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Message: <blockquote data-quote="touc" data-source="post: 7343090" data-attributes="member: 19270">Weighing in again, and for a history lesson, read <a href="https://merricb.com/2014/07/01/initiative-in-add-2nd-edition/" target="_blank">Merric's Musings </a>as he extensively goes through a lot of what I'm talking about and provides an insightful interview reference.1. Declaring your action isn't new. It was AD&D's style for nearly 25 years before 3rd edition. Back then, you had options for the "easy" way (whoever wins roll goes first) and the "hard" way (what you're doing affects roll). Players who wanted more strategic impact would choose the "hard" way, which worked if the DM knew the modifiers by heart.2. Having played 2E for nearly 15 years, I can attest players didn't get screwed over by coordinating actions before the round, and no one dominated by telling others what to do (because we wouldn't play with those types). 3. Third Edition made things simpler. Not necessarily better, simpler. If you're going to attract new players, an overly complicated system of any kind = a turn-off. 4. For some, a simpler system is repetitive and predictable. Repetitive and predictable = tedious, and for the thrill junky, unrealistic (e.g. I always get a spell off before the troll acts...every round.) AD&D knew some players would want "easy" and some would want "hard." Moral of the story folks: Right and wrong, should or shouldn't use a particular rule, are relative to the players.Per Merric's article, AD&D designer Steve Winters mused initiative is however you want it to be based on the game you want:If you want to emphasize narrative and planning, then keep it after [edit] declarations. If you want initiative to be more of an advantage, put the roll before declarations and make the losers declare first so the winners can adjust their plan accordingly. We approached this differently in different games, and the genesis is enlightening. The Conan RPG and Top Secret: S.I. use declarations-then-initiative-roll; Boot Hill (1990) uses initiative-then-declarations; GangBusters uses a rigidly interlaced, action/reaction sequence with no initiative rolls at all, and Indiana Jones uses a very free-form “who wants to go first” approach.</blockquote>

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