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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dragonblade" data-source="post: 8133121" data-attributes="member: 2804">I have seen two alternative initiatives that I think are worth trying. But I have not tried them myself and don't know what sort of problems or edge cases might be encountered with them. They are presented here as ideas to explore, not necessarily as fully baked or playtested systems.Initiative Card Deck Method:Every PC, NPC, or monster has an initiative card that represents their turn in combat. All cards are shuffled together in a deck and placed face down. First card is drawn and flipped over to determine who goes first. That character acts, then next card is drawn and so on. This keeps initiative random, and unpredictable. No dice rolling needed. Deck is shuffled and set aside, ready to go for each combat. You can reshuffle for every round, or only shuffle and draw in the first round to establish initiative order (this then works like standard D&D initiative after the first round). If you redraw every round, its important to keep track of which 'tick' in the initiative order a per round spell or effect was started so that it can be ended at the appropriate time.Variant 1: Add extra cards for each point of initiative bonus you have. This means more cards in the deck if you have a higher initiative bonus making it more likely your card is drawn earlier. Once your card is drawn the first time, additional draws of your card later in the round are ignored and another card is drawn to see who goes next.Variant 2: Savage Worlds style poker deck initiative. I won't reprint those rules here, but its easy enough to look them up. Use a poker deck to draw cards ahead of time instead of rolling dice. Initiative then goes in reverse suit order. Redraw every round. Keep the same deck and shuffle the deck as soon as someone draws a joker. Jokers trump other cards and give you advantage on your first action. This method essentially ignores the traditional Dex based initiative bonus. That could be a feature for some. Can keep initiative the same after the first round, or redraw every round. If redraw, then important to keep track of which 'tick' in the round a round by round effect is initiated so it can be ended at the appropriate time.Interrupt Initiative Order Method:Roll initiative normally, but then start with the PC/NPC who would go last. After the character or monster with the slowest initiative declares their action but before they resolve it. Any other PCs/NPCs with a higher initiative can choose to interrupt and take their action first. If multiple characters choose to interrupt then those with a higher initiative can trump the interrupter or let them act before they act. Once all the interrupts go, then the original PC/NPC resolves their action. Then next slowest character goes (unless they already interrupted), declares their action, sees if there are any new interrupts, and so on until the initiative order is established for that round and everyone takes their turn. Repeat the process the next round. Start with the slowest actor and see if there are any interrupts. Keep track of which 'tick' of the round a spell or other round by round effect started so you can determine when it should realistically end. It can be helpful to use tokens or cards to establish order and who has interrupted and who has not yet taken an action.</blockquote>

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