Minimizing Initiative

[Bakkan]

As a TO exercise, I am trying to develop a character that uses as few dice rolls as possible. One roll that seems difficult to avoid is that of initiative. I do not know of or have ever heard of an ability that allows you to "take 10" or something on initiative. Without something like that, my only options are to make sure that my initiative is so high, or so low, that it's a foregone conclusion that I'll go first or last (respectively). While maximizing inititative is definitely an option, it's also one that lots of other characters or monsters might attempt to do, and so I will be less able to simply say "Oh I got at least X" and have that definitely give me the first turn.

Therefore I look to minimizing inititative, so that I can say "I got at most X" and have that be definitely low enough that I'll go last. Unless I've missed something, no monster in the SRD has a lower initiative than the Gelatinous Cube (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ooze.htm#gelatinousCube) with a -5. So my ultimate goal is to achieve an Initative modifier of -24 or lower. I need some assistance here as I've not been able to get that low.

Restrictions: LA +0, books allowed are all 3.5 hardcover WotC books, excluding alternate systems from UA (such as gestalt or recharge magic), but including flaws, traits, etc. from that book.

Additionally, I would like to focus on options that could concievably still keep my character viable, so keeping myself permanently tied up, for example, is less helpful (but will still be noted as an option).


First, we minimize Dex. Assuming we start with point buy or the elite array, we start with 8. The Pathetic(Dex) flaw will get us to 6. Dragonborn of Bahamut gets us to 4, a -2 Dex race (any good suggestions?) gets us to 2 and Middle-Aged gets us to 1. Alternatives include starting with 9, taking a -2 penalty from race, flaw, or Dragonborn, then being Venerable, or Starting with 8, taking two -2 penalties, and being Old.

So we have a -5 Dex modifier to start

Now we look at other options.

The flaw Unreactive will give a -6 penalty to Initiative, and the Torpid trait will give another -2. So that's a -8 modifier from Flaws and Traits.

So that starting point is -13 initiative. What else to we have? Any feats that include a penalty to initiative as a drawback? And what about items, rituals, other things like that?

Thanks in advance, Playground!

[nedz]

Well there's Guardian Spirit in CArc. To qualify you will need 1 level of Wu Jen.
This allows you to re-roll initiative 1/day, but it doesn't say you have to take the highest. Rerolling on an 11 or higher nets you -2.5 on average.

There's Yondalla’s Sense from Races of the Wild, which allows you to add your Wis to Initiative. You have to be a halfling and have very low Wis obviously. I'm not sure this works if your Wis mod is negative though.

[Cog]

A custom Bestow Curse would do the trick, though exactly how much of a penalty is reasonable is less clear. -10 might be in line with the listed effects, since it's a much narrower effect, but that doesn't quite take you over the line.

[Gigas Breaker]

Aura of perfect order will let you take 11 on any d20 roll once per round. Take 11 on your initiative check.

[Theoboldi]

There actually is a creature in the immortals handbook that always goes last on any given turn, and it's not even as obscenely powerful as everything else in that book. Of course, that's probably not what you are looking for. :smalltongue:

[The Viscount]

Moderate Depravity will get you Hallucinating, which is another -6 on initiative checks. That gets us down to -19.

Edit: Uncontrollable seizures, an effect of Moderate Corruption, gives another -4 on initiative.
Skin Lichen gives -2 to Dex, Con, and Str based ability checks and skill checks. That's -25.

And it is done.