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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Flamestrike" data-source="post: 7687342" data-attributes="member: 6788736">If youve taken an arrow to the knee, combat has already started, initiative has been rolled, and someone has already taken a turn.No, it doesnt matter if he has the skulker feat and hit. You see him in that case.You need to apply what looks like retrocausality here (but its not). Narrating the events after the mechanical resolution makes this much easier, as does bearing in mind that the mechanical things you model are happening more or less simultaneously despite the stop/start nature of the DnD combat round, and the mechanical formula used to resolve actions in combat. Only relevant in outlier cases. An invisible hidden assassin firing an invisible arrow in a cone of silence with the skulker feat who misses could possibly cover such extreme outliers.You gotta remember combat is simulateous, and there is almost always a chance to notice a sharp pointy thing before it jams into your body. Even in a combat started by an Assassin who is hidden, has the skulker feat and is invisible, if he shoots an arrow from hiding to commence hostilities at an unaware target, its entirely feasable that the target saw the arrow in flight in the nick of time, heard the 'twang' of the bow, or simply had a bad feeling, and accordingly was able to cast his shield spell at the last second.Common example:A lone Orc (who is hiding behind a boulder) declares he will charge a Wizard PC (who is 10' away). This initiates combat and initiative is rolled. If the PC wins initiative (and the Orc loses) it is narrated thus: 'You see an Orc leap from behind a boulder, running at you with axe in hand and screaming a ferocious warcry. You are surprised and cant act on your turn' (this remains the case even though the Orc has yet to have his first turn. Remember, the Orc has already declared and started performing his action (this is what triggered the combat sequence); he is already started moving). On the Orcs turn, it closes the distance and attacks the Wizard (or possibly even changes what it wants to do, which is then narrated accordingly).This ceases to be as much of an issue if the Orc wins initiative. In that case you narrate it as "You see an Orc leap up from behind a boulder, running at you with axe in hand and screaming a ferocious warcry. Befor you can react, he closes the distance and attacks' (resolves attack)'</blockquote>

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