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<blockquote data-quote="The Firebird" data-source="post: 9677180" data-attributes="member: 7015803">I'm partial to simultaneous initiative. Have the players all declare what they want to do at the start of the round. Make choices for the enemies as well. Tell everyone to roll their stuff at once but not say the result until prompted. Then 'run the tape' of the turn. I resolve in order based on action type. Usually1) Missiles2) Melee3) Movement4) SpellsActions of the same type happen simultaneously. So if you and an enemy both attack in melee, you both roll to hit and damage, even if the attack kills one combatant. But if you attack with a missile and kill a target, they die without getting to move.If you do multiple things it takes place at the slowest speed. So if you move and attack, that takes place on step 3. The main benefits are -Easy for the players to coordinate tactics-But, not too 'board gamey', and the uncertainty ime speeds things up because it is harder to work out a single optimal choice -Feels more realistic for chaotic combat imo -Easy with theater of the mind. With turn initiative, I find I have to explain the situation anew to every player, as they don't pay as much attention when it isn't their turn. But with actions declared all at once, you just answer questions once per round. The drawbacks-The players need to trust you're not changing enemy action declarations to mess with them -Can become challenging to manage with larger combats -Takes players some time to get used to It generally requires more GM skill and trust than traditional initiative.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Firebird, post: 9677180, member: 7015803"] I'm partial to simultaneous initiative. Have the players all declare what they want to do at the start of the round. Make choices for the enemies as well. Tell everyone to roll their stuff at once but not say the result until prompted. Then 'run the tape' of the turn. I resolve in order based on action type. Usually 1) Missiles 2) Melee 3) Movement 4) Spells Actions of the same type happen simultaneously. So if you and an enemy both attack in melee, you both roll to hit and damage, even if the attack kills one combatant. But if you attack with a missile and kill a target, they die without getting to move. If you do multiple things it takes place at the slowest speed. So if you move and attack, that takes place on step 3. The main benefits are -Easy for the players to coordinate tactics -But, not too 'board gamey', and the uncertainty ime speeds things up because it is harder to work out a single optimal choice -Feels more realistic for chaotic combat imo -Easy with theater of the mind. With turn initiative, I find I have to explain the situation anew to every player, as they don't pay as much attention when it isn't their turn. But with actions declared all at once, you just answer questions once per round. The drawbacks -The players need to trust you're not changing enemy action declarations to mess with them -Can become challenging to manage with larger combats -Takes players some time to get used to It generally requires more GM skill and trust than traditional initiative. [/QUOTE]

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