Does the Bugbear Surprise Attack require surprise according to current (2023) rules?

Question

I have seen different written rules as well as interpretations regarding whether or not a bugbear's Surprise Attack requires surprise and would like to receive guidance based on the latest rules-as-written as of August 2023.

In an earlier post on this forum from 2019, the poster appears to quote written rules which differ from what we see in the text Mordenkainen Presents: Monster's of the Multiverse. My edition of this text is dated November 2021.

Here is the StackExchange post from 2019:

Does the Bugbear’s "Surprise Attack" feature apply on its first round of combat or the players'?

However, in my edition of Monster's of the Multiverse, page 8, the Bugbear trait is described as follows:

"Surprise Attack: If you hit a creature with an attack roll, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage if it hasn't taken a turn yet in the current combat."

While the title does include the word "surprise attack", the description omits "surprise" as a required element, so I wanted to verify with the community whether or not this element was still required according to rules available as of August 2023.

Answer 1

It no longer requires surprise in AL play.

The original version of the bugbear was published in Volo's Guide to Monsters and required surprise:

If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.

However, this version of the bugbear was deprecated with the release of Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (MPMM)¹, and the most recent version of the bugbear from MPMM does not require surprise to use the Surprise Attack trait:

If you hit a creature with an attack roll, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage if it hasn't taken a turn yet in the current combat.

This most recent version is the version of the race that is eligible in AL play. From the DDAL Player's Guide v. 13.0, sidebar on page 1:

WHAT RULEBOOKS SHOULD I USE?

You can use non-optional rules found in the Player’s Handbook, the Basic Rules, and all the books listed below. If a rule has been reprinted in a newer resource, you must always use the latest printing.

• Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons (FTD)
• Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse (MPMM)

Naturally, Volo's Guide does not appear on the list.

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^{1 The table contents for Volo's Guide on DND Beyond bears the banner: "This book contains Legacy Content! This means that the contents within don’t reflect the latest lore, mechanics, or the current state of Dungeons & Dragons. For more information, see Legacy Content."}