There's an age-old problem for games:Who goes first?
What comes next?
I don't know, says the designer.
Turn order, first player advantage, and last player advantage are serious design hurtles for games, and RPGs are no different. Like our good friend Han Solo, whoever shoots first usually wins; so it's important to have a system that works, and works well.
Luckily, every RPG designer has had to think about it at some point in time (assuming their game has combat), and we have a huge variety of options because of it. They come in all shapes and sizes, from literally no turn order (e.g. Apocalypse World), to complex speed rating systems (e.g. Shadowrun). From my browsing, I'd say that actually, almost all of them work. Which is rather a bummer when trying to steal the best ideas *cough cough* I mean build upon the foundation of others.
So it once again comes down to the game-specific feel. For Hostargo, I want it to be quick. So action points, rotating first player tokens, time wheels, and initiative rounds are all out. I also want it to be as simple as possible, so specific turn order systems are also out. Basically, I want the action to start off with a bang, and then flow smoothly from there.
The one initiative system that I've heard a lot of agreement from others, is "team turns". Players go, then bad guys go. Rinse and repeat. Just like board games that have a simple turn-by-turn gameplay, once the game gets going, things just flow. After a while, you rarely remember who even started!
It's so simple, yet it can still start off with that intense "roll for initiative" that sings nostalgia for me. Players roll their initiative against the enemy as a whole; those that succeed get to take a turn before the enemy. Then the enemy takes their turn. Then all of the players, with those that failed their initiative roll taking their first turn at this time.
The only issue I've seen with this strategy is that if all of the players are too polite to want to go first, or all too eager and they all jump at it at once. Either way, this puts a little bit more pressure on the GM to sort things out. Fortunately I don't think it's too difficult to control. If no one is speaking up, just go around the table clockwise (you can even sit your players in "speed" order if desired). If everyone speaks up, just go around the table clockwise (or in whatever order you want). Often, I let whatever's most "in the moment" take the first go in any given round, based on the story at hand.
This is the by far the easiest initiative I've seen implemented that still has the players randomly go before/after their enemy. But my experience only goes so far... so what's YOUR favorite, most elegant initiative system?
I have always preferred to have players (and NPCs/enemies) each roll initiative to determine the order their actions take place in. Everyone declares what they are trying to do for that round, but no resolutions are dealt with until after all actions are declared. I then have things move in the order noted.
ReplyDeleteSince most games put a single action at 6 seconds, I work with the idea that you can get a vague idea of what the person next to you is doing but aren't going to be able to know their outcome until after those six seconds has passed. This leads to moments where players wished they had ganged up on an enemy or wished they had spread their attacks more thanks to a massive success from the first person striking, but it also leads to some interesting and very realistic results.
To me, it is the fairest way to resolve initiative and has the least opportunity for unintentional cheating. Let's be honest, how many players have you met who will attack an enemy they know has already died that round just because that was their intended target anyway? Myself aside, much to the ire of some of my play partners, I know of none. Logically, you shouldn't be able to shift targets mid-swing in the span of mere seconds and still be at all effective.
To me, using the randomizer lets everyone have a chance at having an advantage and making actions declared before resolution ensures that no one is able to take unfair advantage of OOC knowledge. If the person running the game applies the results well, it can actually feel more epic. Example: You're facing down three enemies and your team all declares to attack the most impressive looking of the bunch. The very first person gets some sort of amazing roll that pierces the man's heart. The remaining three members of your party all get stuck striking what they know OOCly is already dead, but roll well and each strikes with blade or spell. The remaining two enemies watch as the very first round of combat sees two swords go through their largest ally and a halberd nearly remove his head... then he bursts into flames. Morale roll and the remaining two leave behind only a yellow puddle to mark that they had once stood their ground.