D&D 5E Alternative Initiative: try this

[Nebulous]

I like this idea so much I have decided to build my own deck of custom cards. However, upon reading this thread, I can see there are different viable ways to go about doing it. So do i really NEED multiples of the same PC cards to simulate high Dex or feats or is there a simpler way to do it? I still want this to be a streamlined, fast system with an element of tension.

 

[Nebulous]

The idea to use a custom deck inserting multiple copies of the same character who gets special initiative bonuses is brilliant! It seems less cumbersome than adding different pics for the same PC.

I’m still not convinced that there will be a measure of accuracy as opposed to D20 rolls: probably nearer to Advantage than static bonuses, as someone pointed out. I’m not a math guy but without crunching numbers too much the deck is changing depending on the number of creatures while a D20 is always 1-20 for everyone, so it’s difficult to balance it out especially for the low numbers, we’ll still use double cards only for exceptional situations but for those it can work.

So by doing it this way, i should have 2 copies of each PC card, i don't think there would ever be a need for a third card. If it comes up in the round then you just don't use the other one. For SUPER fast monsters where they are just crazy fast and it's their shtick, i'd just place their card first every round, no randomness involved, they just go First.

 

[Fabio Andrea Rossi]

If you ask me, I agree with you: keep it simple and fast. I would do it like this, well, actually I am doing it like this:

- one card per PC;
- one card per "kind of monster" (Big Baddie, Undead, Minion...the more the better as long as it's easy for you to sort)
- one single "JOLLY/JESTER/ACE/SUPER QUICK" extra card per EXCEPTIONALLY FAST monsters (more based on lore than +x dex bonus) to be used very rarely in case one of the monsters is a Quickling or similar very fast enemy;
- one extra card per "PC who really invests in quickness" which as per now I'm limiting to ALERT talent or Advantage on initiative.


My 2 cents...it could certainly work by having more cards. A quick way to have more cards without bogging too much would be to get 2 cards per PC or Enemy who goes beyond a certain +x to initiative, I suggest +5, be it per DEX bonus, spell or other things.

I would not use more than two cards per character (like you don't stack advantage).

Nearly forgetting...great cards!

 

[Nebulous]

If you ask me, I agree with you: keep it simple and fast. I would do it like this, well, actually I am doing it like this:

- one card per PC;
- one card per "kind of monster" (Big Baddie, Undead, Minion...the more the better as long as it's easy for you to sort)
- one single "JOLLY/JESTER/ACE/SUPER QUICK" extra card per EXCEPTIONALLY FAST monsters (more based on lore than +x dex bonus) to be used very rarely in case one of the monsters is a Quickling or similar very fast enemy;
- one extra card per "PC who really invests in quickness" which as per now I'm limiting to ALERT talent or Advantage on initiative.


My 2 cents...it could certainly work by having more cards. A quick way to have more cards without bogging too much would be to get 2 cards per PC or Enemy who goes beyond a certain +x to initiative, I suggest +5, be it per DEX bonus, spell or other things.

I would not use more than two cards per character (like you don't stack advantage).

Nearly forgetting...great cards!

Thanks! I was going to upload them to a print shop, but i might be able to print them on my own and just laminate them. The time intensive thing now is editing each one in photoshop to the same dimensions and adding text. So I have 14 character cards and 24 monster cards, the latter covers the common groups like undead and humanoids, etc. I think I will probably have all enemies of the same "type" in a battle just go on the same initiative.

 

[Nebulous]

What I'll probably do when I'm done is zip all of the high res images into a folder and put in on dropbox and add a link here to share, if anyone else wants to use them.

 

[Coredump]

So by doing it this way, i should have 2 copies of each PC card, i don't think there would ever be a need for a third card. If it comes up in the round then you just don't use the other one. For SUPER fast monsters where they are just crazy fast and it's their shtick, i'd just place their card first every round, no randomness involved, they just go First.

It completely depends on if you want to allow Dex or anything else to effect initi order.

With just one card each, it means Dex 8 and Dex 20 have the same chance of going first.

You can use as much, or little, granularity as you want. Instead of just one level, you could have 2, or 3, or whatever you want.

I am thinking about doing this, but will use more 'levels'


Each creature (PC or bad guy 'group') will get one card.
Each creature will get an additional card for each +1 of their Dex bonus
ALert will allow an additional +X cards (Have not decided.... thinking 2-3, will have to playtest)

Please note that PC cards are constant for each fight. So the only 'work' would be to swap out the Bad Guy cards. I could even prep them ahead of time if feeling industrious.

Flip over cards, if your card comes up, you may choose to take your turn or wait for your next card.


It means more cards, but allows the higher Dex folks an advantage for having a higher dex. There is no penalty, however, for a Dex <10. Not common enough to worry about.

 

[Coredump]

Thanks! I was going to upload them to a print shop, but i might be able to print them on my own and just laminate them. The time intensive thing now is editing each one in photoshop to the same dimensions and adding text. So I have 14 character cards and 24 monster cards, the latter covers the common groups like undead and humanoids, etc. I think I will probably have all enemies of the same "type" in a battle just go on the same initiative.

Save yourself some hassle. Don't worry about the exact size, you can cut them to fit.
Instead of laminating, get some extra magic cards (every magic player has a ton of cards they don't care about. Give them a dollar and they will give you a stack) and card sleeves. Now they will all be uniform and you don't have to worry about sizing so much.

Also, you can use different color backgrounds for PCs and Bad guys. Make it easier to sort them.

 

[Nebulous]

 

[Nebulous]

Save yourself some hassle. Don't worry about the exact size, you can cut them to fit.
Instead of laminating, get some extra magic cards (every magic player has a ton of cards they don't care about. Give them a dollar and they will give you a stack) and card sleeves. Now they will all be uniform and you don't have to worry about sizing so much.

Also, you can use different color backgrounds for PCs and Bad guys. Make it easier to sort them.

lol, that would work too, but i'm practically done now and they turned out looking good. Not sure how to do the backs of them though. I wish i had a sheet of thick ply paper with a pattern on one side.

 

[davout1805]

Another idea. Every character has the same number of cards, call it X. The cards for a single character are not exactly the same. They are numbered from 1 to X. If the number on the card is equal to or less than the character's init modifier (or some type gradation), then that character goes then and all of his other cards during the rounds are ignored. If the number on the card is greater then that card is ignored.

Pro: Gradation taken into account, player portion of deck is consistent through out session.
Con: Ignoring multiple cards probably reduces the tension level.

Again just a thought.