This is part of an ongoing series of posts about Initiative (mostly in Dungeons and Dragons, but most of this can be used in any TTRPG). I have a massive PDF I planned to sell, but I’ve decided to post it all here for free. I chose this next type of initiative by roiling a die.
This system has each participant roll a die (or two), and then a die is rolled every turn to see who goes next.
You Did What Last Round, Simple
This is a another pretty simple system. Every participant rolls a d20. You can either sue the raw result, or have them roll and determine initiative “normally”. Then, the DM rolls a die, and if the numbers match, that participant goes first. Here is an example:
Wizard:18
Fighter: 16
Druid: 16
Ranger: 8
Monk: 6
Dragon:16
Kobold archers: 12
Kobold warriors: 10
At the start of the round, the DM rolls a d20. If the die roll matches any result, that participant goes first. If not, the DM rolls again. Let’s say an “8” is rolled. The ranger goes, then that player rolls a die until the number is matched. A 7 is rolled, so they roll again, and get a 16. This is a tie! See below for how to handle ties under options……but let’s pretend the dragon goes. The DM rolls an 18. That number has come up, so the DM rolls again (see below for another option). Continue until everyone has gone. Then either re-roll for the next round, or keep the existing numbers.
Options:
Option: Highest goes if no match: If there is no match, instead of rolling again, the highest score that has not yet gone goes.
Option: Just let someone go over and over: Instead of re-rolling if someone has already gone, too bad, they get to go again! Basically, there are no rounds (you’d need to track 8 turns in the above example to determine how long a spell lasts or condition or whatever).
Option: Everyone rolls two dice, until they have two different numbers, this reduces the likelihood you have to re-roll. You could let someone act twice in a round using this system if you want!
Optional ways to break ties:
Only one of the participants goes, and you roll again………..OR…..everyone at that number goes in some order (see below).
Everyone in the tie rolls off to see who goes first.
Players, then monsters (in an order chosen by the side)
Why You Might or Might Not Like These Systems
You might like these if:
You like randomness and increased tension!
You might not like these if:
Meh, I don’t love this system. I’m not sure what it REALLY achieves that others don’t. But, you might not like it because it is random, or it isn’t exciting enough, or it doesn’t reward fast participants enough.
Conclusion
Not my favorite systems.
The image is the cover from the OLD magazine, Imagine, issue 9.