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*Dungeons & Dragons
A variant initiative that worked great
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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7294540" data-attributes="member: 20564"><p>I just saw something like this on G+ though the "Initiative DC" was simply an initiative roll for the other side. It feels like it really takes away from the ebb and flow of tactics. Normally, if foe A knocks a PC prone, other PCs can intervene - engage foes who would move up and attack, help the PC to their feet, use a spell to create a barrier, etc. Now any tactic that does something like grants advantage can be used by the entire side.</p><p></p><p>In addition, there is no possibility to interrupt focus-fire. I would expect intelligently played foes to kill off a PC a round unless the DM intentionally spreads out their attacks.</p><p></p><p>And yes, I mean kill. First, and unconscious PC who is not killed suffers zero bad effects. It is extremely hard to lose an action - either they have already taken it or they just go after the healer. Which also means no need for death saves. And they know that they have a good period - all the PCs will get to go before the foe can retaliate (first all those that lost to the Init DC, and then next round all the rest who made the Init DC).</p><p></p><p>So it really is in the best interests of foes to kill PCs. Any attack (including spell attacks) on a downed person is with advantage, and any hits within 5' is an auto-crit. A hit is one auto-failed death save, a crit is two. Pretty easy to take someone out, especially if you have mixed forces like ogres with goblins. And if they don't the PCs have it super easy.</p><p></p><p>There are plenty of systems where a side initiative works. But given the options in D&D focusing all of those actions together I think will definitely change the tactics of combat in ways the system doesn't handle as well as the initiative it was designed with.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blue, post: 7294540, member: 20564"] I just saw something like this on G+ though the "Initiative DC" was simply an initiative roll for the other side. It feels like it really takes away from the ebb and flow of tactics. Normally, if foe A knocks a PC prone, other PCs can intervene - engage foes who would move up and attack, help the PC to their feet, use a spell to create a barrier, etc. Now any tactic that does something like grants advantage can be used by the entire side. In addition, there is no possibility to interrupt focus-fire. I would expect intelligently played foes to kill off a PC a round unless the DM intentionally spreads out their attacks. And yes, I mean kill. First, and unconscious PC who is not killed suffers zero bad effects. It is extremely hard to lose an action - either they have already taken it or they just go after the healer. Which also means no need for death saves. And they know that they have a good period - all the PCs will get to go before the foe can retaliate (first all those that lost to the Init DC, and then next round all the rest who made the Init DC). So it really is in the best interests of foes to kill PCs. Any attack (including spell attacks) on a downed person is with advantage, and any hits within 5' is an auto-crit. A hit is one auto-failed death save, a crit is two. Pretty easy to take someone out, especially if you have mixed forces like ogres with goblins. And if they don't the PCs have it super easy. There are plenty of systems where a side initiative works. But given the options in D&D focusing all of those actions together I think will definitely change the tactics of combat in ways the system doesn't handle as well as the initiative it was designed with. [/QUOTE]
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A variant initiative that worked great
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