Sorry this question is so late, but what do you guys think about, for planned encounters, rolling initiative of the enemies beforehand so that every enemy could have a varied initiative?
It's not so much the time it takes to roll for it, the issue is often how much longer it takes to run a combat if each enemy is activating at different times. Running a combat with 8 monsters in 2 groups of 4, which activate at initiative A and B, is much quicker than running the same combat with all the monsters at their own initiative.
Pre-rolling for planned encounters though is a good option, and can speed thngs up. You can also pre-roll for the players (IE start the session with "can I get 5 initiative rolls from each of you for this session") to smooth out the flow into combat.
I preroll initiative on about half the combats to help me get organized, but I group the combatants so that I run the monsters as a group or as large groups.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Bit of a late add to the discussion, and a bit of a suggested fudge by the DM but what I've started doing myself of late is if the party is engaged in a big battle with lots of moving parts (a boss or even bossy monster or two and other lesser or miniony kinds of things) I roll initiative for the boss(es) separately and if it's a higher level battle, where the characters can have init bonuses in the double digits, I give the monsters advantage on these rolls. After placing the PCs and bosses in order using this I simply place the lesser threats or minions in and around the combat order where there are gaps, trying as much as possible to put them between PCs so that there's more of a back and forth.
I restrict myself on these placements to the highest possible init roll the minion could achieve, which still (I think) respects that PCs have invested in boosting their init bonuses themselves: in these higher level combats the PCs will routinely roll initiative in the mid-to high 20s, and that should be rewarded: in the case of a typical miniony kind of creature (CR 1/2 to CR 2) this means the highest I would place them would be 21 or 22 in most cases.
It's a bit of a 'fudge' but does make for more interesting and dynamic combat with monsters spread out more evenly and not in lumps; it saves a LOT of time for me rolling all those initiatives; and yet still respects PCs abilities. I think.
For planned encounters I pre-roll initiative. I usually do it in groups, as many others have said. Either based on the monster type, or their organization in the battle. For example:
1 ogre, 3 orcs, and 5 goblins - each type gets one roll
3 goblins with swords, 3 goblins with bows in the bushes, 3 goblins with spears on the cliff - each squad gets a roll
1 boss and minions - boss gets one roll. Minions get one roll, or they get grouped in squads.
I have done fights where every creature has its own roll. I thought it was good for spreading out the action economy and made for more intersting tactics. Some players liked it. Some hated it. Big battles did take a lot longer. I don't do it often anymore except for small fights with 2-3 opponents.
One other trick I use a lot, if the fight isn't very important or I didn't have time to plan it, is to just use a 'passive initiative' essentially. Set the monster's initiative at 10+DEX. If they have some kind of advantage, add a few points. It puts them around the middle of the turn order, is super easy, and no one seems to care.
If I'm running multiple monsters (say, more than 4/5) I'll split them into 2-3 groups, just to get them dispersed throught the initiative. This serves to help give the encounter the *feel* of more enemies than there are. Rolling individual initiative for *each* monster doest get tiresome at larger quantities.
I will try this but it definitely seems like it will save time. thank you so much
If it's especially important for you that certain a certain type of monster go earlier in the initative, make a note to yourself that the initiative for that monster should be at least a particular number (usually at least 15) or add X to the initiative roll. This makes sense against tough enemies that you want the party to feel is actually dangerous.
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It's not so much the time it takes to roll for it, the issue is often how much longer it takes to run a combat if each enemy is activating at different times. Running a combat with 8 monsters in 2 groups of 4, which activate at initiative A and B, is much quicker than running the same combat with all the monsters at their own initiative.
Pre-rolling for planned encounters though is a good option, and can speed thngs up. You can also pre-roll for the players (IE start the session with "can I get 5 initiative rolls from each of you for this session") to smooth out the flow into combat.
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Yes,
I preroll initiative on about half the combats to help me get organized, but I group the combatants so that I run the monsters as a group or as large groups.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Bit of a late add to the discussion, and a bit of a suggested fudge by the DM but what I've started doing myself of late is if the party is engaged in a big battle with lots of moving parts (a boss or even bossy monster or two and other lesser or miniony kinds of things) I roll initiative for the boss(es) separately and if it's a higher level battle, where the characters can have init bonuses in the double digits, I give the monsters advantage on these rolls. After placing the PCs and bosses in order using this I simply place the lesser threats or minions in and around the combat order where there are gaps, trying as much as possible to put them between PCs so that there's more of a back and forth.
I restrict myself on these placements to the highest possible init roll the minion could achieve, which still (I think) respects that PCs have invested in boosting their init bonuses themselves: in these higher level combats the PCs will routinely roll initiative in the mid-to high 20s, and that should be rewarded: in the case of a typical miniony kind of creature (CR 1/2 to CR 2) this means the highest I would place them would be 21 or 22 in most cases.
It's a bit of a 'fudge' but does make for more interesting and dynamic combat with monsters spread out more evenly and not in lumps; it saves a LOT of time for me rolling all those initiatives; and yet still respects PCs abilities. I think.
For planned encounters I pre-roll initiative. I usually do it in groups, as many others have said. Either based on the monster type, or their organization in the battle. For example:
1 ogre, 3 orcs, and 5 goblins - each type gets one roll
3 goblins with swords, 3 goblins with bows in the bushes, 3 goblins with spears on the cliff - each squad gets a roll
1 boss and minions - boss gets one roll. Minions get one roll, or they get grouped in squads.
I have done fights where every creature has its own roll. I thought it was good for spreading out the action economy and made for more intersting tactics. Some players liked it. Some hated it. Big battles did take a lot longer. I don't do it often anymore except for small fights with 2-3 opponents.
One other trick I use a lot, if the fight isn't very important or I didn't have time to plan it, is to just use a 'passive initiative' essentially. Set the monster's initiative at 10+DEX. If they have some kind of advantage, add a few points. It puts them around the middle of the turn order, is super easy, and no one seems to care.
I will try this but it definitely seems like it will save time. thank you so much
If it's especially important for you that certain a certain type of monster go earlier in the initative, make a note to yourself that the initiative for that monster should be at least a particular number (usually at least 15) or add X to the initiative roll. This makes sense against tough enemies that you want the party to feel is actually dangerous.