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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 4970866" data-attributes="member: 5143">That's the point.  Initiative basically means "At least one creature in this encounter is about to make an attack or threatening action that others will want to react to."When I roll initiative, it is always with a description of WHY I'm rolling initiative.  If there are a group of PCs and a group of enemies staring at each other and talking to each other and one of the PCs says something that offends the enemies, I tell them "The enemy seems to take offense to your comment, you see the anger in his eyes and his hand starts to move quickly towards his sword, about to draw it and attack you.  Roll for initiative."The PCs might roll better initiative and cut down the enemy before he gets his sword out of his sheath, but they knew he was about to attack.  If they didn't, then initiative is not rolled.  I sometimes allow a really quick action to be taken before initiative starts.  For instance, "Everyone draws their weapons, you draw yours....then roll for initiative."Because it wastes time to run every tense scene in combat order.  Plus, it ruins some of the combat mechanics.Combat should be the time when you KNOW you need to fight.  Not just suspect.  That's why there is no facing inside combat but there is outside of combat.  There's a difference between "I think that guy might be dangerous" or "There was a noise that might be enemies behind the door" and "I can see a guy in a fighting stance with a weapon in his hand in the process of moving quickly towards me".No matter how much you THINK you might be in a combat, it's not the same as actually being in one.The combat mechanics are designed around this idea.  That's why readying is not allowed out of combat.  Most adventurers are on their guard most of the time.  They are wary that each person who walks into a bar might be an assassin out to kill them.  But being in a combat stance with your weapon in hand while being able to see your enemy gives you more adrenalin, it gives you a better chance to prepare for incoming attacks, it focuses your senses on exactly where to expect the danger from, and so on and so forth.Because until it is absolutely clear that there is a fight, you aren't in one.  Ready actions can't be taken outside of combat.  So, it doesn't start combat if you take the action, instead it just isn't allowed.  I will tell a player "You are always prepared for something to attack you.  No one is though.  If someone were about to attack you, you could roll for initiative to see how quickly you could react to that, however.  Either that, or you could attack him before he attacks you or shows any indication that he's attacking you.  In which case, we'll roll for initiative to see how quickly he reacts to your attack."I'd say the same thing about the full defense action.  You can have your sword in hand, you can be prepared for someone to attack you, but you can't actively defend yourself against a threat you aren't sure is there.  That guy MIGHT have a sword, he might have a throwing dagger.  It might be in his left hand, his right hand, or still in a sheath.  It isn't until you see which hand he moves towards his weapon or what type of stance he goes into that you can begin to predict his actions.  So, the full defense action has no effect unless you are in a combat.Actually, I agree with this entirely.  We keep track of initiative for metagame reasons.  That's precisely WHY it doesn't start until a combat action is taken.  We could keep track of initiative constantly.  We don't because the only time it matters is when you are trying to figure out how fast people can react to each other.If you can go into initiative at any time, you get around the protections the rules have.  I allowed it a couple of times when I was new to DMing 3e, and I realized how easy it is for the players or DM to abuse this and how many rules it breaks.I like the idea of being a very fast rogue with improved initiative and standing next to an enemy in a standoff, neither one sure when to make a move.  Then, in a lightning fast move, you quick draw your dagger and slash his throat(getting sneak attack) even before he has a chance to raise his sword in defense(flat footed).  This is way too easily ruined when the DM says "Sorry, the enemy declared you were in initiative when he first saw you, he's no longer flatfooted, and he readied an action to hit you if you tried to attack him.  He hits you before you hit him.  Even though he has an init mod of -1 and you have +20....he's just faster than you on the draw."</blockquote>

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