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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 454683" data-attributes="member: 5100">This discussion comes up _every_ week in the game in which I play.&nbsp; We're pretty much a party of rogues moving through an area with lots of hiding things, so it gets pretty hairy.When does an &quot;encounter&quot; start?&nbsp; When do you drop into combat rounds/roll initiative?&nbsp; Is there a difference between an obviously combat-inducing &quot;encounter&quot; and the start of combat rounds?Here's the specific scenario from last night:We're walking down a passage and hear noises down a side passage -- reasonable guess is that it's troglodytes (henceforth &quot;trogs&quot;).&nbsp; We're carrying a light while trogs have darkvision, so they almost certainly know we're there.Knowing that we can't sneak up to them with the light source, the acrobat (me) walks brazenly out into view with the torch, going full defensive.&nbsp; The elven fighter/rogue with elven cloak and boots sneaks down the passage using my light to see.&nbsp; I continue walking down the hallway with the light, being defensive.The corridor runs about 40 feet and opens into a roundish cave about 30' across.&nbsp; I circle around one side of the room, playing Polish mine detector for the hiding trogs and trusting the elf (who has a high enough spot to notice the trogs) to step in at the critical point.&nbsp; We eventually kill them all.Specific sticking points were:1) Since we heard the trogs and knew they were somewhere nearby, could they still surprise us (me, specifically).2) Did combat rounds start when we heard them/they saw the light?&nbsp; Did it start when someone actually made a hostile move?3) Could I have been using the &quot;full defense&quot; option?&nbsp; It's a combat maneuver and I couldn't actually pinpoint _any_ enemies.4) Could I have readied an &quot;attack the first trog I see&quot; action as I'm wandering about?5) Could the trogs have readied an &quot;attack the human when he gets close&quot; action?6) Would I (or they) be flat-footed at the time of the ambush?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 454683, member: 5100"] This discussion comes up _every_ week in the game in which I play. We're pretty much a party of rogues moving through an area with lots of hiding things, so it gets pretty hairy. When does an "encounter" start? When do you drop into combat rounds/roll initiative? Is there a difference between an obviously combat-inducing "encounter" and the start of combat rounds? Here's the specific scenario from last night: We're walking down a passage and hear noises down a side passage -- reasonable guess is that it's troglodytes (henceforth "trogs"). We're carrying a light while trogs have darkvision, so they almost certainly know we're there. Knowing that we can't sneak up to them with the light source, the acrobat (me) walks brazenly out into view with the torch, going full defensive. The elven fighter/rogue with elven cloak and boots sneaks down the passage using my light to see. I continue walking down the hallway with the light, being defensive. The corridor runs about 40 feet and opens into a roundish cave about 30' across. I circle around one side of the room, playing Polish mine detector for the hiding trogs and trusting the elf (who has a high enough spot to notice the trogs) to step in at the critical point. We eventually kill them all. Specific sticking points were: 1) Since we heard the trogs and knew they were somewhere nearby, could they still surprise us (me, specifically). 2) Did combat rounds start when we heard them/they saw the light? Did it start when someone actually made a hostile move? 3) Could I have been using the "full defense" option? It's a combat maneuver and I couldn't actually pinpoint _any_ enemies. 4) Could I have readied an "attack the first trog I see" action as I'm wandering about? 5) Could the trogs have readied an "attack the human when he gets close" action? 6) Would I (or they) be flat-footed at the time of the ambush? [/QUOTE]

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