Combat: Initiative

Initiative in combat is quite a topic. It often makes the difference between life and death, especially at lower levels. If both the character(s) and the adversary can sustain one or two hits before going down, being the one with a chance to hit first is a big deal.
If you also implement auto-hits or max damage (or other house-rules to speed up combat, as in the previous article Combat: fight and die faster), then initiative becomes even more of a critical factor.

Traditionally, there are a few "common" methods for Initiative:
1- Everyone rolls for Initiative, including the monsters/adversaries (possibly with the DEX modifier)
2- Only the characters roll; "failure" (i.e. on a DEX check) means going after all the monsters/adversaries (which act as a group), "success" mean going before the monsters/adversaries
3- One roll per group (characters vs. monsters/adversaries); the group with the best score goes first

Also, some groups determine initiative only at the beginning of combat, others do it every round.

Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks:
1- Individual initiative provides the best granularity; faster characters/monsters will likely go first and each combatant has its own "moment"... but of course it requires more attention and more rolls. It gets even heavier if initiative changes every round
2- If the characters are the only ones to roll, there is a decent level of details but without the need to roll for every monster/adversary... with the only drawback that a specific monster's speed might be overlooked (unless you rule for example that monster X goes always before the characters, for example)
3- The roll per group is probably the fastest method, but provides the minimal ammount of details, and then the order of the various characters still needs to be determined within the group, with some method

Re-rolling initiative every round can become easily a mess, since the order will likely change every time, but it allows someone who is usually fast to regain its place in the initiative order, if they rolled badly at the start of the fight.

When looking for alternatives, I found several very interesting links with ideas going from useful to very original to very bizarre...
So let's start with bizarre... which is not bad at all, actually. The first idea by Patrick Stuart is "physical initiative"... something that can be recognized and which is a real, physical thing. I don't know if it will be possible to really use it in a long-term game, but it seems like a rule that could work in certain occasions, or for one-shots or a single specific adventure.

The second idea by Patrick Stuart makes more sense in a long-term game, and it is tied to questions. Players may ask questions about the opposition and each question brings them closer to loosing initiative - this makes a lot of sense because it means that a careful approach (more questions) might translate in a tactical advantage in exchange for giving up the first attack.
If one or more characters would like to act first, let them roll before other players ask more questions in exchange for acting later on (whatever comes up during those attacks, in terms of knowledge for other players, is fair game...). Also, I would suggest to make monsters act when their moment comes, in between questions (i.e. the characters ask the 3rd question and a monster has an initiative rating of 3; let it act and whatever the players learn by suffering the attack, they do not need to ask).

Physical Initiative and Query Initiative
by Patrick Stuart
[...] The first part is a silly list, the second part is less immediately useful but more conceptually interesting.
First idea is what if The Initiative is like a literal physical thing that you can find or recover in a game world, or just in one dungeon, city or area, and as long as you have it then you have the initiative. I.e, you fight first.
And everyone in this area knows what the initiative is, so if they see you with it, they will say 'oh shit, they have the initiative' and be afraid to attack, but if they can steal or grab it off you then *they* will have the initiative, and if they can break, kill, destroy or lose it then there is no initiative.
[...]

All of these must be held openly, visible, or held in one hand.

1. A small fragile bird like a starling, or a bat. Delicate bones, moves fast if it can get away. Very specific diet.

2. A big fat awkward robust bird like a Turkey. You have to cradle it under one arm. It becomes alarmed in violent situations, escapes and runs about. There can be no fighting in its presence till it is caught at which point whoever has it has the initiative. The bird is imperious.

3. A delicate glass flower, or a real one in a pot.

4. The Ark of Initiative. A huge heavy stone box that has to be carried about by at least two people.

[...]

Second idea is influenced somewhat by the description of fights in Amber Diceless. What if initiative was related to the number of questions a player or side could ask about the encounter before they lose initiative.

This is probably easier to conceptualise as a per-side thing. Enemy types would have an Initiative Value, with low being good. Something like this;

Ambush: D4 -1

Fast things: D4

People: D6

Bigger things: D8

Slllooow things: 2d6 (like Zombies)

You would begin with the most basic description possible;

"A shape attacks. Initiative begins."

Then the player side can ask precise questions about the specific physical qualities that they can sense. Like;

"What shape is it?"

"How many limbs?"

"Is it dressed?"

"Does it/they have a weapon?"

"How many of them?"

I'm not sure on the exact quality of the questions that can be asked. Yes/No seems a bit too tight but wider questions could get easy too quickly.

Then the Players get to ask questions about what their particular character can see or sense, and if they go over a creatures initiative number, then the monsters/opponents get to attack first. [...]

http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2018/10/physical-initiative-and-query-initiative.html

Thinking of these two together, and trying to merge them and simplify them...
What if initiative should be carried in the inventory like a real thing - translating it into questions/actions?
This will require some thoughts and possibly a post by itself, but I would say something like:
- Give each monster an initiative rating like 0 for slow, 4 for normal, 8 for fast, or something like that...
- Characters can "carry" initiative as a real thing: each inventory slot dedicated to initiative is a +1 so to act before normal (value 4) monsters, a character needs 5 inventory slots dedicated to initiative (they can carry less, because they need to act fast and pay attention and be ready to act)
- If you are over your limit, you have automatically initiative zero
- To avoid wasting time to rearrange the inventory (i.e. moving objects to change the value of initiative often), you could also say that the number of empty slots is automatically the value of initiative
- Inventory slots could be also pre-allocated with stuff like "quick draw" to ready your weapons fast, or "quick swap" to be able to swap weapons fast, or "question 1", "question 2" etc. so that you'll be able to ask questions beyond the basic initial description... each of those "things" will take away empty slots, thus making you to act after but in exchange for some different type of advantage
OK, this definitely requires some thoughts and some testing.


The next link uses something I really really love, the hazard system by Brendan (Necropraxis) (I will write about it in a different post) and brings it to combat.
The system allows some dynamic output without the need to roll for initiative (it has cases where characters go first as a group, cases where monsters go first, cases when you act based on encumbrance, and so on).
The system has a great potential, but I feel like the table provided in the article would need some tuning (or maybe a complete rewrite).

A HAZARD DIE FOR COMBAT: REPLACING INITIATIVE AND SPICING UP COMBAT
by Jacob Aphenaeus
At the beginning of each round of combat, roll the Combat Die. Unless stated otherwise PCs go first:
Combat Die: (1d6)
1. Player Characters go first!
2. "Slow" Creatures go second, Starting with normal PCs, then normal NPCs, then slow PCs, then slow NPCs. (Slow refers to anything wearing heavy armor, wielding large weapons, encumbered, or with reduced speed like dwarves or halflings)
3. Enemies gain a leg up! Enemy NPCs go first!
[...]
This would require the reworking of some mechanics but it does allow for some unpredictability in combat and some new design opportunities such as...
Boss Monsters can add effects to the Combat Die!
For instance, Saurfang the Dragon can whip his tail or try to hypnotize a PC off of his turn. Just upgrade the die to a d8 and add both options to the Combat Die chart. [...]

http://sheepandsorcery.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-hazard-die-for-combat-replacing.html

Actually, a cleaner version is available on the necropraxis blog. It gives fewer details but I think it has a better balance between the various options.

Tactical Hazard Die
by Brendan
The current unreleased working version of the Hazard System uses six potential outcomes which are then interpreted relative to the current turn type. The four turn types, from most abstract to least abstract, are Haven, Wilderness, Dungeon, and Combat. The six outcomes, mapped to the sides of the 1d6 Hazard Die, are 1) Setback, 2) Fatigue, 3) Expiration, 4) Locality, 5) Percept, and 6) Advantage. This unifies the set of potential outcomes so referees need learn fewer exceptions. Additionally, the order roughly ranks the outcomes from most negative (Setback) to most positive (Advantage) taking the perspective of player characters.

[...]

More concretely, my current play test interprets Combat Turn Hazard Die outcomes as:

1. Setback: opponents act first or reinforcements arrive

2. Fatigue: combatants engaged in melee suffer 1 point of damage

3. Expiration: some or all ongoing effects end (such as burning oil)

4. Locality: the battlefield changes in some way

5. Percept: players gain some clue to opponent strategy

6. Advantage: players choose extra action or forced morale check

http://www.necropraxis.com/2016/07/22/tactical-hazard-die/

I would probably just switch the order, keeping the low results as an advantage to the players, and the higher values in advantage of the adversaries. This way, if there is some special monster or NPC in the encounter, you can increase the die size to d8 (or even d10, or d12) and add those options at the top of the chart.

The next and last link is by the author of Troika!, Daniel Sell. The system is quite simple and plays heavily with randomization: enemies or characters might get the upper hand with a few lucky draws, and then the round may end abruptly, before the other side had a chance to react in a significant way.
This may frustrate some players (or GMs), so you may want to consider some mitigation effect for those characters or enemies that didn't have a chance to act when the round ends.

Troika! Initiative Rules

by Daniel Sell

This initiative system can replace most I-go-you-go style initiative arrangements in role-playing games without much fuss. You need the following:
- Two identical cards for each player character
- One card that signifies the end of the turn
- An abundance of one card to signify henchmen
- An abundance of one more card to signify enemies 
When a fight breaks out you gather up the player cards, the end of round token, henchman tokens equal to the number of henchmen present, and a number of enemy tokens equal to the total initiative value of all enemies. Shuffle these.

Draw a card, the owner of the drawn card acts. If the end of round card is drawn you gather up all the tokens and start again. [...]

http://whatwouldconando.blogspot.com/2018/02/troika-initiative-rules.html

If you want to draw inspiration from this system, note that it does two things:
- Gives characters and opponents the chance to act more than once per round, if they draw their card more than once
- It makes the spells' and effects' duration somehow unpredictable

Even with the above caveats, I hope I will be able to give a test-drive to Troika! and see how the system works at the table.


Design notes:

- Having the chance to hit first is a big deal, especially at low levels
- Initiative becomes even more important with auto-hit or max damage or other similar house-rules
- There is a trade-off between granularity (i.e. each character and monster has its own roll) and speed at the table (i.e. roll only for characters, roll for groups)
- Also, repeating the roll every round requires more attention, but allows someone who rolled badly to "regain" its natural place in the initiative order
- Some ideas by Patrick Stuart: make initiative a real, physical thing... or connect initiative to questions asked by the players
- Inspired by the above, perhaps count initiative as the empty inventory slots? (if you use a slot system for the inventory, but who doesn't, nowadays?) You could also use the inventory for questions or things like "quick draw", "quick swap", "access to items", and so on
- Initiative using the hazard system (by necropraxis)
- Random initiative and random end-of-round with cards/tokens, as in Troika! (it may affect heavily how many times a character/opponent has a chance to act, and the duration of spells and various effects)