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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 7478251" data-attributes="member: 6779196"><p>This is how I handle it. The way most people run it, rolling initiative is like the D&D equivalent of the screen wipe before combat in a turn-based video game. I prefer to avoid such jarring changes in gameplay as much as possible, so I prefer to treat Initiative just like any other ability check. That is to say, I only call for it to be rolled when it’s necessary to resolve an action with an uncertain outcome. When the rogue sneaks up on the unsuspecting goblin (assuming he’s passed whatever checks he needs to pass to do that) and says he tries to kill the goblin by stabbing him in the jugular, there’s no uncertainty in the outcome. No need to roll Initiative, because the goblin has no means of preventing that from happening. When the fighter tries to sucker punch the thug, there’s some uncertainty. The thug might or might not have quick enough reflexes and/or be wise enough to the fighter’s ruse to see it coming. So, we turn to the dice to resolve the uncertainty with an opposed Dexterity check. Heck, I might even ask the fighter to roll Dexterity (Deception) against the thug’s Dexterity (Insight) in a case like this. Of course, since this is a special case where the result of the opposed Dexterity check determines the order of actions (an “Initiative” check, as it’s referred to in the rules), any modifiers that apply to such checks, such as the Alert Feat, would apply here as well.</p></blockquote><p></p>

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