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<blockquote data-quote="Jackinthegreen" data-source="post: 5631297" data-attributes="member: 6678119"><p>As I see it, a character who rolls high on his initiative and gets to act first is still acting first, period, even if he decides to "delay." Delaying on its own is an action, if extremely minor. Not acting first in a round has its own drawbacks: namely not getting to be the first in the round to influence the course of the rest of the round, including later rounds. This is another tradeoff. Being Flat-Footed until the chosen later time is counter-intuitive to the fact that the character, no matter delaying, still got a higher initiative roll. The character chooses to act later in each subsequent round, so not being FF is a fair tradeoff in my eyes.</p><p></p><p>About the whole flanking thing: A rogue's Sneak Attack requires the target be denied its Dex bonus OR flanked. Flat-Footed denies the Dex bonus, thus a Rogue going first in initiative can still make an SA against an applicable target. Regular Uncanny Dodge prevents losing one's Dex bonus, thus a character with UD needs to be flanked by a Rogue in order for SA to work. A character with Improved Uncanny Dodge has an even stronger defense since he can't be flanked except by a Rogue of four levels higher. If I were a Rogue or other class with SA, I'd most definitely use that first opportunity. Improved Initiative is a solid feat choice for that reason. Even so, a Rogue would do well to invest in a Warning or Eager item to make sure surprises don't happen.</p><p></p><p>On the topic of falling: From what I gather by the rules, if an opponent forces your character to fall the "action" is started on the opponent's turn but is resolved on the character's turn. This would allow Feather Fall for example. If an ally came up in between the two initiatives, he could run up and try to catch his falling ally. My best guess is it'd require either a Climb check or a Balance check.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jackinthegreen, post: 5631297, member: 6678119"] As I see it, a character who rolls high on his initiative and gets to act first is still acting first, period, even if he decides to "delay." Delaying on its own is an action, if extremely minor. Not acting first in a round has its own drawbacks: namely not getting to be the first in the round to influence the course of the rest of the round, including later rounds. This is another tradeoff. Being Flat-Footed until the chosen later time is counter-intuitive to the fact that the character, no matter delaying, still got a higher initiative roll. The character chooses to act later in each subsequent round, so not being FF is a fair tradeoff in my eyes. About the whole flanking thing: A rogue's Sneak Attack requires the target be denied its Dex bonus OR flanked. Flat-Footed denies the Dex bonus, thus a Rogue going first in initiative can still make an SA against an applicable target. Regular Uncanny Dodge prevents losing one's Dex bonus, thus a character with UD needs to be flanked by a Rogue in order for SA to work. A character with Improved Uncanny Dodge has an even stronger defense since he can't be flanked except by a Rogue of four levels higher. If I were a Rogue or other class with SA, I'd most definitely use that first opportunity. Improved Initiative is a solid feat choice for that reason. Even so, a Rogue would do well to invest in a Warning or Eager item to make sure surprises don't happen. On the topic of falling: From what I gather by the rules, if an opponent forces your character to fall the "action" is started on the opponent's turn but is resolved on the character's turn. This would allow Feather Fall for example. If an ally came up in between the two initiatives, he could run up and try to catch his falling ally. My best guess is it'd require either a Climb check or a Balance check. [/QUOTE]
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