Initiative Mechanics (episode 81)

On the Shoulders of Dwarves

Why is it important? (01:00) Who tracks the initiative? (03:50) Tracking init was considered one of the holy duties of the GM. But does it have to be? See our episode on Sharing GM Responsibilities. Different initiative mechanics D&D (2E-5E) & Pathfinder (06:20): You roll a d20 for Initiative. (skip to 07:00 to hear us digress to D&D 1E). Pathfinder 2nd (08:14): The skill used for Initiative is determined by the circumstances. Shadowrun (09:08): Initiative score, a number of d6 determined by the type of thing you’re doing, the space in which you act. Then initiative passes, reducing 10 after each pass. Exalted (10:53): Ticks ticking by. Phoenix Dawn Command (13:40): The players move the Torch around, every player gets one action in a cycle. Challenges act between turns, on their speed. Star Wars and Genesis (15:30): Two init skills, cool or vigilance. Results become slots, into which each PC or NPC can be inserted once per round. Conan D20 (17:20): You all act before NPCs unless an NPC has an ability or GM spends Doom. One Roll Engine (ORE) (19:15): Declaring at the same time, or by order of Sense stat from low to high. Widest first, Height is the tiebreaker. Getting hit means you’re losing a die from a set. Savage Worlds (21:45): Everyone draws cards, some special abilities allow you to re-draw better. Mouse Guard (22:45): Acting in three rounds, choose from 4 options in secret. Apocalypse World (24:54): No such thing as structured gameplay, only different paces. Mistborn Adventure Game (26:52): During Conflicts, you declare actions by order of Wits, high to low, then act in the opposite order, low to high. Changing your declared action invokes a penalty on your roll, which can be quite harsh. (Eran did a whole review on the system, check it out. - Fate Core (28:40): based on skills, usually Notice in combat and Empathy in mental. Fate Accelerated (29:16): roll approach based on physical or mental combat. Dramatic Initiative (30:04): The person whose turn just ended decide who goes next. Unfortunately, I couldn’t track the person who first wrote about this. If you know who this is - tell me. Additional thoughts on Initiative Eran’s new system (31:28) - some thoughts about the new system that Eran is working on. Duels (33:00) - how to resolve duels (“high noon” style) - example: Undeadwood card duel Castle Falkenstein (35:10) has an interesting system as well. You might want to listen to our episode on Opposed PC Rolls. Summary (36:10) Taking the load off (37:10) Eran - Finishing up Hell’s Rebels, how happy they are that the fight was easier than first perceived Uri - played a session 0 for my new Masks campaign. Also, Escaping Thalamus’s Lab is available on DriveThruRpg.