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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 6799168" data-attributes="member: 6778044">Reporting back.We've been playing without initiative for about 10 months now, and I've started another campaign with other players and I'm using it there too. It works very, very well.Basically, any given encounter with a creature just occurs sort of naturally. Until somebody actually makes an attack of some sort, there isn't a combat, just the encounter. There can be parleying, hostility, etc. It just seems to encourage interaction in a way that starting with 'roll initiative' doesn't. So the flow of the game is fantastic with it.Everybody who is making an attack rolls their attacks at the same time, and they tell me what they are doing. It's usually multiple people talking at once, but if I have to clarify, I can. I then describe the action as it's happening, and make opposed initiative checks when needed. Combined with the fact that I've beefed up unarmed combat, and added special maneuvers, like trying to blind somebody, go for a groin shot, etc., it's quick, chaotic, and very exciting. It also fosters different tactical approaches. In the new campaign (with an ex-marine) two of them were facing a displacer beast that was slowly inching toward them like a great cat on the hunt. To get the jump, the monk ran out across its field of vision to distract it and allow the fighter to move back diagonally to start firing arrows, at which point the monk closed to attack. The plan worked, but of course, the displacer beast attacked the monk, doing some damage, but taking damage from the arrows and the monk. By the second round it had lost more hit points than it dealt, so it turned to escape. I rolled the direction randomly, which happened to be around the corner of a building where their ally was running up with javelin ready having heard the combat. The beast leaped around the corner, practically knocking her over, but she got a shot in with the javelin (opportunity attack) and missed. As it turned to run into the woods the she threw another javelin and struck it well, but didn't kill it.None of the attacks needed an initiative check, and the entire combat took 4 rounds. Our other campaign has also been working well with it, and quite frankly, nobody has missed it. Most importantly, combats now consist of everybody in motion, trying to get an advantage, and quick exchanges of attacks. I might take a couple of boxes of minis to the next session at the store to see how those fit into things. If I use terrain of any sort it will not include squares. I've been describing distances in more relative terms, like within closing distance for a melee attack, instead of strict distances. Ilbranteloth</blockquote>

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