D&D 5E Avoiding Initiative

[Morrus]

One of the things I personally struggle with is that pause where the narrative stops and everybody rolls initiative, and then the combat starts.

One tip I’ve used is to roll initiative in advance (at the end of the previous combat is one approach) to avoid that artificial pause.

What techniques do you use?

 

[Satyrn]

My table occasionally just skips it, with the DM having us go in order around the table, before the monsters.

When I'm DMing, I'll often do that too, and tell the players to go in whatever order they want each round

 

[pogre]

I like your idea.

I typically roll initiative whenever the PCs encounter any NPC. Rolling initiative is not just for starting hostile encounters.

Still, I agree it can be jolting to the flow of the game.

My bloodthirsty heathens generally have a mini-celebration any time I say "roll for initiative." Second in clamor only to "Describe your kill shot!"

 

[ccs]

We don't even try to avoid such pauses. We recognize that it's a game & that at times there's mechanical details to attend to.

 

[bedir than]

We don't even try to avoid such pauses. We recognize that it's a game & that at times there's mechanical details to attend to.

Same. I'll even use initiative for non-combat but contested events.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Maybe just the one roll at the start of a combat can be jarring to some, but being old school and used to rolling initiative every single round of a combat, it all blends together for me.

But people could always do it like video games do. Use a predetermined calculation of stats and bonuses so that there is no rolling at all and all the characters always go in the same order until someone levels up and their personal number changes and the order potentially shifts. This would require all enemies to be assigned numbers in advance also, but hey, less dice rolling.

 

[Syntallah]

I use the Greyhawk Initiative variant from UA (and love it!). Since all players have to declare their actions each round, I rarely actually ever call for "initiative". I simply ask the player to my left (addressing by character name) and ask "what do you plan on doing?"... I then proceed around the table, and away we go...

 

[TwoSix]

"Avoiding initiative" sounds like another term for procrastination.

 

[Simon T. Vesper]

One of the things I personally struggle with is that pause where the narrative stops and everybody rolls initiative, and then the combat starts.

...

What techniques do you use?

I embrace the pause. It's an advantage we have in the game, that we don't experience in real life ~ the opportunity to pause during a tense moment, to draw that tension out, to make the players contemplate their situation. Roll the die between your fingers; pull out your notes and give the players a pointed look; "dude, you do not want this guy to go first." Emphasize the importance of the roll, but delay it ever so slightly until they're practically yelling at you, "Just roll already!"

Of course, this doesn't work with every party and might take time to develop.

 

[Morrus]

I embrace the pause. It's an advantage we have in the game, that we don't experience in real life ~ the opportunity to pause during a tense moment, to draw that tension out, to make the players contemplate their situation. Roll the die between your fingers; pull out your notes and give the players a pointed look; "dude, you do not want this guy to go first." Emphasize the importance of the roll, but delay it ever so slightly until they're practically yelling at you, "Just roll already!"

Of course, this doesn't work with every party and might take time to develop.

I can see that trick working once. Pull that routine twice or a dozen or a hundred times in a row, and I suspect it would just be irritating.