Is this a thing in AL? I'm new to AL so I'm still wading my way through absorbing all the rules.
The DM I'm playing with has initiative order for everything. Social encounters go turn by turn, you get cut off if you attempt to interject. If there is an NPC you literally use the initiative order and everyone individually questions them like you lined up single file.
In exploration moving through anything with a grid we go turn by turn most of the time with everyone just taking the dash action through empty areas. This is usually pretty tedious and takes a long time to get anywhere.
It feel really off because takes away any interaction between PCs. You you don't have a chance to have a back and forth conversation because it's in turn order. In exploration it feels takes away any chance of planning with the party, or attempts at teamwork.
The game feels super bogged down like this and prevents interactions between PCs or anything creative that might not be labeled as a 1 action on a character sheet.
Is this a common thing in AL a rule in AL or is it just this table?
I admire their attempt at ensuring that everyone gets a turn instead of just letting That Guy™ hog all the attention, but this sounds excessive.
While I don't like this in concept, I can see why a DM running a game for 12 players would put such into place. Back in the early days of AL I ran games at a local game store to hlep the owners, which means no players were turned away.
In this game, sometimes TEAMWORK means ONE GUY BOSSING AROUND everyone what they should do.
As a player, please be mindful of your own behavior at the table. And as a DM, please notice this behavior and implement structured turns when it happens.
In this game, sometimes TEAMWORK means ONE GUY BOSSING AROUND everyone what they should do.
As a player, please be mindful of your own behavior at the table. And as a DM, please notice this behavior and implement structured turns when it happens.
This wasn't in reaction to anyone bossing anyone. It wasn't beceause of anyones behavior at the table, it was the default.
In this game, sometimes TEAMWORK means ONE GUY BOSSING AROUND everyone what they should do.
As a player, please be mindful of your own behavior at the table. And as a DM, please notice this behavior and implement structured turns when it happens.
This wasn't in reaction to anyone bossing anyone. It wasn't beceause of anyones behavior at the table, it was the default.
As mentioned above ... it isn't an AL thing ... it is a DM style thing.
If I had to guess, and it is only a guess ... I would say that the DM involved in running this game had encountered other groups, either his own home games, paid games or possibly just other random AL groups in which some players did attempt, either intentionally or otherwise, to dominate the table and not allow all the players to contribute.
Perhaps in this situation the DM found it challenging to confront the player who wasn't playing nice with others ... perhaps the player didn't listen to or understand the DMs comments, or perhaps they just didn't want to adapt their obstructive playstyle to suit the other players or perhaps the DM just really didn't like confronting other players about not playing well with others.
As a result, perhaps the DM decided that they would enforce an initiative rotation in order to ensure everyone was given an equal turn in such a way as any folks who might not wish to play that way would have little recourse.
I could see such a scenario and such a response occurring in a real game setting but it is complete speculation about what could have motivated the DM to take a relatively extreme view on enforcing every player getting a turn. Usually, such measures are not required ... but it is certainly not related to the rules for Adventurers League games.
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Is this a thing in AL? I'm new to AL so I'm still wading my way through absorbing all the rules.
The DM I'm playing with has initiative order for everything. Social encounters go turn by turn, you get cut off if you attempt to interject. If there is an NPC you literally use the initiative order and everyone individually questions them like you lined up single file.
In exploration moving through anything with a grid we go turn by turn most of the time with everyone just taking the dash action through empty areas. This is usually pretty tedious and takes a long time to get anywhere.
It feel really off because takes away any interaction between PCs. You you don't have a chance to have a back and forth conversation because it's in turn order. In exploration it feels takes away any chance of planning with the party, or attempts at teamwork.
The game feels super bogged down like this and prevents interactions between PCs or anything creative that might not be labeled as a 1 action on a character sheet.
Is this a common thing in AL a rule in AL or is it just this table?
No. This not an AL thing. I can see initiative being used in a social skill challenge.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
No. It isn't an AL thing ... it is a DM style thing.
I admire their attempt at ensuring that everyone gets a turn instead of just letting That Guy™ hog all the attention, but this sounds excessive.
Initiative for Social interaction based on CHA instead of DEX
While I don't like this in concept, I can see why a DM running a game for 12 players would put such into place. Back in the early days of AL I ran games at a local game store to hlep the owners, which means no players were turned away.
In this game, sometimes TEAMWORK means ONE GUY BOSSING AROUND everyone what they should do.
As a player, please be mindful of your own behavior at the table. And as a DM, please notice this behavior and implement structured turns when it happens.
This wasn't in reaction to anyone bossing anyone. It wasn't beceause of anyones behavior at the table, it was the default.
As mentioned above ... it isn't an AL thing ... it is a DM style thing.
If I had to guess, and it is only a guess ... I would say that the DM involved in running this game had encountered other groups, either his own home games, paid games or possibly just other random AL groups in which some players did attempt, either intentionally or otherwise, to dominate the table and not allow all the players to contribute.
Perhaps in this situation the DM found it challenging to confront the player who wasn't playing nice with others ... perhaps the player didn't listen to or understand the DMs comments, or perhaps they just didn't want to adapt their obstructive playstyle to suit the other players or perhaps the DM just really didn't like confronting other players about not playing well with others.
As a result, perhaps the DM decided that they would enforce an initiative rotation in order to ensure everyone was given an equal turn in such a way as any folks who might not wish to play that way would have little recourse.
I could see such a scenario and such a response occurring in a real game setting but it is complete speculation about what could have motivated the DM to take a relatively extreme view on enforcing every player getting a turn. Usually, such measures are not required ... but it is certainly not related to the rules for Adventurers League games.