RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Hey there folks, I've got a mechanical question for the community:
Among the various tabletop RPGs you've played (or even merely seen), what different sorts of initiative systems have you encountered?
The D&D/Pathfinder model is simple enough: everyone rolls, then we all take turns with the winners going first. But I'm curious what else is out there.
What have you seen/played? What did you like? What did you dislike?
I'm curious to know, but can't afford to go out and buy a couple dozen RPGs just to read their initiative systems (or whatever they use instead of an initiative system), so I turn to the community's past experience.
I'm interested in all such mechanics, not just the good ones.
Thanks!
The 2 that stand out most to me were OWOD and Scion.
In OWOD you declared you actions in order of lowest to highest but acted in order of highest to lowest meaning faster characters could respond to what slower characters were doing instead of having no clue.
Scion worked like DND except that every action had a time cost to it and after you acted you waited that many Init. ticks before your turn came back up so faster actions could be taken more often than slower ones.
Also thinking about it Anima's was fairly straightforward in that high roll goes first type thing but your weapon choice affected your roll and if you got attacked and took damage before your turn you lost your action that round. You could avoid the loss by powering through the hit but that cut your defense in half for the round.
Through the Breach is based on the Malifaux system of using cards instead of dice to determine actions with higher numbers being better. What was interesting for me was that the initiative system was based on the Speed physical aspect (characteristic) of the character as well as the ranks put into the skill Notice to represent not only that your character was quick on their feet, but that they could also realize what was going down around them quicker.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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In OWOD you declared you actions in order of lowest to highest but acted in order of highest to lowest meaning faster characters could respond to what slower characters were doing instead of having no clue.
Interesting! I assume this otherwise functioned basically like D&D/PF in that the order was determined by die rolls, and you kept repeating this turn-taking system each round?
Scion worked like DND except that every action had a time cost to it and after you acted you waited that many Init. ticks before your turn came back up so faster actions could be taken more often than slower ones.
I can see the appeal, but would be concerned about the extra bookkeeping. Did it seem like much work? What was it like to use this system?
Through the Breach is based on the Malifaux system of using cards instead of dice to determine actions with higher numbers being better.
I'm not sure I follow. Can you elaborate?
OWOD was the same other than re-rolling each round you rolled 1d10 and added any bonuses usually dex/perception if I remember and some powers could also add in or give you extra actions in a round.
Scion wasn't bad since we would each keep a dice in front of us and set it to whatever number our last action was and count it down each tick. One interesting thing about Scion was that movement could be taken every tick and didn't cost you turns so every tick (don't remember how long they were) everyone could move their base speed basically.
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Traveller uses a dynamic initiative where you can choose to do things to increase your position or delay it. Sort of like Pathfinder but players have a little more control over the timing of things.
We tried Aces and Eights but it was a little too complex for the group I was with. It had a similar initiative system to Traveller. The fun thing about A&8s was the "shot clock". However, we realized not too long in that shooting with a pistol sucked and the key was just to bumrush with a shotgun. (though keep in mind we didn't really grok this crunchy as hell system)
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If it's like Exalted, a tick is one second.
Sorry, let me try to explain better.
Long story made short the higher number card you flip (1-13, aces low kings high) the better your result is. So in a manner its just like rolling dice but with (theoretically) more predictable results.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Runequest 6 (the others were generally similar) uses 1d10 plus your Strike Rank (which is based on Int and Dex) minus your armour penalty (heavier armour is worse, and some shields and weapons give penalties). You work down till everyone has used an Action Point actively (you also use them for parrying or dodging). Carry on down through the initiative order again till everyone in the combat is out of APs.
You've left a bit to inference, so let me see if I'm following this right:
Each combatant has a pool of action points.
Everybody rolls, and the highest roller takes a turn, spending points to do stuff. Other combatants might spend points reactively as well (such as to parry/dodge).
Then the combatant with the second-highest roll gets to spend points to do stuff, and again, others can spend points to react.
Repeat this process until everyone has had a turn.
Then, go back to the highest-rolling character and go through again, skipping anyone who's out of points. Keep doing this until everyone's out of points.
Then... what? Everybody refills their pools and we start fresh?
Did I get that roughly correct?
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Marvel Heroes (might have the name wrong): Every character after their turn chooses who goes next. (1st goes to whoever has a special ability - spider senses etc.) This is supposed to allow for hero combos. And if you choose to have all of the PCs go first then your foes could potentially all go twice before you go again (could be bad news).
Space Dogs: (a sci-fi system I'm working on - it works pretty well so far in playtests) Each side rolls a d8 (each turn). The higher roll goes first (whether they want to or not). On a tie the side with a higher Sharpness score gets to choose whether they go 1st or 2nd.
Movement Phase: Everyone moves in initiative order (each side all at once) and at the end their movement phase they declare their action. (hence the disadvantage of going first, as your foes get to know what you're going to do)
Ranged Phase: Everyone shoots in initiative order. (If already in melee range then you attack in the melee phase instead.)
Melee Phase: Attack in melee (opposed attack rolls rather than passive defenses)
Apocalypse World (and derivatives): No initiative. Enemies don't take actions, instead they inflict consequences based on player actions. If you don't directly fight, you're less likely to take damage. Often if you fight though, you take damage, the variable is how much you inflict.
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying: Mentioned above. Whoever has a characteristic or power that implies they go first, goes first. After that, once you finish your turn, you decide who goes next, until everyone gets one turn. You have to balance the timing of when you give someone a turn versus denying your enemy multiple turns in a row.
Mythender: the myth goes first. After that, players decide order on their own. If they can't agree, or don't go fast enough, the myth starts the next round. Combat ends at the end of round 5, if the myth isn't dead, all the players die (or if a lesser myth, the myth escapes intact). This is important narratively as it creates a context for player actions and really, really helps things along.
Dr. Who: your action determines your initiative. If you talk, you go first. If you run, you go second. If you do something not covered by the first two, but not violent, you go third. Violence goes last.
Feng Shui: you roll initiative giving a total number called "shots". Person with the most "shots" goes first, and spends them to do an action. Typically you start with 7-15 shots, depending on your roll and stats. An attack action typically costs 3 shots, with special extra actions costing 1 shot or increasing your attack's cost. If you have 1 or 2 shots left, you can still attack with no penalty. If combat is still going after everyone reaches zero, roll again and repeat.