Recent topic got me thinking. If you somehow lose your dexterity while already in combat via Dex damage (such as the cockatrice's Petrification), Dex decrease (such as Bestow curse), or Dex penalty (such as the thunderstone), does it drop your order in the initiative?
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Initiative
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).
During a fight your initiative only changes with the actions Delay and Ready (maybe there are exceptions like spells out there). you only roll once at the beginning of a fight and you use your actual DEX modifier.
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That's probably for reasons of simplicity rather than logic. If you wanted to house-rule it that people could lose initiative mid-combat, you'd have to move them down the initiative order and make sure they didn't get an extra turn as a result.
Example: I am on 12 inititative. You are on 13. After you act, I cast something that lowers your Dex by 4. This drops you to 11 in the initiative order, so you would get to act again in the same round; what ought to happen is that since I have moved ahead of you I can get a second action before you can act again.
Like Matthew said, if you weanted to make a houserule, you can. However, initiative is static after the first round unless you delay or ready like Eridan said.
Those are all good points. I had figured as much. Would be an interesting houserule... but not interesting enough for me to give it a try.