Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7715930" data-attributes="member: 12731">Cyclical initiative is a huge timesaver, and it's easy to forget the bad old days when you needed scrap paper when initiative changed every round. The eureka moment comes when you realize that in D&amp;D you don't need fancy initiative. Unlike a modern game where the first one to hit wins, there are so many attacks in a regular D&amp;D fight, it matters much less who does their third attack the fastest.Obviously there are still elements where initiative matters (assassin ambushes, save or suck spells), but still: much less pronounced need.So when we played 4e we had our brains and hands full of all sorts of crap, and there an individual action mattered even less, so we began using &quot;sofa initiative&quot;. Imagine yourself to be the DM, sitting in a armchair. The players sit either in the couch to your right, or in the couch to your left.&nbsp; The players rolled once at the start of the fight. The one with the highest initiative got to start, then initiative always went clockwise. As the DM I had two &quot;slots&quot;. One at my spot, one at the opposite side - the gap between sofas. My &quot;fast&quot; monsters went the first time either of my slots came up, my &quot;slow&quot; monsters the next slot. No notetaking needed.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 7715930, member: 12731"] Cyclical initiative is a huge timesaver, and it's easy to forget the bad old days when you needed scrap paper when initiative changed every round. The eureka moment comes when you realize that in D&D you don't need fancy initiative. Unlike a modern game where the first one to hit wins, there are so many attacks in a regular D&D fight, it matters much less who does their third attack the fastest. Obviously there are still elements where initiative matters (assassin ambushes, save or suck spells), but still: much less pronounced need. So when we played 4e we had our brains and hands full of all sorts of crap, and there an individual action mattered even less, so we began using "sofa initiative". Imagine yourself to be the DM, sitting in a armchair. The players sit either in the couch to your right, or in the couch to your left. The players rolled once at the start of the fight. The one with the highest initiative got to start, then initiative always went clockwise. As the DM I had two "slots". One at my spot, one at the opposite side - the gap between sofas. My "fast" monsters went the first time either of my slots came up, my "slow" monsters the next slot. No notetaking needed. [/QUOTE]

Verification