Man_Over_Game
2019-01-07, 05:31 PM
One particular concern I've had with DnD is the concept that danger and combat only exist while initiative is relevant. When initiative isn't tracked, there are no enemies, and your actions don't really matter. Time is but an illusion, and all that garbage.
So I set out to create an initiative system that allowed tension and danger to extended past when it was relevant, and came up with this:
===================
The Rules:
Initiative is rolled at the end of rests.
Initiative can be modified by various actions throughout the day, including events that took place during the rest that caused the initiative roll
If initiative needs to become relevant (such as a sudden action taking place), then the current initiative order is immediately referred to rather than rolled.
The original event attempts to take place, but with every other creature with a higher initiative taking action first, starting with the next highest initiative creature.
If a particular event is drastic enough to cause a change to a character's initiative (whether it been an emotional or physical change), the DM can request that the player rolls a new initiative against their current initiative, keeping the higher of the two if the event was positive, or keeping the lower of the two if the event was negative.
===================
For example:
The party just ended their Long Rest in an inn. They slept well that night, so everyone gets a +3 to their initiative. Their totals are:
Rex, the Rogue, with a 17.
Bruce, the Barbarian, with an 8.
Bruce spent the night drunk, so while he gets Inspiration (which he COULD use now), he gets disadvantage on his initiative and rolls a total of 10, keeping his 8.
Dani, the Druid, with a 14.
The party comes across a caravan that's being guarded by goblins. Bruce decides he's going to run at the caravan and attempt to start breaking stuff, however Dani and Rex have higher initiatives, and can immediately react to Bruce's attempts. First, Dani states what she's going to do, and she decides to try to calm Bruce down. Then Rex can respond to Bruce's and Dani's attempts, and chooses to scout out the caravan. Finally, these things resolve all at the same time. Even through Bruce made his action out of the initiative order, Dani and Rex both had opportunities to respond to his actions before he attempted them. If the Initiative continues to be relevant (like with combat), then you go down the list as normal. You only ever need to follow this unique order of operations if someone attempts to act out of turn. With the initiative system being less restrictive and being able to wax and wane, the players can feel tension in-and-out of combat.
Another example:
The same three players, with the same initiatives, just finished off the last of the caravan guards, with no noticeable enemies nearby. Dani is patching up Rex while keeping an eye out for danger, while Rex got caught out and took some major hits and is taking some down time. As a result, his initiative took a hit as well (down to 12), and he's taking a moment to heal. Bruce is inspecting several of the bodies for loot. Bruce takes a peak inside of the caravan, and finds a Hobgoblin who strikes! Rex and Dani have a higher initiative than the Hobgoblin, but Dani wasn't surprised due to her being aware of her surroundings, and launch an attack first, killing the Hobgoblin before his attack lands
Any character/event/trap/whatever can contest the initial actions of a character to attempt to disrupt them when it's outside of the initiative order (such as Dani interrupting Bruce in the first scene). In fact, a character disrupting one action can be disrupted by another (such as if Rex decided to stop Dani from stopping Bruce). When actions are "paused" like this, treat them as if they're being held like a Readied action.
For low-initiative characters, there may appear to be a problem of always going last, which is why there are a lot of different options to modify someone's initiative. Whether that be from eating a decent meal, to using a well-made map you purchased, or by casting a spell that kept out the weather from your camp site, there's a lot of options you can provide.
Personally, I provide Inspiration for events that hurt you/the team but are in-character for you to do, such as a Barbarian getting drunk. While that hurt Bruce's initiative until his next Short Rest, he did get Inspiration which might save the team at an integral moment in the day. For Initiative changes, I utilize the little things a character may do throughout the day that generally are beneficial, or something that might affect their mood (like failing to show off in a bar).
Together, this makes Initiative an interesting mechanic that represents more than just the timing of the battle, but also as a representation of a character's mood and reaction time.
[Edit] After consideration, this mechanic was updated to not have initiative changes outside of the Short Rest. Strikethrough formatting shows what parts were omitted, with italics showing what was added.
[Edit] After reconsideration, this mechanic was updated to have initiative changes outside of the Short Rest, in the form of initiative rerolls. The added information is in italics. Hopefully, I'm done considering new stuff, because there's only so many formatting options.
So I set out to create an initiative system that allowed tension and danger to extended past when it was relevant, and came up with this:
===================
The Rules:
Initiative is rolled at the end of rests.
Initiative can be modified by various actions throughout the day, including events that took place during the rest that caused the initiative roll
If initiative needs to become relevant (such as a sudden action taking place), then the current initiative order is immediately referred to rather than rolled.
The original event attempts to take place, but with every other creature with a higher initiative taking action first, starting with the next highest initiative creature.
If a particular event is drastic enough to cause a change to a character's initiative (whether it been an emotional or physical change), the DM can request that the player rolls a new initiative against their current initiative, keeping the higher of the two if the event was positive, or keeping the lower of the two if the event was negative.
===================
For example:
The party just ended their Long Rest in an inn. They slept well that night, so everyone gets a +3 to their initiative. Their totals are:
Rex, the Rogue, with a 17.
Bruce, the Barbarian, with an 8.
Bruce spent the night drunk, so while he gets Inspiration (which he COULD use now), he gets disadvantage on his initiative and rolls a total of 10, keeping his 8.
Dani, the Druid, with a 14.
The party comes across a caravan that's being guarded by goblins. Bruce decides he's going to run at the caravan and attempt to start breaking stuff, however Dani and Rex have higher initiatives, and can immediately react to Bruce's attempts. First, Dani states what she's going to do, and she decides to try to calm Bruce down. Then Rex can respond to Bruce's and Dani's attempts, and chooses to scout out the caravan. Finally, these things resolve all at the same time. Even through Bruce made his action out of the initiative order, Dani and Rex both had opportunities to respond to his actions before he attempted them. If the Initiative continues to be relevant (like with combat), then you go down the list as normal. You only ever need to follow this unique order of operations if someone attempts to act out of turn. With the initiative system being less restrictive and being able to wax and wane, the players can feel tension in-and-out of combat.
Another example:
The same three players, with the same initiatives, just finished off the last of the caravan guards, with no noticeable enemies nearby. Dani is patching up Rex while keeping an eye out for danger, while Rex got caught out and took some major hits and is taking some down time. As a result, his initiative took a hit as well (down to 12), and he's taking a moment to heal. Bruce is inspecting several of the bodies for loot. Bruce takes a peak inside of the caravan, and finds a Hobgoblin who strikes! Rex and Dani have a higher initiative than the Hobgoblin, but Dani wasn't surprised due to her being aware of her surroundings, and launch an attack first, killing the Hobgoblin before his attack lands
Any character/event/trap/whatever can contest the initial actions of a character to attempt to disrupt them when it's outside of the initiative order (such as Dani interrupting Bruce in the first scene). In fact, a character disrupting one action can be disrupted by another (such as if Rex decided to stop Dani from stopping Bruce). When actions are "paused" like this, treat them as if they're being held like a Readied action.
For low-initiative characters, there may appear to be a problem of always going last, which is why there are a lot of different options to modify someone's initiative. Whether that be from eating a decent meal, to using a well-made map you purchased, or by casting a spell that kept out the weather from your camp site, there's a lot of options you can provide.
Personally, I provide Inspiration for events that hurt you/the team but are in-character for you to do, such as a Barbarian getting drunk. While that hurt Bruce's initiative until his next Short Rest, he did get Inspiration which might save the team at an integral moment in the day. For Initiative changes, I utilize the little things a character may do throughout the day that generally are beneficial, or something that might affect their mood (like failing to show off in a bar).
Together, this makes Initiative an interesting mechanic that represents more than just the timing of the battle, but also as a representation of a character's mood and reaction time.
[Edit] After consideration, this mechanic was updated to not have initiative changes outside of the Short Rest. Strikethrough formatting shows what parts were omitted, with italics showing what was added.
[Edit] After reconsideration, this mechanic was updated to have initiative changes outside of the Short Rest, in the form of initiative rerolls. The added information is in italics. Hopefully, I'm done considering new stuff, because there's only so many formatting options.