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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Al" data-source="post: 1128496" data-attributes="member: 2486">I fully appreciate that Improved Initiative is only useful in the first round of combat- indeed, only in the first action of combat.  After that, the 'turn' merely alternates.However, the ability to 'strike first' is not to be underestimated.  As I've been pointing out, the ability to Finger of Death your opponent first before he Finger of Deaths (?) you is a crucial one.  For rogues, initiative is pivotal to there chances of sneak attack.  Fighters can smack down a wizard before he dominates them.  And so on.As for the notion of the rogue still beating you on Dex, here there seems to be some confusion.  It may well be the case that you will have a lower initiative in absolute terms than the rogue.  However, Improved Initiative will always increase your chances, even if it is from (say) 10% to 30%.  For example, if you're a mage with 14 Dex against a rogue with 24 Dex, the mage has only an 30% chance of winning.  If he takes Improved Initiative, his chances go up to 46.5%, quite a bit better.  If the rogue had taken Improved Initiative and the mage had not, the mage would only have a 17.5% chance of winning.  If both took it, it would be 30%.  In other words, whoever takes it, at whatever stage, their chances of winning are increased, even if the odds are still on the rogue.</blockquote>