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<blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 6332867" data-attributes="member: 15700">I saw a recent discussion the other day about how a lot of people use white boards, note cards, and other tools to keep track of initiative.&nbsp; And that seemed a bit odd to me.&nbsp; Not &quot;bad&quot;, or &quot;wrong&quot;, or anything else like that before I get jumped on LOL.I guess I look at it like this:When you get down to it, it really comes down to when the party attacks, and when the monsters attack.&nbsp; IIRC, it has always been a rule that you can hold your initiative for later segments if you want.&nbsp; At least that's how I've always played it.&nbsp; In that case, any player that goes before the monsters, it doesn't matter what their individual initiative roll is as long as it's faster than the monsters.&nbsp; Same is true of those players who go after the monsters.&nbsp; If all monsters have gone already, it doesn't matter what order the remaining players go in.For example, if you have:player A: 17player B: 15Monster A: 14Monster B: 11Player C: 9Player D: 8If player A wants to hold his turn to see what player B does, he can.&nbsp; Same with Player C.&nbsp; If the monsters have already gone, then Player C can hold her turn until Player D goes if she wants.&nbsp; So basically, you don't need to keep track of individual segments.&nbsp; This leads me into how I manage initiative as the DM.&nbsp; In the above example, I wouldn't track individual segments.&nbsp; I would simply say, &quot;Anyone over 14?&nbsp; You can go.&quot; and let the player A and B decide what order they want to go in.&nbsp; Then I say, &quot;On 14 monster A goes.&nbsp; Anyone go on 14?&quot;&nbsp; then &quot;Monster B goes on 11, anyone left higher than that?&nbsp; No?&quot;&nbsp; Then I say &quot;OK, I'm all done, everyone else can go.&quot;It keeps it simple, and fast.&nbsp; Again, this isn't to disparage anyone who uses white boards or cards, but I'd like to better understand the reasoning behind it.&nbsp; I guess it comes down to preference, as I prefer speeding up combat when you can.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sacrosanct, post: 6332867, member: 15700"] I saw a recent discussion the other day about how a lot of people use white boards, note cards, and other tools to keep track of initiative. And that seemed a bit odd to me. Not "bad", or "wrong", or anything else like that before I get jumped on LOL. I guess I look at it like this: When you get down to it, it really comes down to when the party attacks, and when the monsters attack. IIRC, it has always been a rule that you can hold your initiative for later segments if you want. At least that's how I've always played it. In that case, any player that goes before the monsters, it doesn't matter what their individual initiative roll is as long as it's faster than the monsters. Same is true of those players who go after the monsters. If all monsters have gone already, it doesn't matter what order the remaining players go in. For example, if you have: player A: 17 player B: 15 Monster A: 14 Monster B: 11 Player C: 9 Player D: 8 If player A wants to hold his turn to see what player B does, he can. Same with Player C. If the monsters have already gone, then Player C can hold her turn until Player D goes if she wants. So basically, you don't need to keep track of individual segments. This leads me into how I manage initiative as the DM. In the above example, I wouldn't track individual segments. I would simply say, "Anyone over 14? You can go." and let the player A and B decide what order they want to go in. Then I say, "On 14 monster A goes. Anyone go on 14?" then "Monster B goes on 11, anyone left higher than that? No?" Then I say "OK, I'm all done, everyone else can go." It keeps it simple, and fast. Again, this isn't to disparage anyone who uses white boards or cards, but I'd like to better understand the reasoning behind it. I guess it comes down to preference, as I prefer speeding up combat when you can. [/QUOTE]

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