I have been using this system for some time now (first, the DM Speed Factor variant and then Mearls' Greyhawk variant), and I love it. It randomizes combat for me and my group quite nicely, and does not slow things down hardly at all. Some things that I have tweaked or just do:
- Players must simply declare their actions, not targets. In the case mentioned a few posts ago, if a wizard declares a Lightning Bolt, that's it; I don't care where he casts it or at who. He declared that spell so he has to cast it or forfeit that particular action. No need to worry that his target died a few segments before his turn.
- I modified the Initiative Dice table as follows:
Die Action
d4 Missile weapons
d6 Skill or Ability checks
d8 Melee weapons
d8 Using a Tool or Implement
d8 Retrieving an item at hand
d10 Casting a spell
d10 Retrieving a stowed item
Modifiers (all cumulative)
Finesse, or Light property; quicken 1 step
Ammunition, Heavy, Loading, Two-handed; slow by 1 step
High Level Spells (i.e. 6th level or higher); slow by 1 step
- You can Delay your turn as long as you want. So, if your initiative count was a 7, but you want to see how things shake out, or the above mentioned wizard wants to wait until his meat shields have moved away from his intended target, he can Delay until 8,9,10,11, whatever. As a new segment rolls by, I simply ask the player "do you want to go?" If yes, his Delay beats all ties for that segment, if not, we finish that segment and move to the next... and so on...
- Players must simply declare their actions, not targets. In the case mentioned a few posts ago, if a wizard declares a Lightning Bolt, that's it; I don't care where he casts it or at who. He declared that spell so he has to cast it or forfeit that particular action. No need to worry that his target died a few segments before his turn.
- I modified the Initiative Dice table as follows:
Die Action
d4 Missile weapons
d6 Skill or Ability checks
d8 Melee weapons
d8 Using a Tool or Implement
d8 Retrieving an item at hand
d10 Casting a spell
d10 Retrieving a stowed item
Modifiers (all cumulative)
Finesse, or Light property; quicken 1 step
Ammunition, Heavy, Loading, Two-handed; slow by 1 step
High Level Spells (i.e. 6th level or higher); slow by 1 step
- You can Delay your turn as long as you want. So, if your initiative count was a 7, but you want to see how things shake out, or the above mentioned wizard wants to wait until his meat shields have moved away from his intended target, he can Delay until 8,9,10,11, whatever. As a new segment rolls by, I simply ask the player "do you want to go?" If yes, his Delay beats all ties for that segment, if not, we finish that segment and move to the next... and so on...