Hide: requirements, check and discovery

SRD 5.2.1 · Actions

At the table

1. Be Heavily Obscured or behind Three-Quarters or Total Cover, and outside every enemy’s line of sight.
2. Succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. Record the total as the Wisdom (Perception) DC to find you.
3. While hidden, you have Invisible. It ends immediately on a louder-than-whisper sound, being found, making an attack roll or casting a Verbal-component spell.

Example decision

A hidden character makes an attack roll and misses. Do they remain hidden because the attack dealt no damage?

No; making the attack roll ends hidden status, whether it hits or misses.

The trigger is making an attack roll, not hitting or dealing damage. Remove the hidden-state benefit immediately after that triggering event as specified by the rule. A particular feature could change a situation, but the default Hide action does not wait for damage. Track the original Stealth total only while it is relevant to discovery.

Watch for this mistake

A high Stealth result does not waive the action’s initial cover, obscurity and line-of-sight requirements. Check the position first, then roll if the requirements are met.

Ask the table

What conceals the character, who can see them, and which event would end hiding?

Source rule

With the Hide action, you try to hide yourself. To do so, you must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check while you’re Heavily Obscured or behind Three-Quarters Cover or Total Cover, and you must be out of any enemy’s line of sight; if you can see a creature, you can discern whether it can see you. On a successful check, you have the Invisible condition while hidden. Make note of your check’s total, which is the DC for a creature to find you with a Wisdom (Perception) check. You stop being hidden immediately after any of the following occurs: you make a sound louder than a whisper, an enemy finds you, you make an attack roll, or you cast a spell with a Verbal component.

Source: SRD 5.2.1, 183. Online guide.