A party of four PCs is walking through a large field hemmed in by forest. A creature bursts out of the forest 100 yards away and charges straight at the party. The archer wishes to take a shot at the creature as soon as it is in range.
Does the entire party need to roll initiative, or does the archer fire at will, and initiative is rolled when the creature is within melee range of the rest of the party?
If the target is not in range when the archer’s turn happens, the archer can take the Ready action. On the creature’s turn when it moves into range, the archer uses their reaction to attack.
Most people say to roll initiative. They are not wrong, strictly speaking, but it may depend a bit on the nature of the encounter and flow of the game (you don't want several turns of: "it moves closer." "Is it in range yet?" "No.").
Determine surprise if applicable, but don't roll initiative until it is about to enter range (on the off chance it wasn't already, since all 2 handed ranged weapons have a range of over 100 yards). Rather than initiative, you may just have the archer take a few shots at it as it approaches (asking other players what they would like to do of course). Even with disadvantage and the creature dashing, it is very likely to have been shot to death by the time it gets in melee from that far.
Surprise requires the creature to attempt to be stealthy, and bursting out of the trees and trying to run 100 yards... Doesn't feel "attemptimg to ambush"
Surprise requires the creature to attempt to be stealthy, and bursting out of the trees and trying to run 100 yards... Doesn't feel "attemptimg to ambush"
It would be like the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where the knight charges up to the castle and the guards just stand there smiling
Surprise requires the creature to attempt to be stealthy, and bursting out of the trees and trying to run 100 yards... Doesn't feel "attemptimg to ambush"
It is entirely possible that the creature was stealthy up to that point, if so, the party could be surprised. All that means in practice is that the archer will get one less turn to shoot at it as it approaches.
Go ahead and roll initiative when the encounter starts. There will likely be a few rounds of the monster moving towards the party, then the monster will move while the archer shoots, then melee will begin. During all this time the non-archer party members can be taking actions. Preparing for melee, casting spells, moving to better positions, etc.
Surprise requires the creature to attempt to be stealthy, and bursting out of the trees and trying to run 100 yards... Doesn't feel "attemptimg to ambush"
It would be like the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where the knight charges up to the castle and the guards just stand there smiling
Surprising, not surprised. FullMetalBunny is correct that there is, mechanically, no surprise happening here.
A party of four PCs is walking through a large field hemmed in by forest. A creature bursts out of the forest 100 yards away and charges straight at the party.
While you do not necessarily have to, this would be the appropriate time to roll initiatives. As others have mentioned, there are actions the party can take in the time it will take for that creature to close distance. The creature is already in range if the player's archer is using a short/longbow or light/heavy crossbow. Even if the rest of the party decides not to take any actions while waiting, the archer has the option of shooting downrange for as many turns as they want. Starting at 100 yards out, even with the creature dashing, the archer would likely get at least 3 rounds of target practice.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
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A party of four PCs is walking through a large field hemmed in by forest. A creature bursts out of the forest 100 yards away and charges straight at the party. The archer wishes to take a shot at the creature as soon as it is in range.
Does the entire party need to roll initiative, or does the archer fire at will, and initiative is rolled when the creature is within melee range of the rest of the party?
Many thanks in advance.
Roll initiative. The creature Dashes towards the party on its turn; the archer shoots it on their turn.
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Roll initiative, the creature comes out of the forest and dashes toward the party on its turn. If not surpised, the party can act on their turns.
If the target is not in range when the archer’s turn happens, the archer can take the Ready action. On the creature’s turn when it moves into range, the archer uses their reaction to attack.
Most people say to roll initiative. They are not wrong, strictly speaking, but it may depend a bit on the nature of the encounter and flow of the game (you don't want several turns of: "it moves closer." "Is it in range yet?" "No.").
Determine surprise if applicable, but don't roll initiative until it is about to enter range (on the off chance it wasn't already, since all 2 handed ranged weapons have a range of over 100 yards). Rather than initiative, you may just have the archer take a few shots at it as it approaches (asking other players what they would like to do of course). Even with disadvantage and the creature dashing, it is very likely to have been shot to death by the time it gets in melee from that far.
Many thanks for all of the replies!
I don't think Surprise is really a thing.
Surprise requires the creature to attempt to be stealthy, and bursting out of the trees and trying to run 100 yards... Doesn't feel "attemptimg to ambush"
It would be like the scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail where the knight charges up to the castle and the guards just stand there smiling
It is entirely possible that the creature was stealthy up to that point, if so, the party could be surprised. All that means in practice is that the archer will get one less turn to shoot at it as it approaches.
Go ahead and roll initiative when the encounter starts. There will likely be a few rounds of the monster moving towards the party, then the monster will move while the archer shoots, then melee will begin. During all this time the non-archer party members can be taking actions. Preparing for melee, casting spells, moving to better positions, etc.
Very helpful. I hadn't considered other actions from distance such as spell casting and change of positions.
Many thanks.
Surprising, not surprised. FullMetalBunny is correct that there is, mechanically, no surprise happening here.
While you do not necessarily have to, this would be the appropriate time to roll initiatives. As others have mentioned, there are actions the party can take in the time it will take for that creature to close distance. The creature is already in range if the player's archer is using a short/longbow or light/heavy crossbow. Even if the rest of the party decides not to take any actions while waiting, the archer has the option of shooting downrange for as many turns as they want. Starting at 100 yards out, even with the creature dashing, the archer would likely get at least 3 rounds of target practice.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.