If you're in a combat that already started and you benefit from a sudden increase of your Dexterity score, like from a Cat's Grace spell casted during the battle, does that could affect your current position in the initiative order?
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I've never seen anyone do this, the rules support one roll and no re-order:
At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. Each character applies his or her Dexterity modifier to the roll, as well as other modifiers from feats, spells, and other effects. Characters act in order, counting down from the highest result to the lowest. In every round that follows, the characters act in the same order (unless a character takes an action that results in his or her initiative changing; see Special Initiative Actions).
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This is one time I wold have to disagree with Ogre. If you hold your action in melee, your initiative changes to when you come back in the count. So I would rule that if yor Dexterity changed in the course of combat that your initiative count would change also.
The Rules do not say if this would happen or not. it is generaly up to the GM to make those calls. It is impossible for the designers to account for everything that might happen in the game. So somtimes the GM needs to make the call.
I side with Ogre. If the character with the new dex wants to hold his action to re-order. No problem. Otherwise, he can get all sorts of mods to his dex either up or down..but it doesnt affect his order. Much like if you lose your dex bonus in combat, you dont lose your initiative order.
greg
Once your initiative is rolled it is set. Wasson has a good point. If you roll high enough to go third and get hit with a spell/other effect that drops your dex by 6 points your initiative won't change.
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This is one time I wold have to disagree with Ogre. If you hold your action in melee, your initiative changes to when you come back in the count. So I would rule that if yor Dexterity changed in the course of combat that your initiative count would change also.
The Rules do not say if this would happen or not. it is generaly up to the GM to make those calls. It is impossible for the designers to account for everything that might happen in the game. So somtimes the GM needs to make the call.
"In every round that follows they follow the same order (unless a character takes an action that results in his or her initiative changing; see Special Initiative Actions)."
Changing your dexterity isn't listed in the Special Initiative Actions but I suppose it might be considered changing your initiative.
I see this as adding more complexity to an already complex system. Most groups I've been in don't even pay attention to the initiative roll beyond the initial ordering. As far as I'm concerned it's one more trivial detail to follow which just isn't needed and doesn't affect balance (and only affects corner cases).