This is going to be a finesse technique, the kind of hyper-specific tip that’s probably not worth focusing on until you’ve mastered a lot of other skills as a game master. (Like the ones described in So You Want to Be a Game Master.) But it’s a subtlety that I’ve found to have a remarkably out-sized impact on the flow of a session.
Imagine that you’re calling for an initiative check: The players all roll their dice, do the appropriate mathematical rituals for your current system of choice, and immediately begin shouting out their results, often at the same time.
Your mileage may vary, but I often find – particularly with larger groups – that this leads to a lot of confusion. I’ll miss or lose track of numbers as I’m trying to get them all written down, leading to a lot of unnecessary back-and-forth between me and the players. I’ve even had a few cases where I’ve realized I didn’t catch someone’s initiative result and asked them to repeat it, only to discover that the player had forgotten what they rolled!
So the tip here is pretty straightforward: Don’t do that.
What I’ve found is that the groups that run smoothest are the ones who roll their initiative check and then wait for me to individually call for the results.
GM: Initiative checks, please.
(dice are rolled)
GM: Nasira?
Jacqueline: 16.
GM: Tithenmamiwen?
Sarah: 24.
And so forth.
Usually I’ll just go around the table, but you can also read the table pretty easily and start with whoever finishes calculating their initiative first.
For a long while, I was aware that collecting initiatives was really easy for some of my tables, but a clusterfuck for others. Eventually I figured out what the difference was (players waiting to deliver the information in turns rather than all at once) and I started training the players at my other tables to follow suit.
It sounds simple, but the difference it makes is startling.
OTHER GROUP CHECKS
Obviously this same technique may apply to other situations where everyone at the table is making a simultaneous check, but I’ve personally only found it necessary when I need to track and write down the specific check results (or other numbers).
More broadly, it’s useful in any situation where you’re resolving each PCs’ result separately. In the case of the typical initiative check, this resolution is recording the results and sorting them into the initiative sequence. Another example would be checks with multiple degrees of success or failure, where you’re probably going to want to resolve the precise result of each check for each PCs’ result in turns.
For other checks, you may find it more useful to focus on identifying the threshold of the check. In other words, if you know what number each PC needs to roll in order to succeed, you can probably resolve each check result near-instantaneously and mentally keep track of which PCs succeeded.
Of course, in some games this will include initiative, since there’s a wide variety of initiative systems out there. For example, in Numenera initiative is resolved by having the PCs make a Speed check against the level of their opponents: Those who succeed go before the opponents (in any order of their choosing); those who fail go after them. That’s just a threshold and it’s usually straightforward to keep track.
If the PCs are facing mixed opposition of multiple levels, however, it’s possible for some of them to go between the bad guys, and I’ll usually transition back to collecting results in turns. (Or I’ll ask, “Who succeeded at level 5? Who succeeded at level 3?” and collect them in batches.)
BONUS TIP: ROLL INITIATIVE LAST
A related tip that I’ve shared before is that, rather than rolling initiative at the beginning of an encounter, you should instead roll initiative at the end of an encounter, write down the results, and then use them for the next encounter.
(This won’t work in every system, but in most systems initiative modifiers never change, so it doesn’t really matter when you roll the check.)
When it looks like the PCs are about to encounter something, roll for its initiative and slot it into the order. If they don’t encounter it for some reason, no big deal, you can just scratch it out.
Using the technique, by the time combat starts, initiative is already completely resolved, so there’s no delay where you ask for initiative, the dice are rolled, your players tell you the results, then you sort those results into order, and then…
Instead, you can start combat instantly. When the PCs are ambushed, for example, you can deliver the adrenalin-packed punch of the ogre smashing through the wall and immediately roll into the action, instead of deflating that moment with the mundane bureaucracy of collecting initiative scores.
SOFTWARE TOOLS
If you’re playing on a computer or have a computer at hand while playing at the table, then VTTs, spreadsheets, and other software tools can often be used to automatically generate, sort, and otherwise manage initiative scores.
The only limitation I’ve found when using these tools is that, if I have a laptop at the table, it’s usually because there’s some other utility that I’m using the screen for (e.g., searching PDF rulebooks, accessing stat blocks, etc.). I generally want the initiative information in a combat encounter at my fingertips, so I don’t want to be tabbing through windows trying to find my list. Make sure to take this into account when setting up your software tools.
FURTHER READING
GM Don’t List: Not Writing Down Initiative
OD&D Combat Sequence
Better yet, don’t use individual initiative.
Another idea: let each player choose a cool card from Magic The Gathering, for example. On the first round, shuffle the cards face down, and turn the first one. That player acts and turns the second one. The second player acts and turns the third card. And so on until everybory has acted.
Extra bonus: If you prefer a less predictable combat, in the following rounds, you can reshuffle the cards and start again. It’s really fast, and it’s the most effective way I’ve found to keep the players on their toes, since their turn could come out at any time.
What about players with initiative feats/powers? Put two cards for this player in the deck; she acts when the first one shows up, ignore the second card.
What about spell duration that last one round? The effects last until your card shows up again. It’s more unpredictable, and sometimes you’ll have a wasted spell, sometimes your spell will last twice the usual time. All magic-users on my group love it, but talk to the ones in your group first.
I’m lucky to have amazing players that saw through my confusion and started waiting for me to have writen everyone else’s initiative before telling me their own. It got to a point where I was asking for initiative, players rolled, and then silence for a couple seconds before I asked individually. It’s a small thing that really helps.
lol didn’t like all the people calling you a Poser so you just delete and republish the same article?
How about you spend some time reading the rule books?
I did this (works great 👍) but then I took it a step further and just got the table to track initiative. They pay much more attention for the whole round.
Now I just say “who’s next?” And they figure it out, they will tell me when it’s my turn, haha. Sometimes they’ll delegate an initiative person, other times they just remember their number and figure it out as they go.
Have you tried a Phased Real-Time round structure?
I hate the whole initiative/turnorder thing and try to avoid it as much as possible. I took some inspiration from older systems and how we played games in the olden days, and startet to experiment a bit. Why not decide what the opponents do, then collect all the actions from the players, and just resolve everything simultaniously? Sure, we all roll in turns, but the actions happen at the same time. Alrik tries to stab the Goblin while the Goblin tries to stab him? Both roll, narrate the result. Unless two or more actions directly interfere (I grab the key! No, I grab the key!) there doesn’t seem to be a need for initiative. In the case above we can simply make an opposed DEX roll.
I don’t think I’ve written down initiative in 3 years. I always deputize a player to keep track of that. Initiative is something I’ve rarely understood to be secret. They figure that out while I brush up on monster blocks or create a map.
For those baffled by “Real D&D Player” claiming that the article linked at the bottom of this page has been both deleted and is identical to this completely different article, the only thing you really need to know is that Mikey seems to spend most of his life in an eternal state of confused dissociation from reality.
One of Mikey’s most peculiar delusions is the belief that D&D 5th Edition is the only RPG exists. He’s also convinced that all of his comments on the website are instantly deleted, even though everyone else can still read them.
Try to be nice to Mikey. They are deserving of pity and whatever understanding you can afford them.
@Eric & Heiko: I’ve added an additional link to this article which you might find useful in different ways.
Thanks for the link. That really is helpful!
Yes, some great information.
I am also using random initiative. I am using Warlock! thought so no initiative bonuses as such. I use a variation of Troika initiative. Dice for each actor go into the bag plus 3 event dice. A player is responsible for drawing a die out of the bag, the relevant actor acts his turn, we go to the next untill the end of the round. Powerfull opponents get more dice, one for each action.
The advantage is that the players remain engaged with the fight throughout the combat. I has worked wonders for me
As we now seem to be discussing other initiative methods, what do you think about a system where initiative is fixed but figures can compete to go when they want? This is what results from using older Traveller systems, specifically 2nd Edition (MegaTraveller) and the Snapshot tactical combat system.
Here’s how it works:
1) Base initiative is determined from ability scores (Dex + End, plus some mods). The party members compute this, and at the start of the session all ties are randomly broken to get a strict linear order used for the full session. When a combat encounter occurs, compare the enemy’s initiatives and break all ties again to get a linear order for the combat encounter.
2) Turns in a combat round are from lowest to highest initiative. So say Side A has figures 1, 3, 5 and Side B has figures 2, 4, 6, which are their initiative numbers. So figure 1 goes first, then figure 2, etc. Which might seem odd, except…
3) Any higher initiative figure may preempt any lower figure before they begin their turn. Preemption is automatic, not a check. So it’s figure 1’s turn, but 4 preempts, then 5 preempts, and it ends there (6 chooses not to preempt). So now 5 goes, and after their turn completes we start at 1 again (which 4 or 6 could preempt), until every figure has a turn. Thus, high initiative figures have more control of when they take their turn. But not completely, because…
4) Once a turn begins (so no preemption), an opposing figure may attempt to interrupt: this is a check and must happen after a turn begins. If successful, the interrupting figure takes their turn, then back to the interrupted figure, and then back to ordinary initiative. Interrupts could get complicated, but the base rules keep it manageable:
a) Only one interrupt attempt per figure per round, success or failure.
b) No interrupting an ally. This makes sense if the referee is generous with allowing mistakes to be taken back. If not, you may need to allow ally interrupts.
c) Only one active interrupt per side. This is the key rule to keep things from getting crazy.
Back to the above example, 5 begins their turn, 1 (who was preempted) interrupts and succeeds, then 2 interrupts and succeeds. This is one interrupt per side, so no more interrupts for now. 2 takes their turn. It now goes back to 1, but 4 interrupts and fails. 1 begins again, but now 6 interrupts and succeeds. Again, two active interrupts, so 6 takes their turn. Side B has no interrupts left, so 1 takes their turn (interrupt), then 5 (preempt), and we are back to normal initiative with 3 and 4. 3 takes their turn, 4 preempts, and 3 interrupts and succeeds. Final turn order is 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 4.
The referee will need to keep track of current interrupts and who has attempted an interrupt, but that is all. All remaining decisions belong to the players. Note that the interrupt check usually succeeds, which creates a dynamic where gaining the starting inititave may mean your entire side could go first. A different version of our above example: 6 preempts 1 and goes, 1 interrupts and succeeds, 6 interrupts (yes, this is allowed) and succeeds. So 6 goes, then back to 1, but 4 interrupts and succeeds. Two active interrupts, so 4 goes, then back to 1, and finally 2 interrupts and succeeds. Side B got to go before all of Side A because figure 6 could claim first initiative. Now interrupts are not guaranteed to succeed, but the probabilities do favor who has first initiative.
I like this system because it is the PCs competing against the NPCs to jockey for position. High initiative figures may have good reasons to go later, and they can do this. It does require some referee management, but it’s pretty easy using ordinary initiative trackers. Comments?
I coded a pretty basic initiative tracker in javascript. It stores basic PC info, including their initiative modifiers, and tracks the NPC initiative as well. The players just have to tell me their dice roll and it calculates their initiative and generates an ordered list. The DM can give me the NPC initiatives and they get sorted into the list as well. It’s only initiative tracking, no HP tracking, so there’s no typing during combat. It does do death throw tracking but that’s all single mouse-click.
Forgot to say. You can import both the PCs and NPCs as CSV files, separately. So if my DM felt like it they could provide CSV files for each encounter before the session and I could load them on demand.