Dynamic Initiative, Part I

 

When I started planning for Adult D&D, I knew that initiative was going to be a problem I had to solve. I knew that time for programming would be limited and that I wanted to keep the game moving rather briskly.

The problem with individual initiative is that it has to be managed. Because each character moves on their own individual initiative count, some degree of control is required to maintain initiative order. There are products out there to help the DM manage initiative. But in my mind, the fact that it may need such tools to manage it turns out to be an admission of failure. How did we get here, and what are some alternatives?

HISTORY
Early D&D through to 2E, party initiative, or some variation thereof, was the rule. One must remember that early D&D originated materially from historical and fantasy miniatures. Initiative went to one side or the other. The side that lost initiative typically moved first, but attacked last. This carried over into early D&D, where the side that lost initiative announced their plans first, then moved and attacked second. Or at least that was how it was meant to work.

In actuality, most groups had the winning side move first and attack. No statements of intent, just straight to the action. Coordination and teamwork was the rule. Initiative was rolled each round at some tables, which could lead to some rather swing-y action. Which was usually the point of the practice. (We never did, however.)

But there was a feeling among many players, however, that it took away the spotlight and some agency from specific types of character archetypes -- most specifically, the fast and sneaky character. Additionally, there were complaints about the "lack of realism" implied in party initiative. There were attempts to complicate initiative with weapon speeds and other factors to address these concerns. But by 3E, party initiative was dead and individual initiative had become the new rule.

DYNAMIC INITIATIVE
Sometimes you just need to steal / adapt your mechanics from a different system altogether to solve a problem. Marvel Heroic Roleplaying uses a turn-taking system that is entirely different. It is based on a fluid initiative system that depends on player choice to determine action order and that changes from round-to-round according to the perceived tactical situation. This is how it works:

1. Determine who goes first in the combat. This can be based by fiat on the situation. It can be a contested check or even the conventional initiative check. But here's the wrinkle: I have one player roll initiative for the group as a whole. And based on the situation, it may not be the character best equipped to make the check. Ties go to the player.
2. Whoever wins initiative acts. They then determine who acts next, whether it is a character or a monster. Each actor chooses who goes next, until every agent has had their chance to act.
3. Whoever goes last then chooses who act first in the next round. And they are free to choose their side to go first, to double up on their actions / attacks from round-to-round. In most cases, it tends to resemble the swing-y version of party initiative. But there are nuances on how you choose who and when can act.

However, I will save that discussion for a future entry (Part II). But what I want to emphasize are the gains to be realized from using this system:

• Blinding Fast: My past experience with individual initiative is that you can probably get through maybe one or two combats in a two-, maybe three-, hour session. With dynamic initiative, I have been known to get through four or five combats in roughly the same timeframe!
• Gives Players Agency: The flow of battle entirely depends on decisions made by players as a group or as individuals. All I have to ask them is: what do you do? and who goes next?
• Encourages Teamwork: Players can coordinate their actions in meaningful ways by dictating the order and manner in which actions are taken.
• Encourages Narrative Thinking: Action and order, from the very moment we choose who goes first is determined situationally and generates a narrative context for the entire encounter.
• Reduces Cognitive Load: There is no bookkeeping involved, hardly any management of initiative required. Pure win-win in my book!

My players have yet to complain about the fiat nature of how we determine who goes first. They seem to appreciate the decision-making involved and their having agency about how the encounter unfolds. And everyone loves how fast combat -- and by extension, the game itself -- goes under this system. As I said, there are nuances to how it runs and also adjustments that need to be made elsewhere in the rules to accommodate it. But I love it, and I'm never going back to the default individual initiative again!

See the Thac0 Blog for discussion about using party initiative in D&D. See Arcane Eye for a complete discussion of individual initiative  in 5E.

--LM