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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Maxperson" data-source="post: 7761192" data-attributes="member: 23751">It's based on intent.  You can usually tell when someone is hostile BEFORE they attack you, just as you can sometimes make mistakes and get into a combat with a side that wasn't going to ever attack you.  Initiative happens prior to any attack or the attack literally can't happen.In my game, too.  The player makes that declaration and before any sword attack happens, initiative is rolled.Here's a major problem with treating the attack as happening before initiative is rolled.  The player says, "I'm done haggling with this merchant! I unsheathe my sword and attack!"  Now initiative is rolled and the merchants 4 guards all beat the PC.  All 4 hit, the first one knocks the PC unconscious and the other 3 kill him.  Under the way I run things, that's the end of it.  Under your system, the PC's attack has already happened and you have to roll to hit, even though the PC is now dead before his initiative comes up.  And I have no problem with you doing that in your games.  If you want the attack to have happened before initiative is rolled, you can do that.  By RAW, though, that's impossible.It means he wants to attempt that action.  He may never get the chance to attempt it if he rolls poorly for initiative.It can't directly oppose.   You see, if it's possible for initiative to happen and a PC does nothing, and it's not a corner case as I see it happen once every few combats, then it can't require opposition.  If it required opposition, it wouldn't be possible to roll for it and do nothing.  It doesn't need to supersede the sidebar.  The sidebar agrees 100% with the contest section.  The Dex vs. Dex example is a one on one directly opposed contest.But all it takes is 1 single round of doing nothing to prove that initiative cannot be direct opposition, as doing nothing isn't any sort of opposition and initiative was still rolled.</blockquote>

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