Initiative and Dexterity

[Gansk]

Since initiative is a Dexterity check, I thought that anything that affected the a character's Dexterity, such as being entangled or suffering from a poison that affects Dexterity would lower the character's initiative during the encounter.

Today I read that a character retains the same initiative score even if he or she is unconscious or paralyzed. By extending my logic, that character's Dexterity has dropped to zero, and the initiative should drop accordingly.

So am I wrong to change a character's initiative score in the first place? Should I only change it in response to readied actions and delays?

 

[Crothian]

Changing it with all that can happen might be seen as too much record keeping. As long as the players don't mind it, I see nothing wrong with them.

 

[jgsugden]

By the RAW, once you have determined your initiative, it remains the same unless you delay or ready an action.

Initiative measures how quickly you can initially react to a situation. Once you've begun to act in combat, the speed with which your initiative modifier is irrelevant because you're no longer checking to see how fast you can respond to things. The thing that your initiative roll represents - your ability to comprehend a situation and respond to it - is no longer relevant.

 

[James McMurray]

There are a few effects that can change your initiaitive order. The only to I can think of offhand are a creature and a power (both psionic) from Wotc's website.