[3.5] Bonus for high initiative

[Bugbeartrap]

High playground! I wanted to know if anyone had a system that gave extra benefits to characters with high initiative (or your thoughts on such a system). As a Factotum 3/ Hit and Run Fighter 1/ Swordsage 1 going into Iajutsu Master, I could easily rack up a bonus above 15 to initiative. However, since I actually want to play this character, and I'm biased, I was looking for some outside help. We're round-robin DMing, so my turn to play is coming up. My friends would be happy to agree on a system, however my fellow players don't have the initiative to hash such a system out.

Good idea? Bad idea? Helps casters more than melee because of Nerveskitter? I remember someone on these forums recently suggesting acting once on the high initiative, and then again on a lower initiative (say at -15 or 20)?

[PId6]

Meh. Having a high initiative is already good due to the effectively extra action you're getting by going first. Admittedly, the difference only matters that much at higher levels, but it's never a bad thing going first. Acting twice is really not a good idea and makes the action difference even more polarizing.

I guess a way to make initiative better for non-casters is perhaps getting an extra move action or making flat-footed last longer. Melee would love getting an extra move action for going first (while not helping casters much) while rogues would certainly not mind enemies being flat-footed longer. Perhaps even a houserule that you lose half your Dex bonus against enemies above you in the initiative order.

[Eldariel]

Yeah, Hit'n'Run Fighter/Iaijutsu Focus has nice benefits from winning initiative already just in the Dex-to-damage and Iaijutsu-damage bonuses. In your case, it shouldn't be an issue.

[IonDragon]

I remember someone on these forums recently suggesting acting once on the high initiative, and then again on a lower initiative (say at -15 or 20)?

While acting with an init-20 makes some degree of sense, it's kinda silly to really enforce a rule like that. It'll happen maybe once in a blue moon, and you'll get to go twice.

Honestly, if you're getting that high of an init, you always get to go first, what more do you want?

[Ernir]

Your bonus from high initiative is that you get to start almost every combat by Iaijutsu-ing your opposition to pieces. What more do you want?

[The Cat Goddess]

1. Get huge initiative bonus
2. Get a level of Warblade at 9th character level (or more levels of Warblade, just so you have an initiator level of 5+).
3. Get White Raven Tactics maneuver.
4. No one else in the party needs to worry about initiative.

[HunterOfJello]

Factotum's initiative bonus is great for tripping builds. And then the more awesome high level builds are like the ones already mentioned here.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

While acting with an init-20 makes some degree of sense, it's kinda silly to really enforce a rule like that. It'll happen maybe once in a blue moon, and you'll get to go twice.

Honestly, if you're getting that high of an init, you always get to go first, what more do you want?

Actually, the acting again at -20 initiative is sillier than initially thought, as in DND, unlike other systems where you cycle through in ten round segments, you can go into negative initiatives. So, get your initiative bonus to +yes amounts, and you could easily be going three times before someone else than another three times after they go down to -inifinity.

[tyckspoon]

While acting with an init-20 makes some degree of sense, it's kinda silly to really enforce a rule like that. It'll happen maybe once in a blue moon, and you'll get to go twice.

Honestly, if you're getting that high of an init, you always get to go first, what more do you want?

Try 50% of the time without too much effort. Initiative is one of the easier values to raise in D&D- you can get +10 in Core only (Imp. Init, 18 Dex, Luckstone, Pale Green Ioun Stone.) Bring in the MIC and you can have an Eager Warning weapon for another +7.. +17 Initiative is going to give you that second action almost all the time, and has reasonable odds of you going twice before non-Init-optimized people do anything (add in Nerveskitter or some buffs that increase ability checks and you get 100% double actions.)

[Bugbeartrap]

Thanks for the input everyone.

I can see how going on more than one initiative could be rediculously silly, on the other hand, just tossing martial characters an extra move action feels artificial. I guess I'll just exploit White Raven Tactics (available super cheap via wonderous item) and Iaijutsu damage.

While going first is certainly WIN tm for casters. In my experience it hasn't made as much of a difference for martial characters (unless for some reason the opponent caster didn't buff himself that morning, got surprised or for some reason didn't learn/prepare any immediate action spells). However, since the caster usually did one of those things, I haven't seen a large reward for fast martial characters.

[HunterOfJello]

White Raven Tactics does require for you to already know 1 Devoted Spirit maneuver to use it. However, it is godly and an amazing ability for such a cheap item.

[Divide by Zero]

White Raven Tactics does require for you to already know 1 Devoted Spirit maneuver to use it. However, it is godly and an amazing ability for such a cheap item.

Something is amiss here...

[imperialspectre]

Adding additional bonuses on top of going first would be a terrible idea. It would be particularly bad in 3.5, because it's far easier to get huge initiative bonuses as a caster, and casters are already way more powerful than non-casters.