Simultaneous Initiative

[Bullgrit]

Whenever classic D&D initiative procedures are mentioned in a thread, someone always brings up the concept of simultatneous initiative, and all the supposedly cool situations that can come up with it.

I played classic D&D from 1980 to around 1995, using the roll-initiative-every-round rules, and in all that time, I only saw one instance of something interesting happening with simultaneous initiative.

The PC thief was fighting an NPC assassin, and they tied initiative when they were both down to low hit points. They skewered each other with their last attacks. They were alone with each other at the time of this fight, and the other PCs came into the room after it was over to find them both lying dead. (The PC was raised shortly thereafter.)

So, in 15 years of playing with this possibility, only once did I see anything interesting happen from it. How about you? Have you seen simultaneous initiative produce anything interesting?

Bullgrit

 

[Raven Crowking]

Your bar for "interesting" may be too high. Personally, I find sim init worthwhile even when it means a monster that would otherwise be dropped also gets an attack.

However, that said, every time a monster attack includes a special power that gets used, such as ghoul paralysis, the fact that the creature got to hit is important to what happens. And the player is, if the ghoul is slain, usually happy that he got to attack, too.

YMMV.


RC

 

[TerraDave]

Could you remind us how this is done?

I remember one case of a DM using supposedly sim. initiative, but it just seemed to create another fudge factor for him in the classic old school GM style.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Could you remind us how this is done?

I remember one case of a DM using supposedly sim. initiative, but it just seemed to create another fudge factor for him in the classic old school GM style.

There wasn't much to fudge with in our old games. Initiative per the RAW in Moldvay Basic was a simple D6 roll per side. There were a few exceptions (two handed weapons and zombies struck last) but otherwise no modifiers. A tie on the initiative roll meant everything happened at once no matter who actually mechanically resolved their action first.

Opposing spellcasters would both get to have their spells cast sometimes resulting in cool situations such as party A largely being put to sleep just as a fireball detonates within party B. No matter what the effects of the spells were, combatants on both sides got to complete their actions. At the end of the round, all casualties took effect and only those still standing participated in the following round. It was great for those Mexican standoff situations.

 

[weem]

So, in 15 years of playing with this possibility, only once did I see anything interesting happen from it. How about you? Have you seen simultaneous initiative produce anything interesting?

Didn't do anything like that much - and it was long ago - but I don't recall anything interesting coming from it at all :/

 

[Stoat]

I always used to say, "oh the monsters rolled an X for their initiative too, which means everything happens at the same time."

I kinda enjoyed saying "everything happens at the same time," and my players still bring it up every once in a while. So the rule gave me that happy memory.

On the other hand, I don't specifically recall anything particularly noteworthy happening after I said "everything happens at the same time."

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Your bar for "interesting" may be too high. Personally, I find sim init worthwhile even when it means a monster that would otherwise be dropped also gets an attack.

Agreed, and amended "or when it means a PC that would otherwise be dropped also gets an attack."

I've had a couple of simultaneous inits where PCs landed crucial strikes as they fell to a foe's blow. They may not have seemed like much- IOW, the foe did not immediately fall- but the hit did enough damage so that a subsequent strike by a partymember took the foe down...at a crucial juncture.

I was on the receiving end of one of those about a year ago. My PC and a PC gnome monk were trapped on one side of a cave in with a belligerent Umber Hulk. He was rolling miserably, so I was doing the bulk of the damage...and taking it in return. Finally, we had a round in which we had simultaneous initiative, and the UH struck me down, and I landed a good blow as I fell.

The Monk finished off the critter with his next blow, a strike for 2 damage.

There was no doubt that if the UH hadn't been taken down at that point, the Monk would not have survived the combat the way he was rolling.

 

[D'karr]

My PC and a PC gnome monk were trapped on one side of a cave in with a belligerent Umber Hulk.

The only thing remarkable about this is that you were not helping the UH get rid of the gnome. Just saying....

YMMV.

 

[TikkchikFenTikktikk]

I've tried it in 4E. The players complained that it made D&D too hard. They were really complaining about my encounter designs, but didn't know it. We dropped simultaneous initiative after that adventure.

We should maybe try it again now that they are more used to 4E and my encounter design style.

 

[TikkchikFenTikktikk]

The only thing remarkable about this is that you were not helping the UH get rid of the gnome. Just saying....

YMMV.

Hey!!!