What happens when your'e surprised by an elusive monster? Do you first have to pass an evade check to fight the monster?

Yes.

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The encounter ends. You have to pass an evade check against an Elusive monster to initiate combat, but you're not allowed to make an evade check initially when a monster surprises you. So it gets away.

Play as you will, but we play that a Werewolf still deals its stamina damage to you, as though it were hitting you with a surprise attack.

I think that whenever you encounter an elusive monster, you have to pass the evade check in order to enter combat with him. If an elusive monster surprises you, combat can not start (when surprised, you're not allowed to evade the monster)

Sorry Tibs, didn't notice your answer :-/

I withdraw my initial answer.

ok, thanks

You didn't even know the monster was there, which really surprises you.

avec said:

It leaps out and shrieks, and in your surprise you fumble around too much to do anything meaningful before it's gone. Opportunity lost!

The snake people walk by you. You don't notice. End of encounter

Tibs said:

Investigator: "Whoah! A monster! I'm surprised!"

Monster: "Actually, madam, you are merely taken aback. It is we who are surprised." *Flee.*

Seriously though, as far as thematic explanations go, I like to think of this as the scene where the monster is seen as a shadow moving past in the background. The investigator knows he/she is not alone and pauses to look around or to swing a weapon wildly a couple times, but the monster doesn't engage, it just scares them silly and leaves.... FOR NOW!

Or they see a strange shadowsomething out of the corner of their eye. They turnlook,either it's gone,they just see a strange man walking in the opposite direction. A little paranoid, the investigator chooses to walk away...