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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ridley's Cohort" data-source="post: 1195351" data-attributes="member: 545">I have mostly played in levels 1-9 and I think initiative bonus is very important for high offense low defense characters, but negotiable for others.  It is less important in larger parties where spellcasters are better protected and wounded fighters will have a safe zone to retreat into.It can be very bad news for the archer, Rogue or Wizard if the bad guys take the fight to them.  Very bad.  In a recent game session, the Rogue (who mysteriously lacks Improved Initiative) got taken down to 2 HPs from full halfway through round 1 because of poor initiative.  He did not have a chance to move out of the Fireball Attraction Zone (where PCs were clustered up).  A Fireball, a Lightning Bolt and one bad save later, and he was lucky to be alive when his first round initiative came up.  If he had Improved Initiative, he could have moved to a safer perch AND gotten a low risk Sneak Attack in the bargain.A grunt or Cleric can weather the first round if they are designed for the task.  Middling level grunts don't care all that much; they probably get their iterative attacks as compensation for getting hit first.  But this picture changes radically as more spellpower enters the picture.</blockquote>