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Message: <blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 6677658" data-attributes="member: 6777696">The distinction is mainly an issue of surprise. As I rule it, surprise, in game terms, is all about what is happening during the first round of combat. If a character is aware of you before combat begins, they aren't surprised (eg they can act on their turn). (Though, depending on what they were doing, they might have other issues beyond being able to take actions.) So characters can kick down the door, give a second for the dust to clear, and then all charge in (including the kicker), but that same moment of adjustment would allow the enemy combatant to regain some sense of composure and act normally. (Albeit maybe acting normally means standing up and buckling on a shield.) Or one character can kick down the door while the other characters stream in, keeping the element of surprise. The door-kick action happens first, because it is the trigger. Nobody is trying to "beat" the door guy. But, since all the other actions are happening immediately afterwards, he can't take an action on that turn.We also declare actions and re-roll initiative every round, so it's basically just an issue of not asking the door-kicker to roll initiative because there's no question of when his action would take place in the sequence. On the other hand, if he wanted to continue moving through the door after he smashed it down, I might ask him to roll initiative and resolve the remainder of his turn in initiative order. (Especially if somebody in the room was not surprised, as the door-kicker's ability to rush into the room and set up a block could change some outcomes. But it also might matter for opportunity attacks — if the door-kicker is trying to sprint past some mooks in front of the door to get to a juicy wizard in the back, those mooks deserve a chance to make their initiative, regain their reaction, and make an opportunity attack.)Anyway, obviously, just how I do it. It all feels very internally consistent to me, which is, I think, what matters. Your way makes plenty of sense too. It's all just about what kind of personal logic you extrapolate to resolve corner cases.</blockquote>

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