Initiative Idea :)

[Scribble]

So I normally just write the name of each character and monster on my pad and their number next to it. When their count comes up I'll usually just say their name.

But this always takes time, and late at night I sometimes get a little tired, and confused.

So I have a new idea I'm going to try:

I use counters printed from Counter Collection Digital. So I thought... Why not print out 2x2 versions of each monster, and of the PCs and stick them to the wall in order.

I think the visual match will speed things up a lot. Everyone can look and say oh THAT thing goes next. (And not have to remember what every thing is called.)

I think it will also give me a spot to stick things I need to remember to like ongoing poison, and stuff.

Anyone else do somethign similar?

 

[fba827]

A group I joined last summer had a simple method that works well -- similar to what you said.

There is a large sheet of paper with 3 columns worth of numbers (counting from 1 to whatever). These represent initiative totals.
Then, with the spare dice, 6 siders are used for PCs, ten siders for enemies, 8 siders for allied NPCs and so on (whatever would work, just explaining how we do it).
The face up number on the PC place holder is the position of the person around the table.
So let's say the 1st person clockwise from the DM has his initiative placeholder be a speckled red dice and it would always be face up on "1" and then that speckled red 1 would be put wherever on the paper as need be.

It's easy to move around dice as people hold actions , and easy to reuse. Plus it's great that everyone can see the sheet and can tell who is up next and when their turn is.

It does not, however, easily facilitate a good way to mark down conditions. That falls upon the player to remember, though a person could EASILY put down a small strip of paper with note next to the dice of the person with a given condition.

So, yes, it's similar to what you're talking about except it's with paper and dice rather than a board and marker... :-D

 

[El Mahdi]

Sounds like a good idea. The visual factor can be really good for keeping the players aware of when they need to be ready, help them determine strategies based on when their turn is, and leave no excuse for not being ready when it's their turn.


I do things a little different, but by no means do I think one approach is better than another. Sounds like what you have fits the way you want your game to run. How do your players like it? As a player I'd probably like it.


As a DM what I wanted was my players to be ready when it was their turn, but also not ignore the rest of the action at the table when it wasn't their turn. Also, I wanted the randomness of new initiative every round. I wanted combats to be a little less predictable, so I didn't want my players to know exactly when their turn would come around. At the same time, I didn't want to add an initiative roll every round, and end up adding even more things to slow down combat.

What I decided on was to use my computer. I list every combatant on an excel document. At the beginning of the game, before we even get started on the adventure, I have everyone roll for 20 initiatives, and put down their rolls in sequence on the excel doc. I'll usually use a standard initiative number for monsters and npc's, but a different one for each (like 5, 10, or 15). Then, each round I just use the sort function by column to list everyone in initiative order for that round.

Advantages are:

• adds an element of randomness to combat
• forces players to pay attention to combat, even when it's not their turn, because they don't know when their turn will come up
• forces players to be ready for when it is their turn
• eliminates the need to roll initiative just prior to the beginning of combat - allowing us to transition directly into combat without delay

Disadvantages:

• adds an element of randomness to combat (this may be something that some players, and even DM's, may not like - tastes vary)
• requires the use of a computer or laptop at the gametable (not everyone likes this, or even has easy access to a computer for gametable use - not a problem for me though, since I mostly run my games right off of my computer - except for the actual adventure module and referencing rules in books)

It would be really cool if I had the resources and technical savvy to incorporate your idea also. If I had a monitor up where the players could see it, I could make a virtual board with counters like you use. The computer could update the board every round based on the new initiative order. That would look seriously cool. Oh well, here's to dreaming.

 

[Richards]

I use initiative cards. Each player has a PC portrait the size and shape of a standard playing card, printed out, glued to an index card, cut to size, and covered in clear ConTact paper. I also do up an initiative card for each monster they encounter. (And another advantage is that way I can decide the ogres in my 3.5 game look like 2.0 ogres, since I can't stand the 3.X depiction of ogres. Plus, I have something handy to show the players what their PCs see, and with each adventure I add to my initiative deck.) For each combat, each player rolls initiative, I roll for the monsters' initiative, tally the results, and put the cards into their correct order.

Johnathan

 

[S'mon]

I use the ars ludi system:

ars ludi

Players roll to beat the GM, then alternate turns with GM. No need to track init, yet it's entirely by RAW.

 

[weem]

@ S'mon

I use the ars ludi system:

ars ludi

Players roll to beat the GM, then alternate turns with GM. No need to track init, yet it's entirely by RAW.

What do you do about Improved Initiative, etc? Do your players skip that feat? Does the person with the highest initiative bonus roll for the group, and if so, does everyone else skip feat? I'm curious because I like the idea, but it seems like there could be (for some classes more than others perhaps) a loss in value of a feat(s) or ability(ies) in some, or perhaps many cases.

Again, I like the idea, I'm just concerned about killing the value or usefulness of various things via a rules change.

 

[Zanticor]

I used to really hate waiting for my players to start getting into initiative order. So I made that their business. The DM doesn't need to control who goes next. We have some standup-cards and one of the players makes sure they go in the right order and prods the one that goes next. For my monsters I usually trow once and they get the scary dragon card. If the fight is against an enemy party I'll get one token for each opponent. Never gives me trouble anymore. The standup-cards are from adventures in prior editions but I'm sure everyone can come up with something creative. They need to represent your character. Maybe even better then the miniature you use. This so everyone knows who goes first. The visual element is much better then names written down (which is better then names being shouted out and ordered around.


Zanticor

 

[S'mon]

@ S'mon


What do you do about Improved Initiative, etc? Do your players skip that feat? Does the person with the highest initiative bonus roll for the group, and if so, does everyone else skip feat? I'm curious because I like the idea, but it seems like there could be (for some classes more than others perhaps) a loss in value of a feat(s) or ability(ies) in some, or perhaps many cases.

Again, I like the idea, I'm just concerned about killing the value or usefulness of various things via a rules change.

Eh? Each player rolls their initiative individually, exactly as per RAW. But since the only thing that really matters is whether they get to act before the monsters in the first combat round, you don't need to track init after that.

Group A - PCs who beat monsters on init.
Group B - Monsters
Group C - PCs who lost init to monsters.

The sequence is:

Round 1:
Group A acts.

Then on each round subsequently:
Group B acts, then
Groups A +C act
& repeat

That's entirely by RAW - delayed actions achieve precisely the same effect, but with far more calculating.

 

[Woas]

Oh wow. I didn't realize there was a special name for it, but my group re-invented the Ludi system on our own. We realized 98% of the time the initiative order usually just boils down to "You guys go, then my guys go, repeat."

So I guess I do the Ludi system too.

 

[weem]

Eh? Each player rolls their initiative individually, exactly as per RAW. But since the only thing that really matters is whether they get to act before the monsters in the first combat round, you don't need to track init after that.

Group A - PCs who beat monsters on init.
Group B - Monsters
Group C - PCs who lost init to monsters.

The sequence is:

Round 1:
Group A acts.

Then on each round subsequently:
Group B acts, then
Groups A +C act
& repeat

That's entirely by RAW - delayed actions achieve precisely the same effect, but with far more calculating.

Ahh gotcha - I didn't think about the players being split into "before monster init" and "after" - which doesn't matter really except in the very beginning of the fight for those who have abilities that work vs creatures who have not acted yet, etc etc. Thanks for clarifying