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Ahhhh ... OK ... so my +4 is the best we got, I get it ... =now= <g>

OK ...

<mounting soapbox>
so that has got to be the 5th ed 'arbitrary rule change' that I dislike more than all the other 'arbitrary rule changes' combined! <sigh> I will never understand why ... as a living, thinking being ... my character cannot choose to wait a moment for another character (or foe) to ... cast the spell, fire an arrow, etc. before 'acting' <sigh>
<dismounting soapbox>

Maybe it is just as well that I am not working GenCon where I would be running 5th ed <wink>

As it was explained to me it was to make life easier for the DM. In the past, when you could always delay, you would get into situations where multiple people would delay and the DM had to check with every player after every single action took place: "...are you ready to jump in yet? How about you? You?...." The initiative order became a mess and it could be very hard for the DM to run a combat.

But I really don't like it much either.

I have edited the post in the thread to start the melee.

Actually, it wasn't really that hard. You just need the right tool for the job! ... in this case 3x5 cards <g>

In case this is a new 'mechanism' for our readers <weg> ... Each player fills out a card for their character. At a minimum you need the character's name and init mod (to resolve ties).

I had cards for the monsters as appropriate based on how the mod was written. Sometimes there was a card for each monster ... other times a 'swarm' of goblins, for example, would get one init for the group. So I could have all the monster's cards, init rolls done and ready before the game started. The players would roll init for each encounter and put that on their card. I would sort the stack of cards in init order and combat would begin. The top card would get to take their action and then go to the bottom of the stack, rinse and repeat until the combat was complete.

When someone said the wanted to delay or ready, their card went 'sideways'. It was =THEIR= responsibility to pay attention to the action and say that they were ready to 'jump back in'. At that point their card was put on top and they took their action. And that was their new place in the rotation. I =would= ask if they wanted to change/do something else if their 'sideways' card came back to the top of the stack. Easy Peasy <wink>

I used that system for years and it works really well ... in f2f games <weg> I am not sure it would work as well here <sigh>

Question: As I had Whisper watching the door to the NE, can three goblins really open a door, move through it, assess the situation, fire and then hide. Seems an awful lot considering Whisper couldn't warn Jaliera and she might have side-stepped.

I don't begrudge the damage just trying to understand the rules. Cheers!

First, the Hobgoblins were watching thru a spyhole and listening so knew what was going on. They were waiting for the right moment to come in. Second, in general yes, you can open a door, move thru it, assess what is on the other side, and get an attack in the same round. That is a:

Free Action: Open the door
Move action: Enter the room
Action: Attack

and if you have an ability to get a Bonus action to Hide, as the Goblins do (and as Jaliera also does), you can also take that.

The only way Jaliera could have done anything to intervene would have been for her to take a "Ready" Action (instead of shooting last round) and to have said "I am watching the North and if anything comes thru I will attack it".

Her other option would be to Hide every single round (which is a fairly normal Rogue tactic). In that case, unless she rolled poorly the enemies would not have seen her and would have targeted somebody else. If you added the Hide for Jaliera with the Readied Action she'd have gotten her Sneak Dice as well.

Which reminds me. She really should be using her Bonus Action to hide every round. As long as she is successful she gets to attack with Advantage and gets a Sneak Attack on every round and gets to add 2d6 to her damage roll 1/round. She also gets this extra damage (even if she doesn't hide) if she attacks an enemy who is adjacent to one of her allies.

OK, understood.. and doh! Keep forgetting her hide! Thanks!

Trying to work out what to roll. I am thinking Perception to see them, attack/damage if successful, stealth to hide? She can ready an action as she has Whisper spotting for her. Or do I do a stealth first? Cheers!

It's as I wrote in the in-game thread. If your Passive Perception is higher than the number I rolled for them to hide, you can see them and attack.

Otherwise, it takes an action to make an Active Perception roll to look for them, so even if you find them, you can't attack as you used your action to find them (unless you have an attack that only uses a Bonus Action).

The best thing to do with Goblins is to Ready an Action and wait for them to pop up out of hiding to attack, at which point you automatically see tham and can attack, OR to use some AOE action that will impact them even where they hide.

And yes, on your turn you should remember to always do a Bonus Action and make a Stealth roll to hide.

All,

This is where I'll be taking over again. It won't be until after this weekend because I've got to prep for a face-to-face game. Zeim and I split duties there too. He's taking over for me with our FTF pals and I'm taking over here. I need to do some reading to catch up a bit but I have a good handle on where you are and what you've accomplished. Keep posting in the current thread. Zeim will shepherd you for a few more days.

Welcome back.

Your above post is meant for OOA, I think Nep.

Thanks. Moved it.

I'm heading out on vacation bright and early on Wednesday. Posting will be spotty at best until I get back Feb 18. Wifi is poor where I'm going (Costa Rica).

Have fun! I have heard some great 'reports' from acquaintances that have been.

Hey guys. My apologies. I'll be pausing the game until next Sunday.

No worries. Take care of yourself.

Works for me.

Dice sat on max and charging up, ready to roll.