D&D 5E Assassinate

[Hriston]

why can't I react when I am surprised... if you surprise me with a jump scare, and I REACT by screaming like a little girl (Don't judge me) that doesn't mean I am no longer surprised... it could take several seconds after I scream before I can make a conherint thought...

Because that's one of the effects of Surprise. You can't take reactions until the end of your first turn.

 

[Hriston]

Where does it say because you can take reactions you are no longer surprised? You like to cite rules. Find that sentence.

Surprise has two effects. You can't move or act on your first turn, and you can't take reactions until that turn ends. Since both effects no longer apply after your first turn, many people, including Mike Mearls in the aforementioned tweet, reason that you are no longer surprised at that point in time. What would it mean to be surprised if it has no effect other than that an Assassin can auto-crit you?

 

[Quajek]

People are getting hung up on the definition of "turn".

What is a "Turn"?

According to the PHB:

On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed and take one action. You decide whether to move first or take your action first. ... You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing anything at all on your turn. If you can’t decide what to do on your turn, consider taking the Dodge or Ready action, as described in “Actions in Combat.”

Now, reading that, I don't know how you can think that someone who has no ability to make any decisions about whether or not they will move or act has "taken a turn".

Are they moving? Are they choosing not to move? Are they taking an action? Are they choosing not to act? Are they readying an action? Are they choosing not to ready an action? Are they making any decision of any kind whatsoever at all?

No?

Then they have not taken a turn.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

People are getting hung up on the definition of "turn".

What is a "Turn"?

According to the PHB:



Now, reading that, I don't know how you can think that someone who has no ability to make any decisions about whether or not they will move or act has "taken a turn".

Are they moving? Are they choosing not to move? Are they taking an action? Are they choosing not to act? Are they readying an action? Are they choosing not to ready an action? Are they making any decision of any kind whatsoever at all?

No?

Then they have not taken a turn.

yea, that was my thought too... I mean really if you are surprised you can't take a turn at all...

 

[Ristamar]

People are getting hung up on the definition of "turn".

What is a "Turn"?

According to the PHB:



Now, reading that, I don't know how you can think that someone who has no ability to make any decisions about whether or not they will move or act has "taken a turn".

Are they moving? Are they choosing not to move? Are they taking an action? Are they choosing not to act? Are they readying an action? Are they choosing not to ready an action? Are they making any decision of any kind whatsoever at all?

No?

Then they have not taken a turn.

From the PHB:

If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on your first turn of the combat.

You clearly have a turn. You simply can't do anything on that turn.

 

[Quajek]

Surprise has two effects. You can't move or act on your first turn, and you can't take reactions until that turn ends. Since both effects no longer apply after your first turn, many people, including Mike Mearls in the aforementioned tweet, reason that you are no longer surprised at that point in time. What would it mean to be surprised if it has no effect other than that an Assassin can auto-crit you?

A reaction can occur on your turn or someone else's. Reactions are a separate entity from the concept of the "turn"

 

[Quajek]

From the PHB:


You clearly have a turn. You simply can't do anything on that turn.

You "have" the turn, but you can not "take" the turn. "Taking a turn" means you must do something. Incapacitating someone prevents them from "taking" their turn.

 

[Ristamar]

You "have" the turn, but you can not "take" the turn. "Taking a turn" means you must do something.

Doing nothing is doing something. There is no passage in the PHB that says or even implies that anything, let alone surprise, causes you to lose a turn. It only dictates what you can or cannot do on your turn given the circumstances. In the circumstance of surprise, you can't act or move on your turn.

Even the incapacitated condition states "An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions." There is no mention of losing a turn.

 

[Quajek]

Doing nothing is doing something. There is no passage in the PHB that says or even implies that anything, let alone surprise, causes you to lose a turn. It only dictates what you can or cannot do on your turn given the circumstances. In the circumstance of surprise, you can't act or move on your turn.

The definition of a "turn" is that the player must have some ability to make a decision about what they do or do not do. If the character can not do anything (move/act/ready an action/take a free action) then they have not taken a turn. Their turn came up in the order and they were unable to take it, and things continue as if they had not yet taken their turn--because they haven't.

The concept of a turn is tied to agency. If agency is totally removed due to a condition, like incapacitation, then they do not take a turn.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

no one is convincing anyone of anything here... the rules are not written to be shared across tables, they are written for each table to make up there own mind...