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<blockquote data-quote="perrinmiller" data-source="post: 5750553" data-attributes="member: 88649"><p><strong>DM Workshop #4: Initiative</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><u>DM Workshop #4: Initiative:</u></strong></p><p></p><p>I currently run games using both methods (Individual & Group), and my experience as a PbP DM has come to these conclusions:</p><p>1. DM should always roll ALL of the initiatives so there is no waiting once the encounter kicks off. No decision making on the players part, so why do they need to roll themselves? However, if one believes differently that players should get to roll for things like that, then pre-roll 3-4 Initiatives and the DM saves them for when needed. Needless delays in PbP should be avoided; things move slow enough as it is.</p><p></p><p>2. Group Initiatives helps keep flow going when people can only post once per day. It means that if you are not waiting on results from other players actions or delaying until after someone else takes their turn, a round of combat can be posted in 24-36 hours and we can realistically complete 3-4 rounds of combat a week. In PbP this is good. This has worked well in all of my games here and everyone enjoys it better. I also tend to put a 72 hour limit on the players round before NPCing the lagging players too.</p><p></p><p>3. However, individual Initiatives are good for better tactical environments, particularly when the opposition is not grouped all together (I think it should be all or none, btw). In a game with only 2 players, 1 round takes about 24-48 hours. In a game with 3 players, 1 round takes 48-72hours. So with 5 players & a DM, we will average 1 round per week. If the DM is available to post more than once per day, that can get shortened and actual order of the players' turns will cause variance. But, all it takes is a player to have their turn come up 1-2 hours after they went off-line for the night, then if they cannot post the next day for some reason you easily have a 48-hour delay for everyone else. These individual delays add up, so if it takes 36-48 hours per person to update their turn, the next thing you know it takes 2 weeks for 1 round. Not good at all in my opinion.</p><p></p><p><u>Bottom line on the Group vs. Individual:</u></p><p></p><p>Group will keep things moving faster without much downside. Individual can provide some interesting tactical considerations and challenges, but can significantly slow things down. With 6 people, the trade-off is not worth it to me, and the tactical considerations are a part of the game I like best.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>Method of using Group Initiative:</u></p><p>Someone is bound to think that they don't need to invest in bonuses for initiative then. Not true, if Initiative is rolled the way I do it (again DM rolling them all).</p><p></p><p>1. Roll Initiative for every participant individually (even each monster individually).</p><p>2. Then average each side for the order between good guys and bad. So high initiative helps your side.</p><p>3. However, then check for any individual Initiative rolls on the losing side that beat all of the winning side's rolls. If that applies, then those characters (and only they) get to act first in a pre-Round 1 and then they go again when their losing side goes during second half of Round 1. </p><p></p><p>So that Rogue or Wizard with Improved Initiative helps his side win, but if his/her side loses yet they still beat the other side individually, they still get to go first.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="perrinmiller, post: 5750553, member: 88649"] [b]DM Workshop #4: Initiative[/b] [B][U]DM Workshop #4: Initiative:[/U][/B] I currently run games using both methods (Individual & Group), and my experience as a PbP DM has come to these conclusions: 1. DM should always roll ALL of the initiatives so there is no waiting once the encounter kicks off. No decision making on the players part, so why do they need to roll themselves? However, if one believes differently that players should get to roll for things like that, then pre-roll 3-4 Initiatives and the DM saves them for when needed. Needless delays in PbP should be avoided; things move slow enough as it is. 2. Group Initiatives helps keep flow going when people can only post once per day. It means that if you are not waiting on results from other players actions or delaying until after someone else takes their turn, a round of combat can be posted in 24-36 hours and we can realistically complete 3-4 rounds of combat a week. In PbP this is good. This has worked well in all of my games here and everyone enjoys it better. I also tend to put a 72 hour limit on the players round before NPCing the lagging players too. 3. However, individual Initiatives are good for better tactical environments, particularly when the opposition is not grouped all together (I think it should be all or none, btw). In a game with only 2 players, 1 round takes about 24-48 hours. In a game with 3 players, 1 round takes 48-72hours. So with 5 players & a DM, we will average 1 round per week. If the DM is available to post more than once per day, that can get shortened and actual order of the players' turns will cause variance. But, all it takes is a player to have their turn come up 1-2 hours after they went off-line for the night, then if they cannot post the next day for some reason you easily have a 48-hour delay for everyone else. These individual delays add up, so if it takes 36-48 hours per person to update their turn, the next thing you know it takes 2 weeks for 1 round. Not good at all in my opinion. [U]Bottom line on the Group vs. Individual:[/U] Group will keep things moving faster without much downside. Individual can provide some interesting tactical considerations and challenges, but can significantly slow things down. With 6 people, the trade-off is not worth it to me, and the tactical considerations are a part of the game I like best. [U]Method of using Group Initiative:[/U] Someone is bound to think that they don't need to invest in bonuses for initiative then. Not true, if Initiative is rolled the way I do it (again DM rolling them all). 1. Roll Initiative for every participant individually (even each monster individually). 2. Then average each side for the order between good guys and bad. So high initiative helps your side. 3. However, then check for any individual Initiative rolls on the losing side that beat all of the winning side's rolls. If that applies, then those characters (and only they) get to act first in a pre-Round 1 and then they go again when their losing side goes during second half of Round 1. So that Rogue or Wizard with Improved Initiative helps his side win, but if his/her side loses yet they still beat the other side individually, they still get to go first. [/QUOTE]
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