What systems are you playing these days?

[Brasswatchman]

As a corollary to this thread - while programming said item, I initially figured I'd try to cover as many initiative systems as I possibly could. Unfortunately, this made me realize that, with a few exceptions, I didn't have any clue what game systems other than 4E and d20 people were playing these days.

So this leads me to ask, everyone - are any of you playing or recently played in a game using a non-d20-based system? If so, what? And if you don't mind my asking - how does initiative (or the equivalent mechanic) work?

 

[Thasmodious]

In addition to 4e, my groups is diving into Savage Worlds and I love their initiative mechanic. It's a set of regular playing cards with the jokers. Each PC and the monsters (however the GM feels like grouping them or dividing them) gets a card, count is from Ace high down to Deuce. A Joker lets you go whenever you want in the round, even interrupting someone else's action and gives you a generic +2 bonus, as well.

 

[Crothian]

I'm in a weekly Scion game. Initiative is called join battle (Wits + Awareness) and the more success the better. They have a battle wheel to keep track of it. And then each attack has a speed value so you move that many ticks along the battle wheel to see when you go next. It is possible then for a character doing fast attacks to attack more then once before someone else doing something slower gets a chance.

It's not the greatest system in the world.

 

[Stormonu]

We've been playing several non-d20 systems lately. Mainly Legends of the 5 Rings (L5R) and Vampire: The Requiem (VtR).

In L5R you roll a number of d10s equal to Reflexes (2 average, 5 normal maximum, 10 "godly" maximum) and keeping a number of dice equal to Insight rank (1 for a starting character, 5 normal maximum, 10 "godly" maximum). You add all the dice you "keep" together to get your init. This will usually be 2k1 or "roll 2 dice, keep 1", with an average of about 5 total. The higher your reflexes, the more dice you roll. The higher your insight rank, the more dice keep to add together

In VtR, you roll 1d10 and add an initiative modifier. The initiative modifier is based on the number of points in your Resolve trait and Composure trait - the average is 2 in each (normally the max is 5), so most folks roll 1d10 + 4 for initiative.

 

[Brasswatchman]

I'm in a weekly Scion game. Initiative is called join battle (Wits + Awareness) and the more success the better. They have a battle wheel to keep track of it. And then each attack has a speed value so you move that many ticks along the battle wheel to see when you go next. It is possible then for a character doing fast attacks to attack more then once before someone else doing something slower gets a chance.

It's not the greatest system in the world.

Yow. That does kind of sound like a mess, yeah. Don't think I can support that one - though - speaking as someone who hasn't played the game - I'm kind of amazed that you're able to keep track of things *without* a program...

 

[Brasswatchman]

In L5R you roll a number of d10s equal to Reflexes (2 average, 5 normal maximum, 10 "godly" maximum) and keeping a number of dice equal to Insight rank (1 for a starting character, 5 normal maximum, 10 "godly" maximum). You add all the dice you "keep" together to get your init. This will usually be 2k1 or "roll 2 dice, keep 1", with an average of about 5 total. The higher your reflexes, the more dice you roll. The higher your insight rank, the more dice keep to add together

Interesting... thanks! I'll have to think about that...

In VtR, you roll 1d10 and add an initiative modifier. The initiative modifier is based on the number of points in your Resolve trait and Composure trait - the average is 2 in each (normally the max is 5), so most folks roll 1d10 + 4 for initiative.

Sounds like I've got that one covered, then. Good to know. Thanks.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Pretty much the same systems I'm always playing: 3.5 D&D, Street Fighter, and HARP.

I house rule Initiative into a skill in D&D. So, instead of d20 + Dex mod, it's d20 + ranks + Dex mod. Yawn.

Street Fighter determines initiative round-by-round. Every maneuver has a Speed rating, positive or negative-- which ranges from around -4 to +4-- that you add to your Dexterity for physical maneuvers or your Wits for mental maneuvers. Attributes run from 1 to 5 (human maximum) to 8 (superhuman maximum). Characters declare their actions in order from lowest total Speed to highest, and characters with higher Speed can choose to interrupt at any time and perform their maneuver first.

In HARP, everyone declares their move in advance, rolls 1d10 and adds their Quickness and Insight modifiers (range from around -10 to +10 or so) and any modifiers for their chosen action. Modifiers all stack, and the total can range from about +10 to around -50 or so.

I'm sorely tempted to house rule initiative into a skill in HARP, too.

 

[Hussar]

Currently Savage Worlds - deck of cards initiative.

Next game is Sufficiently Advanced - no initiative to track - everything is resolved simultaneously.

I forget how Spirit of the Centry does it.

 

[Deepfire]

We play
- GURPS 3rd (Traveller background)
Your MOVE value determines when you can act in a round

- Rolemaster Fantasy (Midnight background)
2d10 plus attribute-bonus (I think) - you can shift your actionsequence by changing the difficulty of your throws (haste for instance)

- Call of Cthulhu (1920s, Orient Express)
No Initiative necessary in our campaign

German-speaking GM here - so I had to re-translate some stuff, please ignore mistakes

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

As a corollary to this thread - while programming said item, I initially figured I'd try to cover as many initiative systems as I possibly could. Unfortunately, this made me realize that, with a few exceptions, I didn't have any clue what game systems other than 4E and d20 people were playing these days.

So this leads me to ask, everyone - are any of you playing or recently played in a game using a non-d20-based system? If so, what? And if you don't mind my asking - how does initiative (or the equivalent mechanic) work?

I have played D&D 3E, 4E, d20 Modern, Shadowrun 3E and 4E, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2E, Cyberpunk, Dragon Warriors, DSA (The Dark Eye) and Torg. I think that's the major ones. I also read a little about some other game rules, either on message boards or by actually getting the rulebooks (like Exalted 2E, the latest Mongoose Traveller).

Many boil down "roll something for intiative, this determines sequence of actions."
Interesting - or problematic? - variation is in Shadowrun up to including 3E, where a high initaitive also means more actions. In 4E, you still get more actions (and that is my opinion still problematic), but it's not tied to the result of your intiative related check.

I am not sure in which system I saw a "shots"-based approach - maybe Changling or Exalted? Actions cost shots, and so if you take a long action, you act later. I think initial start is still determined by dice roll. That is certainly an interesting variation and probably an attempt to get a more "real-time" feel in the game.

Torg uses a Drama Deck to determine initiative, but it only distinguishes between the hero and the villain side starting its turn, and then you can resolve it in any sequence you like(typically clock-wise around the table with my group, but sometimes it depends on which skills we use. It makes sense to first "debuff" someone with a skill like Intimidate or Maneuver before someone else shoots him or engages in melee.)
A unique thing is that you have to decide whether you want to defend yourself actively or attack, and sometimes this means the losers of initiative do not get to act to avoid getting hit. (An active defense is always better). Sometimes it means the losers of initiative do an active defense and combine that action with a counter-attack (and thus effectively act together with the attacker).
The initiative cards in the drama deck do more than just determine who goes first - they also give each side bonuses or penalties and suggest actions that grant additional benefits.