How does detection and Perception work in a dark room with no-one Hiding?

Question

Let me lay out the scenario first: a human in the dark enters a pitch-dark room. Within the room is an elf who watches the human enter. The elf is not trying to hide, just standing there. They are enemies. The human wins initiative.

Now, per the rules the human has the blinded condition, which gives disadvantage on attack rolls. However, the elf isn't hiding, so with a perception check the human should be able to locate him, cross the room and attack, with disadvantage.

Is this correct? Does he have disadvantage on the perception check? Perception is not just sight and since the elf isn't trying to hide then I'd say no, it's just a straight perception check. And finally, since the elf isn't hiding, what would the DC be for such a check? Arbitrarily assigned by the DM?

There are other factors that I won't get into (such as: if the human is a rogue, he should be able to hide from the elf with stealth, since darkvision turns darkness into dim light; or if he were a barbarian, he could negate the disadvantage from blindness by reckless attacking and cancelling it out with advantage).

Answer 1

The rules as written don't say that a Wisdom (Perception) test is called for in this situation.

SRD, p 94 (emphasis mine):

When you attack a target that you can’t see, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you’re guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the target’s location correctly.

However, part of this is still a DM call.

The above doesn't help tell you whether the human is 1. "guessing a target's location" or 2. "targeting a creature they can hear but not see." So it's probably your call as DM. If it's option #1, the human would be picking a space and attacking a hypothetical opponent in that space. If it's #2, the human would know what 5' x 5' space the elf is in, and would take disadvantage on the attack roll. #1 is a lot harder for the human than #2.

Facts to take into consideration when making that call as the DM:

• If the elf isn't hiding, then they presumably aren't taking steps to remain silent as well as unseen. As a DM, you may rule that those sounds are sufficient to tell what space the elf is occupying, and allow the human to move adjacent and attack (with disadvantage).
• If the elf is trying to remain silent as well as unseen, you may want to revise the premise of the question and say that it does count as being in hiding and make a Dexterity (Stealth) roll for it.
• Be wary of making a ruling that makes it harder to attack a non- hiding elf than one that is hiding. If you were to rule that the non-hiding elf couldn't be located with a Wisdom (Perception) test because it isn't hiding, but that a hiding one could, you're creating a weird paradox in which it's more advantageous to stand there than to take steps to conceal oneself.

Answer 2

If the elf is not hiding the human knows where it is. Whether this is because elves breath heavily, or smell of roses (or what fertilises roses), or bend the weave of magic in a way that humans can detect is up to you, but - not hidden is not hidden. The human does suffer from the blinded condition imposing disadvantage on attacks but that's it.

Of course, if the elf was preparing an ambush or otherwise sneaking along it could start the encounter hidden. During the encounter it can use a (bonus) action to hide at any time since the human cannot see it.

Answer 3

The blinded condition states:

A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.

If the elf is just standing there, then he is not making any noise. In the absence of special abilities, the human can neither see nor hear the elf, and thus has no idea that the elf is there. This is because the human automatically fails that perception check to detect that elf.

A functionally equivalent scenario is one in which the room is well-lit but the elf is invisible. If the elf isn't moving, he is both silent and invisible, and the entering human would have no idea that the elf is there.