Ah, the grand argument over who goes first in combat.

I’ve been around the hobby for many, many years now. I think I’ve seen as many ways to do this as there are games in some cases. I’ll go through the most well-known ones using a fantasy D20 game as my example since that’s the one most of us know best.

  • Flip a coin: Heads- (Or Odd) Players go first. Tails- (Or Even) GM creatures, NPCs, etc go first.
  • 1d6 By Side. Highest roll Players or GM goes first.
  • 1d6 Unmodified individual. Lots of ties with this. Roll off or highest DEX.
  • 1d8 By Side. Same as 1d6, fewer ties.
  • 1d8 Individual. It’s unusual. I’ve seen it in one game. Sometimes 1d8 + DEX Mod.
  • 1d10 By Side: Same as 1d6. Far fewer ties. Players sometimes roll off amongst themselves.
  • 1d10 + Weapon Speed (Or Casting Time) – DEX. (Otherwise known as Speed Factor Initiative.)  This was popularized by a fantasy game in the 1980’s which I shan’t name at present.  The object of this system was to roll low. It made dual weapon fighting and multiple weapon attacks move so smoothly.
  • 1d12? I don’t recall exactly what game, but I’m sure someone has done it.
  • Everyone’s favorite. Everyone roll 1d20 + DEX. Roll high. Variants include rerolling every round.
  • Everyone’s favorite by side. Tends to be all-or-nothing. Fewer ties.
  • Everyone’s favorite only alternating between PCs and GM characters/creatures.

More recently there are a few new variants floating around, without getting into every other game know to man that isn’t d20 Fantasy:
Playing Cards- Aces high, Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs or whatever the GM declares go first. By side or by individuals. Honestly not sure about this one? Maybe it works.

Action Point Pools- Players go first, BUT the GM gets opportunities to act/react depending on what the characters do. It’s a newer concept and I want to play around with it a bit before I say too much.
– Variant: Players and GM have action pools using poker chips and cash in a chip/pass it to the other side when they wish to act. Highest pool starts the round.

Initiative as an Ability Score. I’ve toyed with this idea. It works for other games. Can also be doubled up with Perception as an Ability Score.

Initiative as a Skill. Similar to the Ability Score version. Works for Essence20 pretty well. Might take away from other more needed skills. Does strange things in Pathfinder 2E and the like.

Initiative as a Feat. Seems like an okay addition to the d20 Individual system. Can also be worked into group initiative systems. (Characters with Init feat give advantage to the group roll or get to act ahead of other players.)

Standing Initiative. Players roll at the beginning of the Campaign/Adventure/Session. Everyone sits in initiative order and play proceeds in and out of combat.


What I prefer.

I want to play around more with the Shadowdark RPG version of Standing Initiative. I used to use d20 Individual initiative by combat. I think the idea of moving players around and using the same turn order out of combat. I think it offers some consistency. It also keeps players from shouting over one another.

Otherwise, I like that one from Ye Game That Shan’t Be Named 2nd Edition. I miss Weapon Speed Factor and Casting Times. Unfortunately, modern publishers don’t use this system and it died in the early 2000s. I don’t have the time to retool a more modern edition or game to use it.

I say the same thing every time I write one of these articles.

Please do what works best for you and your table. Some people don’t even dice their initiative. (Gasp!) They just decide who’s going based on what’s happening at the table. Some players get along with one another that freakin well. Amazing!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope your holiday season is bright. I appreciate you.