unique case in the rules where the
    mechanics of a benefit, or harm, accrues to a saving throw coming up
    20 or 1. (On a 20 you have 1 HP and are no longer unconscious, on a
    1 you get two fails).






share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 16 hours ago









KorvinStarmast

82.5k20257444




82.5k20257444










answered yesterday









Blake SteelBlake Steel

3,9981948




3,9981948







  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
    $endgroup$
    – Nacht
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    16 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    16 hours ago












  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
    $endgroup$
    – Nacht
    yesterday






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
    $endgroup$
    – KorvinStarmast
    16 hours ago










  • $begingroup$
    Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
    $endgroup$
    – goodguy5
    16 hours ago







4




4




$begingroup$
Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
$endgroup$
– Nacht
yesterday




$begingroup$
Crit fails (and successes) are also for death saves.
$endgroup$
– Nacht
yesterday




1




1




$begingroup$
@Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
$endgroup$
– KorvinStarmast
16 hours ago




$begingroup$
@Nacht I added your point in as a note. Blake, I hope you approve. If not, by all means revert.
$endgroup$
– KorvinStarmast
16 hours ago












$begingroup$
Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
$endgroup$
– goodguy5
16 hours ago




$begingroup$
Personally, I feel that " critical failures are only for attack rolls." should be the main point here, as it resolves any other confusion.
$endgroup$
– goodguy5
16 hours ago










tbro is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









draft saved

draft discarded


















tbro is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












tbro is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.











tbro is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.














Thanks for contributing an answer to Role-playing Games Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid


  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2frpg.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f143837%2fif-a-character-with-the-alert-feat-rolls-a-crit-fail-on-their-perception-check%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Sum ergo cogito? 1 nng

三茅街道4182Guuntc Dn precexpngmageondP