A band of adventurers sneaks up on a bandit camp, springing from the trees to attack them. A glides down a dungeon passage, unnoticed by the adventurers until the cube engulfs one of them. In these situations, one side of the battle gains surprise over the other.
Surprised
Condition
Status Effect
Surprised
This condition changes how a creature can act, move, perceive, or interact with the world until the condition ends.
Rules
3
sections
Effects
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 () checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom () score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is 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 even if the other members aren't.
Reference
Rules Availability
SRD
Basic Rules