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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LonePaladin" data-source="post: 3882842" data-attributes="member: 6963">There was another RPG that introduced a system like this, where everyone started at a baseline and their actions counted very specifically toward when they'd get to act again.That game was Rolemaster — a very detailed, math-heavy RPG — and the system was in one of their companion books with some sort of acronym (something like CEATS, I believe).While intensely realistic, that system was extremely chart- and math-intensive, and really only usable by players who were heavily into realistic gaming and number-crunching. I tried using it in my own game once, and we didn't get halfway through the session before we simply scrapped it and went back to the original combat system.This sort of initiative tracking is very difficult to set up by scratch, because you have to scrutinize every possible action the characters may take and assign a time-frame to it. You also have to be very careful in how you set up modifiers (such as the effects of a high Dexterity, or things like the Improved Initiative feat, or things that can alter someone's place in the order or how long they need for an action). If you don't do a lot of tweaking and testing before presenting it into a game, your players will possibly find ways to thoroughly exploit the system, maybe even without intending to do so.You would also have to determine other impacts on the combat system, especially timed effects. If someone casts a spell that lasts 1 round in the current rules, for example, how long would it last in your new system? How long do move actions take, as opposed to simply moving? Is movement done incrementally, or do characters still move up to their speed in one action, without anyone having a chance to interrupt them? What about if someone readies an action, or chooses to delay? How do swift and immediate actions work?</blockquote>

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