Initiative

[cbarchuk]

Personalized OSR-Esque game here, but I absolutely dig either group initiative or no initiative whatsoever (ranged attacks first, everything else second, so if you move and then shoot, you get lumped in with everything else).

Having to go step by step is a chore and only adds nothing but padding to the game (and waiting for your turn sucks, let's be real here), so I just give my players a time limit for everyone to tell me what they're going to do (and roll their intended dice) and bam, 4-5 minute, high-tension combats.

Ah so you basically do the group initiative but each player takes their full turn as opposed to phases. But ranged goes first. Does that include spells?

[elmarcotote123]

Ranged Attacks (weapon attacks) go first (players and monsters). Everything else goes second (players and monsters). So mutual knockouts are always a possibility.

[cbarchuk]

Ranged Attacks (weapon attacks) go first (players and monsters). Everything else goes second (players and monsters). So mutual knockouts are always a possibility.

Nice. Super simple.

[cbarchuk]

Ranged Attacks (weapon attacks) go first (players and monsters). Everything else goes second (players and monsters). So mutual knockouts are always a possibility.

Let me just make sure I understand you as a question or two came to mind:

Each side rolls a d6. Let's say players win. Now any player with ranged attacks that's not moving goes first followed by the rest of the players. Then monsters with ranged attacks would go first followed by the rest of the monsters. Sound right?

The reason I'm asking is it sounds like monsters AND players with ranged attacks will go first regardless of who wins initiative.

[elmarcotote123]

Oh no, I'm referring to dice-roll less initiative. I simply state that combat has begun and the players must tell me what they want to do, then I play out the scene with the order of ranged weapon attacks first, everything else second.

If I were to use die-roll initiative I'd simply grant players table order initiative, and have the monsters move during their "turn" in any way I see fit.