NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arial Black" data-source="post: 6699414" data-attributes="member: 6799649">Conceptually, the game assumes that participants in combat are constantly on the lookout for danger. There are no rules for facing because is assumed that combatants are constantly looking around to be able to respond to the events around them.So the surprise mechanic is the crunch expression of the fluff that surprised creatures don't realise that they are in combat, are not constantly looking out for danger, and are just living their lives, walking around, eating snacks, reading books, whatever. The consequences of this lack of awareness of any threat include that they are slow out of the blocks, even when they finally notice a threat. It is also the basis for the concept of the Assassin's auto-crit: it works because the target is unaware, not looking round for danger, and still eating snacks and reading books, totally oblivious to danger and therefore not throwing themselves to one side at the last minute and not making themselves a difficult target, which they do start to do as soon as they realise that they are under attack!Example:- A wizard is engrossed in his books, totally oblivious to the assassin and his bow and poisoned arrow. The assassin draws the bowstring while trying to remain as quiet as possible, and the wizard doesn't see or hear him. The wizard is defenceless; the perfect Assassination target.In both versions, because the assassin beat the wizard in every contested Perception/Stealth roll, the wizard starts combat 'surprised'. Why? Because he doesn't notice a threat.Initiative is rolled, measuring reaction speed not 'awareness of a threat'. The wizard has a higher initiative result than the assassin. In both versions, the wizard cannot act/react until after his first turn.In version 1, the fact that the wizard has faster reactions has no impact on whether or not he knows that there is anything to react to. The assassin looses the arrow, and if it hits it will auto-crit. Why? Because the wizard is defenceless, oblivious to danger, still engrossed in his book.In version 2, after the initiative count goes past the wizard's initiative total....nothing at all is different about the situation, the wizard is still oblivious, still engrossed in his book, but somehow he is as hard a target as a fully-aware combatant, and immune to auto-crits from Assassinate. Why? He still doesn't know about the still hidden assassin.Version 2 makes the oblivious wizard somehow no longer oblivious despite not detecting the assassin in any way, because an ability check totally unrelated to awareness was used to end 'surprised'. It makes as much sense as ending surprised if you roll well on a Religion check.</blockquote>

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