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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Mearls On D&D's Design Premises/Goals
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<blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 7761276" data-attributes="member: 29398"><p>And all of this presupposes turn-based cyclical play where initiative isn't re-rolled or otherwise redetermined each round or at some other regular interval during the combat.</p><p></p><p>If re-rolling is in play then initiative most certainly does become an integral part of combat resolution...after the first round.</p><p></p><p>The difference in the first round is that someone (or a number of someones) might be able to act before anyone else is aware of it - as in Max's example of suddenly pulling a sword and attacking. Here some other mechanic - be it surprise or flat-footed or whatever else - is required to determine who gets to act right away vs. who is caught off guard. Otherwise what ends up happening all too often is that the dice don't match the intended-by-the-player narrative: Max pulls out a sword and swings, thus triggering initiatives, but somehow ends up near the bottom of the initiative order even though his supposedly acting first is the reason they were rolled at all! Personally, I often find this quite annoying when it happens.</p><p></p><p>Lanefan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lanefan, post: 7761276, member: 29398"] And all of this presupposes turn-based cyclical play where initiative isn't re-rolled or otherwise redetermined each round or at some other regular interval during the combat. If re-rolling is in play then initiative most certainly does become an integral part of combat resolution...after the first round. The difference in the first round is that someone (or a number of someones) might be able to act before anyone else is aware of it - as in Max's example of suddenly pulling a sword and attacking. Here some other mechanic - be it surprise or flat-footed or whatever else - is required to determine who gets to act right away vs. who is caught off guard. Otherwise what ends up happening all too often is that the dice don't match the intended-by-the-player narrative: Max pulls out a sword and swings, thus triggering initiatives, but somehow ends up near the bottom of the initiative order even though his supposedly acting first is the reason they were rolled at all! Personally, I often find this quite annoying when it happens. Lanefan [/QUOTE]
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