Alright, so, primarily in case I end up with a large party, I want to see how the following method of PBP initiative rolling would work:
In a party of eight, have initiative run in four "Chunks," the lower two being in chunk 1, the higher two being in chunk four, ect. If it's a party of six, it's in three chunks.
Now, between the two players, they may post whenever they wish within 12 hours.
If they do not post for 12 hours, then the non-posting player is moved into the next chunk. They, and anyone else in that chunk, can post whenever in the following 12 hour period. Repeat this until the round is over, then go into the next round. If someone has not acted in 4 rounds, they make make either add the amount of rounds absent in terms of move actions, or half of the rounds absent in standard actions (Minimum 1), or a third in full round actions.
The goal is to allow for a high density of players without bogging down combat too much.
Opinions and criticisms?
Criticism: It's complicated.
Criticism: hard cap time periods in PbP usually only cause trouble. In a world wbere even short modules take months, hard time limits usually mean people missing them a lot.
Suggestion: at least up tbe cap to 24 hours.
Generally, speeding up combat in PbP is very difficult to achieve with artificial constructions like this. It might be better to look at the posting rates of your applicants and let that inform your recruiting decision.