Level Up (A5E) What would you do to simplify A5E and/or speed up combat?

[Steampunkette]

The version I'm experimenting with is slightly different, as I treat initiative as group checks on both sides. The side who rolls higher starts first, and characters and monsters alternate sandwich style as above, but for added dynamics I let players and monster choose the order in which they want to act, at every round. This keeps players more engaged and allows them to strategize, but at the same time adds an element of unpredictability because they won't know if the big enemy will act last next round or not.

Definitely an interesting way to do it, but has the downside of 'Ruining' some spells.

I.E. if I use Hold Person on the BBEG whose turn comes after 3 other party members but he instead jumps the line to 'next' and throws a save, Hold Person is less effective than expected.

The main reason I say sandwich is because it plays well with players roll everything, since people need to pay attention between their turns to roll the right "Defense Check".

 

[lichmaster]

Definitely an interesting way to do it, but has the downside of 'Ruining' some spells.

I.E. if I use Hold Person on the BBEG whose turn comes after 3 other party members but he instead jumps the line to 'next' and throws a save, Hold Person is less effective than expected.

That can definitely happen, depending on how evil the dm is, but also works the other way: spells that last until the beginning/end of the caster's turn can be prolonged for a few additional players' turns.
Also, a simple way to avoid the problem on the players' side is to cast that spell on creatures that have already acted

 

[Tessarael]

IMHO, there is an advantage of interleaving NPC/monster and PC initiatives. It gives the DM more time to think about individual NPC/monster actions. I think it also provides some more tactical nuances, as you can respond to things in progress.

 

[lichmaster]

IMHO, there is an advantage of interleaving NPC/monster and PC initiatives. It gives the DM more time to think about individual NPC/monster actions. I think it also provides some more tactical nuances, as you can respond to things in progress.

Exactly. Also, there's no chance that the BBEG will be slaughtered without even being able to act due to a poor initiative roll