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Mearls On D&D's Design Premises/Goals
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<blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 7761159" data-attributes="member: 6787503"><p>You treat initiative as a discrete event in the fiction. How interesting! It's unclear to me from what you've written here, but it seems like you treat it as a sort of watching and waiting moment before anyone can take action. Is that right? What's also unclear is why there are sides and to what anyone is reacting if no attack is yet happening. Of course you won't know whose action and movement will be resolved first before initiative, but surely <strong>something</strong> has happened in the fiction to cause the DM to call for initiative in the first place. I know in my games it's what I've called a combat-initiating action declaration, but I'm curious what that event is like in your games. From what you've posted up-thread, I might conclude it happens anytime two parties meet each other, but that doesn't seem right to me because, at least in my games, that would lead to beginning a lot of non-combat encounters by rolling initiative. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Okay, so in your games, a player can't say, "I'm done haggling with this merchant! I unsheathe my sword and attack," until after initiative has been rolled? You see, to me, that's just the sort of thing that would <strong>trigger</strong> initiative being rolled.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Attacks aren't <strong>resolved</strong> until after initiative is rolled, but I think I've made it clear that, in my games, at least one combat-initiating action has been established as being in the process of happening in the fiction before we roll initiative and is actually why initiative is rolled. That way we don't need to put scare quotes around combat. It's very clear that the combat rules are being used because combat has been established as occurring in the fiction.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Attacks are resolved after initiative is rolled. That doesn't mean the attacks aren't already established as happening when initiative is rolled. In my games, if you declare an action, that means your character is attempting that action.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Right, that's why the initiative roll is part of the resolution of the directly opposed efforts of the cube and the adventurers.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Nothing indicates that the wording in the contests section supersedes that in the sidebar. All the sidebar requires is that prowess (Dexterity) be pitted against prowess (Dexterity). </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Of course it isn't against the rules to do nothing on your turn. What I mean is it's a corner case. The rules are built to allow you to do things on your turn, so saying you do nothing is going to make things like rolling initiative and having a turn seem superfluous.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I didn't say you said that. I said "if" you said that. Also, initiative isn't part of any round, so technically what you're describing involves more than just a single round.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hriston, post: 7761159, member: 6787503"] You treat initiative as a discrete event in the fiction. How interesting! It's unclear to me from what you've written here, but it seems like you treat it as a sort of watching and waiting moment before anyone can take action. Is that right? What's also unclear is why there are sides and to what anyone is reacting if no attack is yet happening. Of course you won't know whose action and movement will be resolved first before initiative, but surely [B]something[/B] has happened in the fiction to cause the DM to call for initiative in the first place. I know in my games it's what I've called a combat-initiating action declaration, but I'm curious what that event is like in your games. From what you've posted up-thread, I might conclude it happens anytime two parties meet each other, but that doesn't seem right to me because, at least in my games, that would lead to beginning a lot of non-combat encounters by rolling initiative. Okay, so in your games, a player can't say, "I'm done haggling with this merchant! I unsheathe my sword and attack," until after initiative has been rolled? You see, to me, that's just the sort of thing that would [B]trigger[/B] initiative being rolled. Attacks aren't [B]resolved[/B] until after initiative is rolled, but I think I've made it clear that, in my games, at least one combat-initiating action has been established as being in the process of happening in the fiction before we roll initiative and is actually why initiative is rolled. That way we don't need to put scare quotes around combat. It's very clear that the combat rules are being used because combat has been established as occurring in the fiction. Attacks are resolved after initiative is rolled. That doesn't mean the attacks aren't already established as happening when initiative is rolled. In my games, if you declare an action, that means your character is attempting that action. Right, that's why the initiative roll is part of the resolution of the directly opposed efforts of the cube and the adventurers. Nothing indicates that the wording in the contests section supersedes that in the sidebar. All the sidebar requires is that prowess (Dexterity) be pitted against prowess (Dexterity). Of course it isn't against the rules to do nothing on your turn. What I mean is it's a corner case. The rules are built to allow you to do things on your turn, so saying you do nothing is going to make things like rolling initiative and having a turn seem superfluous. I didn't say you said that. I said "if" you said that. Also, initiative isn't part of any round, so technically what you're describing involves more than just a single round. [/QUOTE]
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