Troll Lord Games

How do you CKs handle initiative ?

Do you have the PCs roll as a group or each PC roll separately ?

If each PC rolls how do handle say 5 PCs and 9 monsters.

Would each PC pick a monster to roll against ?

Realmsbard
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Each player rolls. They tell what they are going to do on their intiative, but can change, or they just wait until its their turn in the initiative, either way that is what they do.

Only spellcasters are handled differently by me, since they start casting spells at the beginning of the round and their initiative is when it goes off.

So they have to declare their action, especially if its casting a spell. I don't have them tell where its going, etc... until its actually cast.

Most of this is NOT BtB (by the book), its just the way I do it.

As for NPC's I do them as a group if they are the same creature, etc...

If they are significantly different from one another (different monsters, different classes) I roll individually for them.

Its why I like the combat board I got from Paizo's Gamemastery line.
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Roll a d10, subtract the dex mod. Lowest number goes first. I don't do any of that 'declaring' stuff.
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Peter Bradley

I no longer care. PCs go first, unless there is a surprise situation.

[quote="serleran"]I no longer care. PCs go first, unless there is a surprise situation.[/quote]

wow, what an inspiration [/sarcasm]
which pc goes first?

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all roll d10's, pc's get to add their dex bonus. highest roll goes first

monsters roll individually (unless there's like groups of 20 of them), they don't add any dex modifiers.

no declaring, except for casters, who start casting and fire the spell on their initiative turn.

seems to go pretty simple, but its fun watching 3rd edition players struggle over rolling both a d10, and having to roll each and every turn

cheers,

J.

Quote:
which pc goes first?

The one sitting next to me. The next round, the opposite. I have a good memory so I can alternate in round-robin style, too, like... the 2nd from the left clockwise, and then, the 2nd from the right counter-clockwise.

What PC goes first only matters in games where what PC kills something matters... my games, you're lucky if you can kill something.

Initiative is not by the book for me, as I prefer using initiative from the Holmes D&D rulebook. The only real difference is that I allow a character or creature attacked by more than one foe to strike at each foe. In a nutshell my combat sequence goes like this:

[quote]Code:


Since the only difference between the Holmes Basic "by the book" initiative and mine is that I allow creatures or characters facing overwhelming odds in their ten foot radius one attack per foe, combats need to be broken down into one-on-one combat. For example, we have a party of two fighters, a rogue, a cleric, and a wizard. They are facing off against eight orcs. The two groups have just met together in a large room, and it's clobberin' time! No one is surprised and currently, no one on either side is within ten feet. It's not going to stay that way too long. The orcs, being somewhat dimwitted and hungry, charge to within ten feet, weapons drawn, and wanting broiled human for lunch. Initiative goes as follows:

1. Roll up dexterity scores for the eight orcs (for simplicity, we'll use scores of 11 through 18 inclusive for the orcs, and scores of 12 and 16 for the fighters, 18 for the rogue, 13 for the cleric and 9 for the wizard).

2. Determine which orcs are facing off against which members of the party.

3. Based on dexterity order, determine actions.

Initiative order:

18 - Orc 1 and rogue (must roll dice to determine who acts first)

17 - Orc 2

16 - Orc 3 and fighter 1 (must roll dice to determine who acts first)

15 - Orc 4

14 - Orc 5

13 - Orc 6 and cleric (must roll dice to determine who acts first)

12 - Orc 7 and fighter 2 (must roll dice to determine who acts first)

11 - Orc 8

9 - Wizard

Orc 1 and the rogue have to roll 1d10 to determine initiative as they have identical dexterity scores. Whichever of them has the higher die roll gets to act first, unless they tie on the 1d10 roll, in which case they act simultaneously. The same process applies to orc 3 and fighter 1, orc 6 and the cleric, and orc 7 and fighter 2.

For this example, orcs 1 and 3 have the higher die roll, orc 6 and the cleric tie on the die roll, and fighter 2 has the higher die roll. The order of initiative is as follows:

Orc 1

Rogue

Orc 2

Orc 3

Fighter 1

Orc 4

Orc 5

Orc 6 and cleric

Fighter 2

Orc 7

Orc 8

Wizard

Actions (dexterity scores in parenthesis):

Orc 1 (18) attacks Fighter 1 (16).

The rogue (18) attacks Orc 1 (18).

Orc 2 (17) attacks fighter 1 (16).

Orc 3 (16) attacks the cleric (13).

Fighter 1 (16) attacks Orc 1 (18).

Orc 4 (15) attacks fighter 2 (12).

Orc 5 (14) attacks the wizard (9).

Orc 6 (13) attacks fighter 2 (12).

The cleric (13) attacks Orc 3 (16).

Fighter 2 (12) attacks Orc 4 (15).

Orc 7 (12) attacks the wizard (9).

Orc 8 (11) attacks the rogue (18).

The wizard (9) attempts to cast sleep (will go off at the end of the next round).

Each of these actions is resolved as one round of combat. So orc 1 and fighter 1 will swap sword strokes, then the rogue and orc 1 will swap sword strokes, and so on down the line. When the next round begins, the whole thing begins again including the dicing for initiative. Initiative rolls aside, the second round of combat will be slightly different. The wizard began preparing sleep as his action in round 1. Should he get whacked by an orc in round 2 his spell will be lost unless he can manage to keep his concentration.
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Does anyone use a deck of cards to determine what PC acts first?

Realmsbard
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Realmsbard wrote:
Does anyone use a deck of cards to determine what PC acts first?

Realmsbard

Naw... I've known too many gamers who were also excellent card sharps.
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"We'll go out through the kitchen!" Tanis Half-Elven

Peter Bradley

I've used cards for initiative in SW and in C&C. Some of my players love it.

Same method as jman5000.

Treebore wrote:
Each player rolls. They tell what they are going to do on their intiative, but can change, or they just wait until its their turn in the initiative, either way that is what they do.

Only spellcasters are handled differently by me, since they start casting spells at the beginning of the round and their initiative is when it goes off.

So they have to declare their action, especially if its casting a spell. I don't have them tell where its going, etc... until its actually cast.

Most of this is NOT BtB (by the book), its just the way I do it.

As for NPC's I do them as a group if they are the same creature, etc...

If they are significantly different from one another (different monsters, different classes) I roll individually for them.

Its why I like the combat board I got from Paizo's Gamemastery line.

What I would do if I had a C&C group, and what I basically do in LA.

I use a d20 in my game. Less chance of duplicate rolls.

I have each player roll and I do one roll for the critters.

M
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Realmsbard wrote:
Does anyone use a deck of cards to determine what PC acts first?

Realmsbard

Witterquick uses cards in his game, in which I played. The idea left a bad taste in my mouth, but after experiencing it I can say that it was quick, effective and no one complained about it. It's still not my preference, as I was playing a magic user with above average dex. Getting hit first would sometimes cause a loss of a spell. This didn't happen often, because I tried to keep my character away from combat as much as possible. Personally I prefer that initiative be modified by at least character dexterity.

If I had my druthers, I would roll 1d20, add dex bonus and weapon magic bonus and subtract weapon speed for combat. Ordered from highest to lowest. I would also give ranged weapons an additional +10 when not threatened.

Spells are quite a bit more difficult to adjucate. I prefer to allow PC's the option to modify their actions as the round plays itself out. Spellcasters are allowed to add their Int. bonus to initiative IF they commit to casting at the beginning of the round. They also subtract the spells casting time from their initiative. When their initiative step arrives, they may change their action without losing the prepared spell. IF they wish they may cast a different spell than originally intended. This completing on initiative step 0. This allows a mage who was going to cast fireball before the fighter ran into the middle of the orcs to switch to a magic missile without wasting a round.
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later

SSS

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"Size matters not."

-Yoda, Jedi Master

I use D20.

I roll for monsters, players roll. Highest goes first- don't botehr with dex mods, or individual init.

For players we go round the table in order.

It is only modified for individual combats and the like (or PvP fights- which occasionally happen in our games).

KISS I say.

Oh yes, and actions (especially spells) are declared before we roll for initiative. If a spell caster is hit before their turn they get to make an Int save to retain the spell (save CL modified by damage done) otherwise it is lost!

hmm, maybe it isn't so simple

Craig

I use an order of operations mechanic.

1. Anyone doing ranged attacks fires.

2. Anyone doing melee attacks swing.

3. Anyone moving does so.

4. Anyone doing "something else" does so (Cast spell, drink potion, open lock, etc).

5. Any loose ends are taken care of (people who cast spells but now want to move, people who moved but didn't attack yet, etc).
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I do it BTB. Everyone rolls a d10 and I roll a d10 for the monsters as a group or individually depending on how I see it working best. And I have everyone act in turn. The combat goes lightning fast!

As a side note, I had a power gamer in one of my earlier C&C games and he said he found how to break C&C. But he assumed the Dex bonus was added to Init. Once he found out it wasn't, he said "never mind". Aparently once Dex bonuses get added to Init., there is a way to exploit it in favor of the character in a major way. He quit the game when he found he couldn't tweak things to gain major power. I felt so happy with C&C that day.