Starting the Encounter

Encounters typically begin when you ask your players to roll initiative , which sets the order that the characters will act in. See the full rules for rolling initiative, but in brief, initiative involves each character rolling a check—usually a Perception check, but possibly a different skill if you deem it appropriate—and then acting in order from highest result to lowest. Below, you'll find specifics on how to run certain types of initiative or deal with problems. These are guidelines, and you might prefer to execute initiative in a different way at your table. When do you ask players to roll initiative? In most cases, it's simple: you call for the roll as soon as one participant intends to attack (or issue a challenge, draw a weapon, cast a preparatory spell, start a social encounter such as a tense negotiation, or otherwise begin to use an action that their foes can't help but notice). A player will tell you if their character intends to start a conflict, and you'll determine when the actions of NPCs and other creatures initiate combat. Occasionally, two sides might stumble across one another. In this case, there isn't much time to decide, but you should still ask if anyone intends to attack. If the PCs and NPCs alike just want to talk or negotiate, there's no reason to roll initiative only to drop out of combat immediately!Alternatively, many GMs running for larger groups or in Organized Play settings prefer to run social encounters and skill challenges using initiative order but likely call for players to use a skill such as Deception, Diplomacy, or Performance, depending on their approach to the scene.