Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 6677524" data-attributes="member: 5143">One of my pet peeves is initiative being rolled when there is no combat.&nbsp; I dislike when the DM turns to me and says &quot;It's your turn.&nbsp; What do you do?&quot; and my response is &quot;Why would I do anything out of the ordinary.&nbsp; I don't see any enemies, there is no combat taking place.&quot;&nbsp; It completely ruins the advantage of having a high initiative and it entirely negates certain abilities(like the rogue's advantage if he attacks before his enemy has had their turn yet).&nbsp; Not only that but it wastes time and turns as half the group has to say &quot;I guess I do nothing since there's nothing to attack&quot;.Initiative should only be rolled the second BOTH parties become aware of each other AND a hostile action is ABOUT to take place.If the PCs don't spot the enemies, then there is a surprise round as the enemies get a round of attacks before moving on to the first round of combat.&nbsp; If the enemies don't spot the PCs, the same thing happens.If SOME of the PCs spot the enemies then they get to act during the surprise round.&nbsp; If they roll higher initiative than the enemies it just means they have spotted them a split second before they attacked.&nbsp; They see the swords in their hands, they see their bows trained on the party, they know they are maybe half a second away from attacking.&nbsp; They have a chance to get in the first strike before the enemies do.This is also why I don't let people get free attacks simply by saying &quot;I attack&quot; while out of combat.&nbsp; It isn't fair and it removes the enemies ability to react faster than the attacker.&nbsp; I like the idea that someone can raise a sword to attack and someone on the other side is so fast that they draw their sword and stab them in the gut before their swing finishes.&nbsp; Though I allow people to get surprise rounds against an enemy that is watching them if I think the enemy is sufficiently distracted or caught completely by surprise by the attack.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Majoru Oakheart, post: 6677524, member: 5143"] One of my pet peeves is initiative being rolled when there is no combat. I dislike when the DM turns to me and says "It's your turn. What do you do?" and my response is "Why would I do anything out of the ordinary. I don't see any enemies, there is no combat taking place." It completely ruins the advantage of having a high initiative and it entirely negates certain abilities(like the rogue's advantage if he attacks before his enemy has had their turn yet). Not only that but it wastes time and turns as half the group has to say "I guess I do nothing since there's nothing to attack". Initiative should only be rolled the second BOTH parties become aware of each other AND a hostile action is ABOUT to take place. If the PCs don't spot the enemies, then there is a surprise round as the enemies get a round of attacks before moving on to the first round of combat. If the enemies don't spot the PCs, the same thing happens. If SOME of the PCs spot the enemies then they get to act during the surprise round. If they roll higher initiative than the enemies it just means they have spotted them a split second before they attacked. They see the swords in their hands, they see their bows trained on the party, they know they are maybe half a second away from attacking. They have a chance to get in the first strike before the enemies do. This is also why I don't let people get free attacks simply by saying "I attack" while out of combat. It isn't fair and it removes the enemies ability to react faster than the attacker. I like the idea that someone can raise a sword to attack and someone on the other side is so fast that they draw their sword and stab them in the gut before their swing finishes. Though I allow people to get surprise rounds against an enemy that is watching them if I think the enemy is sufficiently distracted or caught completely by surprise by the attack. [/QUOTE]

Verification