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Several features, like a Level 15 Battle Master's "Relentless", give one or more bonuses (in this case, a superiority die if you have none left) at the initiative roll of an encounter.

My question is : if a character leaves an (unresolved) encounter, then later comes back into the same (still unresolved) encounter, can he roll a new initiative (thus potentially getting initiative bonuses like the Relentless superiority die) or must he keep the previous one he had ?

This assumes the character would "act out of a turn" (ex: wait for about 20 seconds then jump back in), as he removed himself from the encounter, and thus from the initiative order.

Gael L
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    How are you "leaving" the active unresolved encounter? – NotArch Dec 28 '17 at 19:54
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    You will have to better define "leaves an encounter". To me, that would require the player to go so far away that their existence can no longer have an effect in the encounter. So just going to the next room isn't enough. They would need to leave the plane of existence, be in a different level of the tower, and so forth. All subject to case-by-case determine of "left" and "later". – MivaScott Dec 28 '17 at 19:54
  • @MivaScott even moving to another plane doesn't 'end' the encounter. See: Etherealness. – NotArch Dec 28 '17 at 19:54
  • @NautArch which is why I said case-by-case basis. – MivaScott Dec 28 '17 at 19:56
  • Hmmm, good points. I'm not sure if I can define a situation where the character would have no possible impact on the encounter once he's aware of said encounter's existence, now that I think of it... – Gael L Dec 28 '17 at 20:00
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    I think there's a real question here related to when an encounter ends and another begins to justify rolling initiative again. This doesn't seem to be your question, though it's intrinsically related to your answer. If you can provide a few examples on your definition of leaving an encounter, it may be possible to answer this question. See next comment: – Pyrotechnical Dec 28 '17 at 20:54
  • Off the cuff: Suppose you and your friend decide you want to spar each other, initiative would have to be rolled, which could trigger the ability. If an enemy runs away (and escapes) from a fight, but you stumble upon them 5 minutes later, initiative would be probably be rerolled. If your party engages in a tense skill challenge, initiative may be rolled to ensure all actions are clearly accounted for (perhaps moving through a room trapped to hell and back). – Pyrotechnical Dec 28 '17 at 20:56
  • @Pyrotechnical The difference is that in your examples the encounter has ended. It's not that the encounter was ongoing and a single character left and returned. I actually think this question is fine as long as no specific examples of how it's happening are given. – NotArch Dec 28 '17 at 21:06
  • FWIW, the level 15 Battle Master ability is called "Relentless", not "Implacable". – keithcurtis Dec 28 '17 at 21:07
  • @NautArch when an encounter ends can be subject to interpretation, particularly as it relates to this ability. – Pyrotechnical Dec 28 '17 at 21:21
  • @Pyrotechnical I'm not sure it can. I think only a DM can define when an encounter is over for either a group or an individual. – NotArch Dec 28 '17 at 21:22

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Encounters are like the Hotel California

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Just because you are no longer participating in the encounter for whatever reason doesn't mean you have 'left' the encounter. Your place in initiative remains, you're just doing something else away from all the action.

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NotArch
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