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<blockquote data-quote="Theo R Cwithin" data-source="post: 5529268" data-attributes="member: 75712">I dont actually see much difference between a formal &quot;square off&quot; and an argument.&nbsp; In both cases the opponents are well-defined, and everyone involved is expecting something to happen at some point. But your point is taken.&nbsp; Well, yes.&nbsp; Which is why I'd personally grant an intitative bonus to the first declarer, rather than a full surprise round.&nbsp; That's how it goes from &quot;always&quot; to &quot;usually&quot;.&nbsp; That first attacker is likely to land his blow first, but he might be stoopid-drunk, or just way outmatched.&nbsp; If the guy he swings at has superior reflexes or experience (ninja, special ops, a precog, or just by being more sober) it seems to me that superior guy should get a chance to actually get his shot in first, or evade, or whatever?&nbsp; It's a very, very common trope that I think is reasonably well-handled by intiative.&nbsp; Obviously, there are other ways to handle it, but raw intiative alone seems sufficient to me.But clearly this all boils down to how a DM interprets &quot;preparedness&quot; or &quot;surprise&quot; or &quot;square off&quot; or even &quot;attack&quot;.&nbsp; In the end, I won't argue with my DM over it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Theo R Cwithin, post: 5529268, member: 75712"] I dont actually see much difference between a formal "square off" and an argument. In both cases the opponents are well-defined, and everyone involved is expecting [I]something[/I] to happen at some point. But your point is taken. Well, yes. Which is why I'd personally grant an intitative bonus to the first declarer, rather than a full surprise round. That's how it goes from "always" to "usually". That first attacker is [I]likely[/I] to land his blow first, but he might be stoopid-drunk, or just way outmatched. If the guy he swings at has superior reflexes or experience (ninja, special ops, a precog, or just by being more sober) it seems to me that superior guy should get a chance to actually get his shot in first, or evade, or whatever? It's a very, very common trope that I think is reasonably well-handled by intiative. Obviously, there are other ways to handle it, but raw intiative alone seems sufficient to me. But clearly this all boils down to how a DM interprets "preparedness" or "surprise" or "square off" or even "attack". In the end, I won't argue with my DM over it. [/QUOTE]

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