😲Surprise

Surprise is the rule that handles the opening of a fight when one side gets the jump on the other. A Surprise Round is not granted automatically just because a side is unaware — it has to be earned through a specific triggering event. This makes a competent stealth character (or a sharp-eyed scout) a meaningful asset to the party: they are the ones who can secure the opening round.

How a Surprise Round Is Triggered

A Surprise Round is triggered in one of two ways:

Trigger 1: A Successful Sneak Attack

When a character makes a Sneak Attack that hits its target, combat begins immediately with a Surprise Round in favor of the attacker’s side.

• The attacker resolves the Sneak Attack first (it is the opening action of the Surprise Round).
• Every creature on the target’s side gains the 😲 Surprised debuff for the round.
• The attacker’s allies (whether stealthed or not) act in the Surprise Round in their normal ⏱ Sequence order.
• After the Surprise Round ends, the 😲 Surprised debuff falls off and combat continues normally.

A Sneak Attack that misses does not trigger a Surprise Round. The target is alerted (per the Revelation Rules) but combat begins normally — both sides roll into ⏱ Sequence order without any Surprise. The opening shot has to actually land for the ambush to count.

This is the main path to a Surprise Round. To unlock it reliably, the party needs at least one character built for stealth.

Trigger 2: World Map Spot Check

When the party has a random encounter while traveling on the 🗺 World Map, they may have a chance to spot the enemies before being spotted in return. The GM calls for a:

PER + 🏕 Survival Test (DC set by GM based on enemy alertness, terrain, light, and approach)

• On success, the party gets the jump on the encountered group and the encounter starts with a Surprise Round in the party’s favor.
• On a poor failure (e.g. fail by 5 or more, or the enemies are actively hunting / set in ambush), the enemies get the jump instead — they begin combat with a Surprise Round in their favor, and the party is 😲 Surprised.
• On a normal failure with non-hostile or oblivious enemies, neither side gets a Surprise Round and combat starts normally.

Group Tests may be used at the GM’s discretion (Leader = highest PER + Survival; standard Group Test rules apply).

This trigger does not require a Sneak Attack and is independent of party stealth. It rewards Perception-focused characters and represents the “you crest a hill and see the raider camp before they see you” moment.

The Surprise Round

During a Surprise Round:

• Only the surprising side acts. Each character on that side takes a full turn in ⏱ Sequence order.
• The surprised side is afflicted with the 😲 Surprised debuff for the duration of the round. They cannot take Actions, use 😮 Reactions, or use 😮 Free Reactions.
• Attacks made during the Surprise Round still apply Sneak Attack bonuses only if the attacker independently meets Sneak Attack requirements (still 👥 Undetected or 👥 Hidden at the moment of attack). A non-stealthed party member acting in a Surprise Round triggered by a teammate’s Sneak Attack still gets a full turn but resolves attacks normally.
• After the Surprise Round resolves, the 😲 Surprised debuff falls off and the second round begins with all participants acting in ⏱ Sequence order.

Surprise vs. Sneak Attack

Surprise and Sneak Attack are tightly coupled but distinct:

• A successful Sneak Attack is the most common trigger for a Surprise Round.
• The Surprise Round is the opening-round bonus the attacker’s side benefits from as a result.
• Sneak Attack bonuses (Advantage + Sneak skill damage + perk bonuses) apply per-attack to any character who meets Sneak Attack requirements at the moment they attack — these bonuses are independent of whether a Surprise Round is in effect.

In other words: one stealthed character can trigger a Surprise Round on behalf of the whole party. That character also gets Sneak Attack bonuses on the triggering hit. Allies who aren’t stealthed still benefit from the Surprise Round (their targets can’t act), but their attacks don’t get Sneak Attack bonuses unless they too qualify.

Sleeping Targets

Sleeping targets are always valid for a Sneak Attack (they are completely unaware), so a stealthed attacker who hits a sleeping target reliably triggers a Surprise Round. In addition to the standard 😲 Surprised effects, sleeping characters who are surprised:

• Start combat Prone.
• Have nothing in their Weapon Slots or Quick Slots — they need to retrieve weapons before they can use them. Armor remains equipped.
• Cannot wake mid-Surprise-Round even if attacked — they wake at the end of the Surprise Round and act on their normal turn in the next round.

The Mister Sandman perk gives bonus damage and auto-CRIT against sleeping targets specifically — a sleeper-focused ambush is one of the strongest opens in the game.

Cautious Nature

A character with the Cautious Nature perk is immune to being Surprised. They never gain the 😲 Surprised debuff, regardless of how the Surprise Round was triggered. If their side is otherwise Surprised (a teammate ate a Sneak Attack or the party blew its PER check), the Cautious Nature character still acts normally in the Surprise Round — they are the lone responder on a side that is otherwise frozen.

Edge Cases

• Sneak Attack misses: The target is alerted but no Surprise Round triggers. Combat begins on normal ⏱ Sequence order.
• Multiple stealthed attackers: Only the first Sneak Attack that hits triggers the Surprise Round. Subsequent attackers act during the Surprise Round in their normal ⏱ Sequence order and may continue to Sneak Attack if they still meet the requirements.
• Mutual ambush: Both sides set ambushes against each other. The side whose first attack hits the other side first (highest ⏱ Sequence, breaking ties by GM call) triggers the Surprise Round. The other side does not get to “counter-trigger.”
• Combat already started: If combat is already in progress and a character becomes 👥 Hidden via the 🤫 Hide action, subsequent Sneak Attacks they make do not retrigger a Surprise Round. Surprise Rounds happen only at the opening of combat.
• Loud-but-missed openers: A loud Sneak Attack that misses still alerts the enemy (per Revelation Rules). It does not trigger a Surprise Round.

Quick Reference

A Surprise Round triggers when:

1. A character makes a Sneak Attack that hits its target at the opening of combat, OR
2. The party (or the GM, for enemies) succeeds on a PER + 🏕 Survival Test during a World Map random encounter.

During the Surprise Round:

• Only the surprising side acts (in ⏱ Sequence order)
• The other side gains 😲 Surprised for the round
• Sleeping targets start Prone with empty weapon/quick slots
• Cautious Nature grants immunity to 😲 Surprised

After the Surprise Round:

• 😲 Surprised falls off automatically
• Combat continues with all participants in ⏱ Sequence order

See Also

• Sneak Attack — the primary trigger for a Surprise Round
• 😲 Surprised — the debuff applied to the losing side
• 👥 Stealth — pre-combat awareness states (Undetected, Hidden, Hunt, Detected)
• ⏱ Sequence — turn order
• Cautious Nature — perk that prevents Surprise
• Mister Sandman — perk that boosts attacks against sleeping targets
• 🗺 World Map Travel — random encounter generation