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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MG.0" data-source="post: 6693257" data-attributes="member: 6799436">I would play it the same way in that example, but for different reasons. I've said before I think the difference between our interpretations is pretty minor in actual play.I play surprise (or the effects of surprise if you prefer) as starting when the target notices a threat and ending as soon as the target is able to react to the threat (when the target's turn has passed and he gets his reaction back).In that example:The assassin succeeds on his stealth, so we know the target will be surprised if the assassin attacks. What happens next depends on initiative: If the assassin loses, the target is surprised when he sees the assassin, but has recovered by the time the assassin attacks. If the assassin beats the target on initiative, the target is horrified to see the lightning quick assassin running from behind a boulder and stabbing him before he even knows what happened. He saw the threat before the blow landed, but he was caught off-guard anyway.What I like about basing it off initiative is allowing a scenario with, let's say, three assassins behind the boulder. If two quick assassins beat the target on initiative they are both able to use their Assassinate abiliites, but the third was too slow and so only makes a normal attack. I think it works really well.In the case of an assassin who is completely hidden, it would have to be a very extreme example before I disallowed the target's reaction. An invisible, silenced, magically odorless bowman firing from point blank range might do it. Even then there are narrative ways to allow the reaction anyway: A stray leaf blows into the assassin's vicinity and stops when it hits him, giving the target just enough of a hint that he instinctively shifts his weight, causing the assassin's carefully crafted death blow to become a normal attack.To each his own.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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