High Initiative?

[heirodule]

Why are inits so high?

Is it better to have everything with inits as high as a skill can go?

Will init do anything other than determine the order you go in?

What will the spread of inits be in a typical battle? More than in 3e? why?

Same as in 3e? Then why make it go so far up?

I almost feel like i'd rather roll a d6 with the inits so high.

 

[heirodule]

What might be cool is if your init exceeds the next lowest init by 20, you get to act twice.

 

[RangerWickett]

Initiative will help you avoid some traps, like pit traps. Can you move before the floor falls out from under you, for instance?

Otherwise, it's a good way to actually make 'quick' people seem quick. In 3e, you could style yourself as a gunslinger sort of character, who can draw his sword faster than anyone. Maybe you've got a +6 Dex and +4 from Improved Initiative. Still, you could roll low and the chump sitting next to you in the bar could manage to club you before you act.

In this system, if you're quick, by mid to high levels you'll be consistently outdrawing those who are just normal people, or foes at the same level who aren't focused in Initiative. I do think that most non-prey monsters shouldn't be trained in initiative, though. Most predators rely on surprise and stealth, or overwhelming numbers, and they pick off the weakest creature first. Only prey animals really care about reacting quickly.

Intelligent creatures are a different story, of course. Smart ones realize the value of going first when going head to head. But in an environment with a 'food chain,' the higher up you are, usually the less fast you need to be. Dragons should almost never be trained in initiative.

 

[HeinorNY]

I think initiative now is a skill, or works as a skill, So it's not only about agility, but also personal experience.

 

[eleran]

What inits are you referring to? Examples would help us to answer your questions.

 

[Nine Hands]

If they use any of the rules from Star Wars, feints will be opposed by Initiative.

I've also made a house rule that Tumble is opposed by Initiative as well instead of the stock DC 15/25 rules.

 

[jaer]

Initiative will help you avoid some traps, like pit traps. Can you move before the floor falls out from under you, for instance?

Otherwise, it's a good way to actually make 'quick' people seem quick. In 3e, you could style yourself as a gunslinger sort of character, who can draw his sword faster than anyone. Maybe you've got a +6 Dex and +4 from Improved Initiative. Still, you could roll low and the chump sitting next to you in the bar could manage to club you before you act.

In this system, if you're quick, by mid to high levels you'll be consistently outdrawing those who are just normal people, or foes at the same level who aren't focused in Initiative. I do think that most non-prey monsters shouldn't be trained in initiative, though. Most predators rely on surprise and stealth, or overwhelming numbers, and they pick off the weakest creature first. Only prey animals really care about reacting quickly.

Intelligent creatures are a different story, of course. Smart ones realize the value of going first when going head to head. But in an environment with a 'food chain,' the higher up you are, usually the less fast you need to be. Dragons should almost never be trained in initiative.

This! I had a rogue with a >= +10 init (+4 dex, +4 imp init, +2 blooded at like 3rd lvl). He only got faster as we leveled of course. I was usually high in the init order, but even with a high dex and 2 feats that helped init, I could still be be beated by the wizard with a +2 init. Throw in the rest of the party and all the monsters as well, and there was a good chance I wasn't the first to act despite my investment in it.

I would like to see a much wider range in init where the fast person is naturally much more likely to go first even without feats adding to the bonus. Once two feats are tossed on top of that, being the first to act should be darn near automatic!

 

[heirodule]

What inits are you referring to? Examples would help us to answer your questions.

The ice archon has a +21 and the Pit fiend has a +twentysomething.

granted they are high level monsters, but still, the numbers are way off from 3e levels

 

[Ruin Explorer]

What might be cool is if your init exceeds the next lowest init by 20, you get to act twice.

No insult, but that would be the worst thing to ever happen to D&D combat. Multiple actions are precisely the LAST thing D&D needs.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

having initiative as a skill which goes up naturally will allow characters that don´t want to focus in it to still have an advatage agaibst low level/low initiative enemies.

In 3.5 everybody took improved initiative to make sure they are not beaten by lvl 1 archers all the time.