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Cinematic Initiative Variant (CIV)
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<blockquote data-quote="DND_Reborn" data-source="post: 8142027" data-attributes="member: 6987520"><p><strong>PLAY TEST SESSION #1 Results:</strong></p><p></p><p>Overall, very positive, but definitely with some concerns were noted and addressed.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">First is an added option to delay your action if you roll high but don't need to act yet. This came up mostly with using movement.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Second is that later rolls will <em>NOT</em> get to add any initiative modifier, that will apply only to the first roll.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Third is how will spells which allow multiple attacks (such as Eldritch Blast) work? We decided they work the same as weapon attacks, but once the first attack happens, later spell attacks can't be countered once the spell is "in effect".</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fourth is spells which last until the start of your next turn, etc. function until your first action on the next round. Spells which last until your current turn function the current round ends.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fifth is the DM rolls for first actions, and once those have occurred for second actions, etc. and has a slightly higher cognitive load tracking it all. I found that once I was used to the process, it really wasn't too hard to do.</li> </ul><p>The positive feedback was:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is a much better "flow to the action in combat". Players could better visualize what was happening as it happened.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The players were more engaged it what was going on and anxious for their next actions to come up.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They all want to continue the play test and try the concept with other characters and scenarios.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Once the players got into the habit of rolling at the end of their current action to see when they would act next, the process went quickly.</li> </ul><p>More neutral observations were:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It isn't really good to roll several d20's for all your actions at the beginning as it allows you to know ahead of time when you will get to act and that knowledge can influence your choices.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adding the initiative modifier only to the first die roll helps speed up the rolling process later on.</li> </ul><p></p><p>Here is how one of the combats played out:</p><p></p><p><strong>Scenario</strong>: Two monks (level 7, named M1, M2) were waylaid by a hobgoblin captain (HC) leading three hobgoblins (H1, H2, H3; two with longbows). The HC and H1 (longsword) stepped out onto the roadway, asking the monks for alms in a comical twist. After the PCs refused, the hobgoblins decided to beat them up and take what little possessions they had.</p><p></p><p>[SPOILER="Narrative of Round 1"]</p><p>The hobgoblin captain moved quickly forward, holding is greatsword aggressively, as the two hobgoblins with longbows took aim at the monks. The last hobgoblin stayed back from his leader, but tense to rush to his aid or the others if the monks put up a fight.</p><p></p><p>Just as their leader reached the tortle and tabaxi monks, the tabaxi sprang out like a shot towards one of the archers. The archer's shot goes wide of its mark as the swift monk closes in on his prey like a cat pouncing on a mouse.</p><p></p><p>The tortle monk lunged forward in a vicious strike against the hobgoblin leader, penetrating the captain's plate armor, who staggered backwards a step, stunned. The tortle stepped after his strike, landing a crushing kick into the captains stomach. A blaze of arcing fire erupted from the monk's outstretched fingertips, burning into the captain's face. He grabbed his face in his hands as he fell over backwards and laid still.</p><p></p><p>The tortle deftly dodged the arrow shot from the second archer, just as the captain dropped.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the tabaxi lands a power flying sidekick into his target's head. The archer collapses as the monk lands next to him. Pulling a dart from his belt he throws it at the closest hobgoblin and steps towards his next foe. The sword-wielding hobgoblin blocks the dart with his shield and rushes towards the tabaxi, eager to meet him in lethal combat.</p><p></p><p>Watching his comrade fall, the lone archer backs away from the fight, dropping his bow and drawing his longsword. But the swift tortle monk speeds towards the hobgoblin, knowing his ally has his own fight easily in hand, and closes the distance with surprising quickness.</p><p>[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>[SPOILER="Play-by-play Outline"]</p><p><strong>Round 1: (Bold numbers represent initiative roll totals.)</strong></p><p><strong>(Note: if the new rolls are equal to or higher than the current initiative, the creature acts immediately.)</strong></p><p></p><p>The hobgoblins win initiative (<strong>20</strong> for HC, <strong>19</strong> for H1-3) over M1 (<strong>17</strong>) and M2 (<strong>14</strong>).)</p><p></p><p><em>20</em>: The HC moves forward with his greatsword towards M1, threatening him and about to attack. (<em>His move action, his attack rolled for later, <strong>12</strong>. Since H1-H3 are 1 behind HC, they will get their next actions on <strong>11</strong>.</em>)</p><p></p><p><em>19</em>: H1 readies his action to move in case he needs to support one of the others. (<em>His action, he has movement still on <strong>11</strong> or later</em>.)</p><p></p><p><em>19</em>: H2 and H3 both ready their longbow attacks to shot the monks if they resist. (<em>Their actions, both can still move on <strong>11</strong> or later.</em>)</p><p></p><p><em>17</em>: M2 moves 40 ft (of 45) to engage H2. He rolls for his attack (<strong>10</strong>) so will attack later. (<em>His move action, will attack later</em>.)</p><p></p><p><em>17</em>: H3 uses his reaction to trigger his readied attack and fires his longbow, missing M2. (<em>His reaction, he can move on <strong>11</strong> or later.</em>)</p><p></p><p><em>14</em>: M1 (already engaged with HC) attacks with an unarmed strike and succeeds in the stun. He rolls for his Extra Attack (<strong>17</strong>) and gets to act again immediately, he attacks with advantage and hits again. He rolls for his bonus action (<strong>15</strong>) and gets it immediately, using his <em>Searing Arc Strike</em>. Because HC is stunned, HC automatically failed his Dexterity saving throw and is reduced to 0 HP. M1 rolls for his move (<strong>9</strong>) so will move later.</p><p></p><p><em>14</em>: H2 uses his reaction to trigger his readied attack and fires his longbow, missing M1. (<em>His reaction, he can move on <strong>11</strong> or later.</em>)</p><p></p><p><em>10</em>: M2 attacks H3, hitting him and taking him out. M2 rolls for his Extra Attack (<strong>19</strong>) and throws a dart at H1, missing. He rolls for his remaining move (<strong>12</strong>), and moves 5 feet closer towards H1 (15 feet away now). [<em>He still has his bonus action, so rolls for his next action (<strong>19</strong>) but must wait as no target is within range and he has no movement left.</em>]</p><p></p><p><em>10</em>: H1 wants to move towards M2, so can now move (remember, he can act on <strong>11</strong> or later) and moves 15 feet to engage M2. (<em>H2 has 15 feet of movement left, so the DM rolls for his next action (<strong>15</strong>) so he can move again any point after 15.)</em></p><p></p><p>10: M2 can now use his bonus action (<strong>19</strong>) to attack H1 with an unarmed strike, but misses. [<em>M2's actions are over, he has attacked, used all his movement, and his bonus action, so does not roll for another action. He can still take reactions as normal.</em>]</p><p></p><p>10: Seeing H3 go down, H2 uses his move (<strong>11</strong>) and moves back from M1 (now 70 feet away), dropping his bow (no action), and drawing his sword (free object interaction). [<em>H2 is done with actions, having fired his longbow and moved 30 feet.</em>]</p><p></p><p><em> 9</em>: M1 moves 55 feet towards H2, they are now only 15 feet away. [<em>His full movement, all of his actions are done, no need to roll.</em>]</p><p></p><p><strong>End of Round 1.</strong></p><p></p><p>Note at this point, only H1 has 15 feet of movement left, but wants to remain engaged with M2, so isn't moving any so the round is over.[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>FWIW, the monks made quick work of the surviving two hobgoblins in the second round.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DND_Reborn, post: 8142027, member: 6987520"] [B]PLAY TEST SESSION #1 Results:[/B] Overall, very positive, but definitely with some concerns were noted and addressed. [LIST] [*]First is an added option to delay your action if you roll high but don't need to act yet. This came up mostly with using movement. [*]Second is that later rolls will [I]NOT[/I] get to add any initiative modifier, that will apply only to the first roll. [*]Third is how will spells which allow multiple attacks (such as Eldritch Blast) work? We decided they work the same as weapon attacks, but once the first attack happens, later spell attacks can't be countered once the spell is "in effect". [*]Fourth is spells which last until the start of your next turn, etc. function until your first action on the next round. Spells which last until your current turn function the current round ends. [*]Fifth is the DM rolls for first actions, and once those have occurred for second actions, etc. and has a slightly higher cognitive load tracking it all. I found that once I was used to the process, it really wasn't too hard to do. [/LIST] The positive feedback was: [LIST] [*]There is a much better "flow to the action in combat". Players could better visualize what was happening as it happened. [*]The players were more engaged it what was going on and anxious for their next actions to come up. [*]They all want to continue the play test and try the concept with other characters and scenarios. [*]Once the players got into the habit of rolling at the end of their current action to see when they would act next, the process went quickly. [/LIST] More neutral observations were: [LIST] [*]It isn't really good to roll several d20's for all your actions at the beginning as it allows you to know ahead of time when you will get to act and that knowledge can influence your choices. [*]Adding the initiative modifier only to the first die roll helps speed up the rolling process later on. [/LIST] Here is how one of the combats played out: [B]Scenario[/B]: Two monks (level 7, named M1, M2) were waylaid by a hobgoblin captain (HC) leading three hobgoblins (H1, H2, H3; two with longbows). The HC and H1 (longsword) stepped out onto the roadway, asking the monks for alms in a comical twist. After the PCs refused, the hobgoblins decided to beat them up and take what little possessions they had. [SPOILER="Narrative of Round 1"] The hobgoblin captain moved quickly forward, holding is greatsword aggressively, as the two hobgoblins with longbows took aim at the monks. The last hobgoblin stayed back from his leader, but tense to rush to his aid or the others if the monks put up a fight. Just as their leader reached the tortle and tabaxi monks, the tabaxi sprang out like a shot towards one of the archers. The archer's shot goes wide of its mark as the swift monk closes in on his prey like a cat pouncing on a mouse. The tortle monk lunged forward in a vicious strike against the hobgoblin leader, penetrating the captain's plate armor, who staggered backwards a step, stunned. The tortle stepped after his strike, landing a crushing kick into the captains stomach. A blaze of arcing fire erupted from the monk's outstretched fingertips, burning into the captain's face. He grabbed his face in his hands as he fell over backwards and laid still. The tortle deftly dodged the arrow shot from the second archer, just as the captain dropped. Meanwhile, the tabaxi lands a power flying sidekick into his target's head. The archer collapses as the monk lands next to him. Pulling a dart from his belt he throws it at the closest hobgoblin and steps towards his next foe. The sword-wielding hobgoblin blocks the dart with his shield and rushes towards the tabaxi, eager to meet him in lethal combat. Watching his comrade fall, the lone archer backs away from the fight, dropping his bow and drawing his longsword. But the swift tortle monk speeds towards the hobgoblin, knowing his ally has his own fight easily in hand, and closes the distance with surprising quickness. [/SPOILER] [SPOILER="Play-by-play Outline"] [B]Round 1: (Bold numbers represent initiative roll totals.) (Note: if the new rolls are equal to or higher than the current initiative, the creature acts immediately.)[/B] The hobgoblins win initiative ([B]20[/B] for HC, [B]19[/B] for H1-3) over M1 ([B]17[/B]) and M2 ([B]14[/B]).) [I]20[/I]: The HC moves forward with his greatsword towards M1, threatening him and about to attack. ([I]His move action, his attack rolled for later, [B]12[/B]. Since H1-H3 are 1 behind HC, they will get their next actions on [B]11[/B].[/I]) [I]19[/I]: H1 readies his action to move in case he needs to support one of the others. ([I]His action, he has movement still on [B]11[/B] or later[/I].) [I]19[/I]: H2 and H3 both ready their longbow attacks to shot the monks if they resist. ([I]Their actions, both can still move on [B]11[/B] or later.[/I]) [I]17[/I]: M2 moves 40 ft (of 45) to engage H2. He rolls for his attack ([B]10[/B]) so will attack later. ([I]His move action, will attack later[/I].) [I]17[/I]: H3 uses his reaction to trigger his readied attack and fires his longbow, missing M2. ([I]His reaction, he can move on [B]11[/B] or later.[/I]) [I]14[/I]: M1 (already engaged with HC) attacks with an unarmed strike and succeeds in the stun. He rolls for his Extra Attack ([B]17[/B]) and gets to act again immediately, he attacks with advantage and hits again. He rolls for his bonus action ([B]15[/B]) and gets it immediately, using his [I]Searing Arc Strike[/I]. Because HC is stunned, HC automatically failed his Dexterity saving throw and is reduced to 0 HP. M1 rolls for his move ([B]9[/B]) so will move later. [I]14[/I]: H2 uses his reaction to trigger his readied attack and fires his longbow, missing M1. ([I]His reaction, he can move on [B]11[/B] or later.[/I]) [I]10[/I]: M2 attacks H3, hitting him and taking him out. M2 rolls for his Extra Attack ([B]19[/B]) and throws a dart at H1, missing. He rolls for his remaining move ([B]12[/B]), and moves 5 feet closer towards H1 (15 feet away now). [[I]He still has his bonus action, so rolls for his next action ([B]19[/B]) but must wait as no target is within range and he has no movement left.[/I]] [I]10[/I]: H1 wants to move towards M2, so can now move (remember, he can act on [B]11[/B] or later) and moves 15 feet to engage M2. ([I]H2 has 15 feet of movement left, so the DM rolls for his next action ([B]15[/B]) so he can move again any point after 15.)[/I] 10: M2 can now use his bonus action ([B]19[/B]) to attack H1 with an unarmed strike, but misses. [[I]M2's actions are over, he has attacked, used all his movement, and his bonus action, so does not roll for another action. He can still take reactions as normal.[/I]] 10: Seeing H3 go down, H2 uses his move ([B]11[/B]) and moves back from M1 (now 70 feet away), dropping his bow (no action), and drawing his sword (free object interaction). [[I]H2 is done with actions, having fired his longbow and moved 30 feet.[/I]] [I] 9[/I]: M1 moves 55 feet towards H2, they are now only 15 feet away. [[I]His full movement, all of his actions are done, no need to roll.[/I]] [B]End of Round 1.[/B] Note at this point, only H1 has 15 feet of movement left, but wants to remain engaged with M2, so isn't moving any so the round is over.[/SPOILER] FWIW, the monks made quick work of the surviving two hobgoblins in the second round. [/QUOTE]
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