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<blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6677518" data-attributes="member: 6787650">I use a Speed Factor variant partly because it allows me to seamlessly unify combat and non-combat encounters. I order initiative rolls whenever there is doubt about who acted first, whether it is &quot;who raised their hand first&quot; or &quot;did you grab the helm before the ship hit the planet&quot; or &quot;did you deal the final HP of damage before the Death Slaad could Plane Shift away?&quot;As far as opening attacks from Stealth go, assuming you were undetected, you'd make your attack and the enemy would keep doing whatever they were going to do anyway (e.g. walking) for that round--unless they have Alert or were explicitly on the watch, in which case I'll treat them as having implicitly Delayed, which makes them automatically lose initiative but they get to declare their action after everyone else's actions have been resolved. E.g. &quot;An incoming crossbow bolt hits Randolph in the chest in the middle of a dinner party--it takes a second for the realization to sink in for everyone except Kimm (the Alert Shadow Monk NPC), who has already sprinted 180' (double-Dash) and is engaged in melee with the crossbowman. What do you do?&quot;When someone makes a hostile action, I'm okay with ignoring initiative in most cases because it doesn't matter to the outcome. &quot;Without warning, I stab the hobgoblin warlord in the chest! (Roll, roll) I hit AC 15 for 22 points of damage due to GWM!&quot; &quot;He roars with anger and calls for his guard, then pulls out his sword and hits you back for (roll, roll), oops, I mean he misses completely.&quot; The result will be exactly the same if the warlord misses twice first before the greataxe hits him in the chest.In cases where it does matter (e.g. the warlord is going to hit you back with a paralytic poison that prevents your attack from occurring, or Assassinate is in play) I would say, &quot;You mean you try to stab him. The warlord pulls out a dagger and tries to stab you first. Time for an initiative contest.&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FormerlyHemlock, post: 6677518, member: 6787650"] I use a Speed Factor variant partly [I]because[/I] it allows me to seamlessly unify combat and non-combat encounters. I order initiative rolls whenever there is doubt about who acted first, whether it is "who raised their hand first" or "did you grab the helm before the ship hit the planet" or "did you deal the final HP of damage before the Death Slaad could Plane Shift away?" As far as opening attacks from Stealth go, assuming you were undetected, you'd make your attack and the enemy would keep doing whatever they were going to do anyway (e.g. walking) for that round--unless they have Alert or were explicitly on the watch, in which case I'll treat them as having implicitly Delayed, which makes them automatically lose initiative but they get to declare their action after everyone else's actions have been resolved. E.g. "An incoming crossbow bolt hits Randolph in the chest in the middle of a dinner party--it takes a second for the realization to sink in for everyone except Kimm (the Alert Shadow Monk NPC), who has already sprinted 180' (double-Dash) and is engaged in melee with the crossbowman. What do you do?" When someone makes a hostile action, I'm okay with ignoring initiative in most cases because it doesn't matter to the outcome. "Without warning, I stab the hobgoblin warlord in the chest! (Roll, roll) I hit AC 15 for 22 points of damage due to GWM!" "He roars with anger and calls for his guard, then pulls out his sword and hits you back for (roll, roll), oops, I mean he misses completely." The result will be exactly the same if the warlord misses twice [I]first[/I] before the greataxe hits him in the chest. In cases where it does matter (e.g. the warlord is going to hit you back with a paralytic poison that prevents your attack from occurring, or Assassinate is in play) I would say, "You mean you [I]try [/I]to stab him. The warlord pulls out a dagger and tries to stab you first. Time for an initiative contest." [/QUOTE]

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