Lyxen
Great Old One
So when you say "People looking for a single, clear ruling like "you can hide" in combat or you "cannot hide in combat" are going to be disappointed." the rules says the former, and not the latter. But they also say DM decides.
So you can hide in combat when eligible, unless the DM says otherwise would be the best way to summarise it.
OK, I think we agree at this stage. The rules clearly make allowance for hiding in combat, so there are no RAW that prevent hiding in combat as a general overarching principle. My messages were mostly centered around the fact that (and, as pointed out by the Dev themselves, even more in the stealth area) it's all about the DM's decision and we agree on this as well.
I think I could almost make a point that being in combat or not does not make a difference as to whether you can hide or not. One could argue that about alertness, but nothing prevents someone from being extremely alert if not technically in combat for game purposes. And the same, people can be distracted both in and out of combat. What do you think ?