Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="atom crash" data-source="post: 2111738" data-attributes="member: 22162">I am definitely NOT saying this. If both sides are aware of each other, the rules state that there is no surprise round and initiative is rolled normally. Yes, you are flat-footed until your action comes up in the round, because the game mechanics dictate that characters act one at a time from highest to lowest initiative. But there is no surprise round. You're expecting an attack but the other guy's reflexes were just a hair faster.Imagine a Wild West pistol duel at high noon. Two gunfighters face each other across a dusty street. Both are aware of each other and both are ready to draw their weapons. The great disembodied DM voice in the sky says, "Roll initiative." One gunfighter rolls a 21, the other a 22. The one with the higher initiative draws his pistol and shoots the other one dead. The quicker reflexes won the day.When both sides are aware of each other, there is no surprise round. If a combatant is hiding (ooh, look at me I'm a harmless bush; gotcha!) or disguised (ooh look at me I'm a harmless old beggar; gotcha!) or attempting a bluff (ooh look at me I'm a harmless unarmed rogue; gotcha!) or whatever other extenuating circumstance, any possibility of a surprise round comes down to a roll (or rolls) to determine whether or not the party detects the attack in time.You can still be caught flat-footed in round one, but there are things you can do to minimize the dangers. If you have Uncanny Dodge (Barbarian 2 or Rogue 4) you retain your Dex bonus to AC. If you have Combat Reflexes you still get your AoOs while flat-footed. If you have a decent Dex and Improved Initiative, you stand a fair chance of going first in any given round.It's a game, and those are your options for dealing with being caught flat footed.If you don't like the idea that someone can react faster than another person and get off that one initial attack, there's nothing I can do to change your mind. I'm tired now and need to think about things other than surprise rounds and rolling initiative.</blockquote>

Verification