The Repository: Initiative Mechanics

[Zinegata]

Who goes first? That's usually the first question asked at the start of a tabletop gaming session. This thread is designed to help budding game designers pick or develop their own initiative mechanics.

Now, this is a "Repository" thread. Meaning that we're not here to discuss which mechanics are good or bad. We're simply here to discuss what mechanics already exist.

If you have an agenda like "Dice rolling is the best way to resolve initiative!", this isn't the place for you. But if you want to share some cool new initiative mechanic you've just tried out, then by all means share!

Now, from my own personal experiences, there are two kinds of initiative mechanics: One that have random elements, and ones without. I'll try to cover a number of examples under both categories in this article:

Initiative by Random Determination

One of the simplest ways to determine "who goes first" is to use some kind of randomizer. In particular...

Dice-based randomization is very popular. The mechanic is really simple: Every player rolls a dice (or sometimes multiple dice). The player with the highest die roll goes first. The player with the second highest goes second, and so forth. If there is a tie, the tied players roll the dice again to see who among them goes ahead of the other. Even simple boardgames like Monopoly use this mechanic as it's quick and simple.

However, many games aren't satisfied with just rolling dice. Many games also add die-roll modifiers for their initiative roll. For example, in D&D you roll a D20 dice and then add your initiative bonus. The person with the highest total initiative score (dice roll plus modifier) goes first, and so forth. If there is a tie, the person with the highest modifer is the tiebreaker. If still tied, then they roll again.

Not all games use dice to randomly determine initiative however. Some games like Cutthroat Caverns use card-based randomization. Each player draws a card from a deck (usually numbered 1 to X, where X is the number of players). The person who drew the highest card goes first. The nice thing about card-based randomization is that there shouldn't be any ties (as initiative decks generally don't have duplicates). The problem with using cards however, is that you can't add modifiers.

Finally, there is also chit-based randomization. A chit is basically a small, square cardboard counter. It's honestly just a variant of the card-based model, meaning that there's no reason why you can't just use cards instead of chits. However, this mechanic is generally used by traditional hex-based wargames (such as A Victory Lost) which uses a ton of chits already, and it's cheaper to just print a few more chits than to print a seperate set of cards.

Chit-based randomization, is somewhat unique because initiative isn't determined all at once at the start of the game or round. Instead, players draw a chit (which usually corresponds to a particular unit - i.e. "1st Army"), performs all actions associated with that chit ("I move 1st Army to attack Kharkov"), before drawing the next one. This can offer a bit of tension to the game, because you're not entirely sure if you can follow up on your previous action, or if your opponent can get lucky and draw a chit to counter your move.

Chits that are drawn are generally not reused until until the chit pool is empty, which gives both players an idea of which units are still capable of actions in subsequent rounds. Also, all players draw from only one one chit pool. This means that one side can have multiple units act consecutively, albeit they will soon "run out of steam" and the opposing side will get consecutive actions as well.

Many games also add special chits that work differently from normal chits. For instance, the "Stavka" chit in A victory Lost activates all Soviet units on the map, instead of just one army as a regular chit does.

Initiative by Non-Random Determination

Not all games however, are satisifed with determining initiative through die rolls. For instance...

Bidding for initiative is a very popular method seen in many boardgames - i.e. Serenissima or the new Risk. Basically, you bid a certain amount of resources at the start of initiative. The player who bids the most gets to choose where they are in the initiative order. Because the bidding often involves valuable resources, determining how much to spend initiative becomes a vital part of each player's strategy.

Other games have a pre-set initiative order. For instance, in Chaos in the Old World the Khorne player always goes first, followed by Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh. This is often done if each side has unique mechanics, and that the pre-set order directly influences the game balance. For instance, Khorne goes first in Chaos in the Old World because a major objective of the Khorne player is to kill as many enemy figures as possible. If he went last, it would be much easier for him to simply follow wherever the other players summon their figures.

Similarly, initiative can be used as a catch-up mechanism, as demonstrated in the game Power Grid. In that game, the person who is "leading" (in terms of victory conditions) goes last when purchasing raw materials. The reason for this is that Power Grid has a supply and demand mechanic, wherein the prices of raw materials go up as they become scarcer, and they may even run out. By making the "leader" go last, it ensures that he/she must pay a higher price for raw materials or be forced to live without them.

Now, I'm sure there are more initiative mechanics out there. Anyone else want to share?

[PoliteNewb]

A couple others I've seen used:

--the 2nd edition AD&D Player's Option had fixed initiative...basically, there were (IIRC) 5 ranks of speed, from Very Slow to Very Fast, and you always went in that phase...so if you had a dagger, you always struck before a guy with a longsword. This actually didn't work very well for D&D, but some games (Champions, for instance) use fixed initiative fairly well.


--Godlike (WWII with superpowers) uses inherent initiative, where the speed/order of your action is determined along with the success roll. It's a dice pool system, but instead of totalling or getting hits, you try to get matches. A successful roll (a match of 2 or more dice) has 2 variables, the height (what number is shown on the dice) and the width (how many dice you have in the set)...for most actions, height determines the degree of success, while width determines the speed of the action.

So a pair of 10's is a great success, but not as fast as the moderate success of a trio of 4's.

[CCarter]

Table-cyclic initiative: go around the physical table the players are sitting on. Sometimes combined with deterministic initiative (like Dragon Warriors' characters acting in order of Reflexes score) - in which case players are seated based on their characters' Reflexes.

The "Advantage" system (Raven McCracken) - dice-based and highest dice goes first; the twist being characters roll an unmodified die for each attack they have and so characters with more attacks are likely to win initiative.

No Initiative System - popular in gamebooks like Tunnels and Trolls, Fighting Fantasy. Both sides compare attack totals and the loser takes damage. In T&T's case, some actions may break this model and resolve first (T&T uses magic, missile fire, melee combat; spell battles can use various mechanics to see which is cast first, or be declared simultaneously).

Penalty based initiative (theoretical: not sure I've ever seen this used anywhere ) - characters take a penalty on their action, highest penalty goes first.

Note 'bidding' for initiative can occur to an extent in any dice-based initiative game where characters can expend resources to increase die rolls - Edge, Willpower, etc.

[Murtak]

Initiative directly ties into action systems and should not be examined in isolation. DnD for example has you performing the entirety of your action on your first and only initiative. Shadowrun hands out initiative passes where everyone gets a turn in order of their initiative result on each pass they can act on. In Feng Shui actions have a cost that is subtracted from your initiative score. Once your new initiative score comes up it is your turn again. This should be kept in mind when talking about initiative.

Regarding card-based-initiative: You can totally have a distinction between fast and slow characters: Fast characters draw more cards.

[Zinegata]

Initiative directly ties into action systems and should not be examined in isolation. DnD for example has you performing the entirety of your action on your first and only initiative. Shadowrun hands out initiative passes where everyone gets a turn in order of their initiative result on each pass they can act on. In Feng Shui actions have a cost that is subtracted from your initiative score. Once your new initiative score comes up it is your turn again. This should be kept in mind when talking about initiative.

Regarding card-based-initiative: You can totally have a distinction between fast and slow characters: Fast characters draw more cards.

Hmm, care to elaborate these systems? I think what you're describing is another category of initiative mechanics - wherein actors can have their number called multiple types each round.

Again, the point of the thread isn't really to examine or critique, but rather to simply describe what's there.

I think the mechanics you describe sound very interesting and it may be useable in a lot of games.

[Murtak]

Hmm, care to elaborate to these systems? I think what you're describing is another category of initiative mechanics - wherein actors can have their number called multiple types each round.

Feng Shui:
Your initiative roll determines your initiative score. The character with the highest score acts first. Each action has a cost, which is subtracted from the characters initiative score. After the action is resolved (and the initiative score reduced) the next highest character gets to act. This may be the original player, if he had a particularly high initiative score or low action cost.

Shadowrun gives you a (rolled for) initiative score and a (fixed) number of passes for each character. Everyone acts during the first pass, on their score. After that, everyone who still has a pass left acts again, in the same order. Repeat until no one has passes left.

Again, the point of the thread isn't really to examine or critique, but rather to simply describe what's there.

I'm not doing critique, but initiative rules are just a way of determining who goes first. Some of these systems can be tied to alternating actions, some can not, which one should be aware of when talking about initiative.

[RobbyPants]

--the 2nd edition AD&D Player's Option had fixed initiative...basically, there were (IIRC) 5 ranks of speed, from Very Slow to Very Fast, and you always went in that phase...so if you had a dagger, you always struck before a guy with a longsword. This actually didn't work very well for D&D, but some games (Champions, for instance) use fixed initiative fairly well.

It worked slightly different than that, but I used the system the last couple years I played 2E.

In this system, each side rolled initiative instead of each combatant. If you rolled a natural 1, your side acted one phase quicker. If you rolled a natural 10, your side acted one phase slower.

There was also a sixth phase (that didn't always occur) for special situations like the second attack granted from a Scimitar of Speed or from Haste. Also there were odd penalties for holding your action or changing your mind. In this system, you had to state your intentions at the beginning of the round, and if the situation changed, you were typically penalized for changing your action. Sometimes it just involved acting in this sixth phase.

I liked it at the time because it was different, but it was an easy system to game. Basically, you drop one point of damage per average and act one phase earlier, so there was little reason to wield a weapon slower than what your base size's speed was.

[ETortoise]

In Burning Wheel there is a combination between simultaneous action and a bid system.

In combat players script their actions secretly, after everyone has finished the actions are revealed, compared and resolved. (So if I scripted a strike for my first action and the GM scripted a block we would both roll weapon skills)
Players can spend some of their actions during an exchange to have their first action happen before their opponent's.

[Orca]

Penalty based initiative (theoretical: not sure I've ever seen this used anywhere ) - characters take a penalty on their action, highest penalty goes first.

Rolemaster Standard System (RMSS) used something close to this - you chose which one of three phases to act in & got a -20, zero modifier or +10 to your action depending on which phase you were acting in.

[Zinegata]

Tried out a new neat mechanic from the boardgame Bootleggers.

It is a modified card-based initiative model.

There is a deck of 75 cards, numbered 1 to 75. They are divided into three categories - Green (1 to 25), Yellow (26 to 50), and Red (51 to 75).

At the start of the game, you draw a number of initiative cards equal to the number of turns in the game. Each player gets the same number of Green, Yellow, and Red Cards (3, 3, and 2 respectively for an 8 turn game)

At the start of every turn, each player chooses one of his eight initiative cards to play. Turn order is determined based on who played the highest initiative card for that turn. This card is then discarded.

Depending on the card played, the player must also pay a certain amount of money. For instance, Green cards generally cost 0 or $1000, Yellows cost $1K-2K, and Reds cost $2K-$4K.

The system is neat as it imposes tension on the players. "Should I play my high-init cards now, or save it for later?".

[angelfromanotherpin]

Penalty based initiative (theoretical: not sure I've ever seen this used anywhere ) - characters take a penalty on their action, highest penalty goes first.

Jadeclaw used a combination of this and regular rolls. You had an initiative roll, but you were also choosing to strike First, Sure/Strong, or Awkward; and that choice determined which pass your initiative acted on. Which is to say, an Initiative of 4 that chose First would go before an Initiative of 12 that chose Sure. Awkward wasn't so much a choice as a 'I have a two-handed weapon and only one available hand,' deal.

[Josh_Kablack]

Okay, some of these are more about turn order than raw initiative, but I am having a hard time seeing the precise distinctions.

• HG Wells' Little Wars used a randomized initiative per player, but unit initiative was left entirely at the mercy of a player's focus and organization. That is to say each turn, each player got a fixed number of artillery shots and then had 10 minutes of realtime to move as many of their units as they could. This led to units frequently being overlooked, forgotten, left in the open, and similar situations, which provided a reasonable simulation of the chaos of actual war.
• Teenagers From Outer Space and a bunch of boardgames and card games use Seating-Based-Initiative. You pick a player to go first (using any of the other methods in this thread), and then play proceeds clockwise (or counterclockwise) around the table. The main advantage of this is its simplicity and predictability. The main drawback of this is its simplicity and predictability. However this does not need to be one hundred percent static - for example: in the Jyhad/VtES card game there were cards that forced players to swap seats effectively providing alterations in the turn order.
• I forget the name of the system, but there was a flash-in-the pan mecha game in the 90s that used what I'm gonna call volleyball initiative. The idea was that one side in a battle had Advantage. If you had Advantage, you could make attacks, assaults and other offensive maneuvers. If you did not, you could only take actions, like taking cover, retreating, and other defensive actions. After each turn, there was a semi-random determination of which side would have the advantage the following turn - in which the side that currently had Advantage was at a penalty that grew substantially for each turn they had previously had Advantage. The idea here was probably to simulate an ebb and flow of battle, while also reducing the decision choices for each side during a turn.

[TheWorid]

[*]I forget the name of the system, but there was a flash-in-the pan mecha game in the 90s that used what I'm gonna call volleyball initiative. The idea was that one side in a battle had Advantage. If you had Advantage, you could make attacks, assaults and other offensive maneuvers. If you did not, you could only take actions, like taking cover, retreating, and other defensive actions. After each turn, there was a semi-random determination of which side would have the advantage the following turn - in which the side that currently had Advantage was at a penalty that grew substantially for each turn they had previously had Advantage. The idea here was probably to simulate an ebb and flow of battle, while also reducing the decision choices for each side during a turn.[/list]

I believe the name of the system that you're thinking of is "Mecha!", the book for which I have sitting next to me. During the "Control Phase" at the beginning of a turn, each player rolls 1d10, getting a +2 on the roll if he didn't win Control last turn. Whoever gets the higher result gets to make offensive actions. If you lose two control phases in a row, then you automatically get it without a roll.

[TheWorid]

In Ninja Burger, you go around the table, with the honor of sitting on to the left of the GM (called the "Seat of Lightning Swiftness"; to the right is called the "Seat of Fatty Goodness). Who gets to sit there is determined by who has the highest Extraneous attribute, but since revealing your stats to other people is "dishonorable" and makes you lose a point of honor, you try to avoid having to reveal it and instead engage in tests of speed like seeing who can run to get the GM a drink first.

[Zinegata]

Okay, some of these are more about turn order than raw initiative, but I am having a hard time seeing the precise distinctions.

To clarify, it does not have to be purely about initiative, as long as it's a cool mechanic related to ordering and init. Thank you for contributing.

[CCarter]

Here's another weird one, from a friends homebrew game years back (it was a Waterworld inspired, roll-a-bucket-of-d20s-and-count-the-successes system - so I guess I call this Waterworld initiative)

Each round everyone rolls off, and the highest roller gets an action. No one else gets an action that round. However, each round you fail to take 1st place and do anything, you get a accumulative bonus to your initiative roll.