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Message: <blockquote data-quote="machineelf" data-source="post: 7099482" data-attributes="member: 6774924">I would do this if I needed to and it made sense. But OTOH, in the example you give, I think a better way to look at it is that the group switches from their non-combat exploration initiative order to their combat initiative order. In other words, initiative is always on even for non-combat exploration. I'll have my characters roll for initiative to tell me what they want to do while they are exploring (or in reality we usually just go around the table clockwise for non-combat exploration).This helps to make sure everyone is involved and gets some spotlight for each character during exploration and keeps players from unwittingly trying to do everything themselves. For example, Rothgar the rogue says he wants the search the body. Then he says he wants to look at the bookshelf. Then he says he wants to listen in at the door. Meanwhile the other players are just sitting at the table letting the player playing Rothgar do everything just because that player is more talkative and takes more actual initiative in real life. By holding players strictly to their individual turns and initiative order during non-combat exploration (where each round is a minute of activity in game-time), what happens instead is: Rothgar says he wants to look in the chest. But he is sitting in the middle of the table and isn't to my immediate left. So I say, "OK, well hold on for a bit on that. Let's start with Sarai here to my left, what are you doing this round?" And we go around the table in an ordered fashion.With that all in mind, let's look at your example: The barbarian says he wants to kick in the door. OK, well there still is an initiative order, so the barbarian doesn't kick in the door until it gets to his initiative. Now it gets to him and he kicks in the door and, surprise, there are orcs on the other side! Everybody roll initiative for combat! Now with the new combat initiative in place, the players can go on their turn. If Rothgar is first and not the barbarian, maybe Rothgar quickly rushes past the barbarian through the door and attacks.</blockquote>

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