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<blockquote data-quote="PolterGhost" data-source="post: 5529752" data-attributes="member: 92697">Nobody expected the fighter to interject his fist into the drunk's face.&nbsp; Hand him a surprise round, then roll initiative if necessary.....but that's if we're going off of combat rules.&nbsp; You asked what I would do as a DM, yes?In reality, I would check the level of the Fighter in question and compare it to the Drunkard's (of whose is likely Commoner 1).&nbsp; If it's higher by a significant degree (For a Fighter versus a Commoner 1?&nbsp; I'd say Level 2 if he's got a decent Strength or Dexterity, otherwise 3), I'd just outright say &quot;You flatten the poor sod as you dislodge his teeth with your bare knuckles.&nbsp; You see a few faces glance at you, some glaring, some wincing, some grinning, and then they all return to their business.&nbsp; The drunk mumbles something indecipherable as blood dribbles down his chin.&quot;See, the trick is that there's no reason to turn a small scuffle into a battle with initiative rolls.&nbsp; Chances are pretty good that this Fighter's Strength is at least 15, so he's hitting with around 3-5 damage worth of subdual damage, which is more than enough to either send the drunk flying into a nearby table with a couple hp left, or to outright knock him unconscious.&nbsp; Add in the fact that the Fighter has a pretty good chance to hit the sorry fool and then there's really no need to roll anything.&nbsp; I mean, you can handle a situation with roleplay, not rollplay, right?Now, if the drunk was really egging him on for some other sort of reason (Oh crap, he's an assassin disguised as a drunk and he has shiv hidden under his arm!) we'd be looking at something entirely different.&nbsp; In this case, give the Fighter a surprise round, then normal initiative rolls for everyone else involved...unless the drunken assassin was already prepared for this, in which case give both the Fighter and the assassin a surprise round (Effectively, they're the only two that act before the actual fight begins), or just say the assassin had a readied action prepared to handle the Fighter foolhardily charging at him.&nbsp; Of course, that's a big giant pile of what ifs we're talking about.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="PolterGhost, post: 5529752, member: 92697"] Nobody expected the fighter to interject his fist into the drunk's face. Hand him a surprise round, then roll initiative if necessary. ....but that's if we're going off of combat rules. You asked what I would do as a DM, yes? In reality, I would check the level of the Fighter in question and compare it to the Drunkard's (of whose is likely Commoner 1). If it's higher by a significant degree (For a Fighter versus a Commoner 1? I'd say Level 2 if he's got a decent Strength or Dexterity, otherwise 3), I'd just outright say "You flatten the poor sod as you dislodge his teeth with your bare knuckles. You see a few faces glance at you, some glaring, some wincing, some grinning, and then they all return to their business. The drunk mumbles something indecipherable as blood dribbles down his chin." See, the trick is that there's no reason to turn a small scuffle into a battle with initiative rolls. Chances are pretty good that this Fighter's Strength is at least 15, so he's hitting with around 3-5 damage worth of subdual damage, which is more than enough to either send the drunk flying into a nearby table with a couple hp left, or to outright knock him unconscious. Add in the fact that the Fighter has a pretty good chance to hit the sorry fool and then there's really no need to roll anything. I mean, you can handle a situation with roleplay, not rollplay, right? Now, if the drunk was really egging him on for some other sort of reason (Oh crap, he's an assassin disguised as a drunk and he has shiv hidden under his arm!) we'd be looking at something entirely different. In this case, give the Fighter a surprise round, then normal initiative rolls for everyone else involved...unless the drunken assassin was already prepared for this, in which case give both the Fighter and the assassin a surprise round (Effectively, they're the only two that act before the actual fight begins), or just say the assassin had a readied action prepared to handle the Fighter foolhardily charging at him. Of course, that's a big giant pile of what ifs we're talking about. [/QUOTE]

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