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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hriston" data-source="post: 7687034" data-attributes="member: 6787503">"Pre-declare" is an odd way to put it. If an Assassin's player says s/he takes a shot at someone when combat is not yet in progress, i.e. when initiative hasn't been rolled, then s/he is telling the DM that s/he is initiating combat. This corresponds to part two of the basic pattern for game-play: The players describe what they want to do. To narrate the result of the player's declared action, the DM needs to call for initiative so the player's declared action can be resolved in initiative order along with the actions of the other participants. If the Assassin isn't first, the DM needs to resolve the turns of any participants that have a higher initiative, which includes those players declaring actions for their characters and the DM describing the results. In a case where the Assassin is attacking with surprise, the surprised NPCs won't have any actions to resolve, and members of the Assassin's party can ready their actions to let the Assassin strike first if they happen to have a higher initiative. Now, when it comes to the Assassin's turn, I don't believe the rules require the Assassin to follow through on the attack. The player could choose to do something else, and if no one uses their turn to take hostile action, then there is no need to continue to observe combat rounds.The issue I feel is at the root of your questions (correct me if I'm wrong about this) is the notion that by not taking the shot in the event of a low initiative roll and remaining hidden, the Assassin can re-declare the attack in the hope of getting a more favorable initiative score. Personally, I would regard such an action as merely a temporary cessation of hostilities in the same combat encounter and would continue to use the initiative order already established.</blockquote>

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