It has been a very long time since I have played DnD (I am a master of first edition rules, so jumping to 5e is a bit of a leap). One new concept is getting to me. Mostly it is the relatively vague discussion in the PHb. Initiative. To quote:
"Initiative
"Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order. The DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same time.
"The DM ranks the combatants in order from the one with the highest Dexterity check total to the one with the lowest. This is the order (called the initiative order) in which they act during each round. The initiative order remains the same from round to round."
What, exactly is a dexterity check total? I am guessing it is Dex+ d20 roll. But, of course, that confuses me. If I understand the dex check, rolling a d20 against dex makes it harder for individuals with higher dex to make the roll. When it should be simpler. Or is Dex check rolling (20-dex) or better (14 dex would need to roll 6 or better). All this confusion aside, all I really need to know is what, exactly, is a "dexterity check."
Please respond ASAP. I have a game starting at 9:30 ET tonight.
Initiative has been much simplified for 5th edition.
Everyone rolls initiative once at the start of the fight and you don't re-roll each round any more.
Basically, everyone involved in combat rolls a d20 and adds their initiative modifier (this is their dex penalty/bonus unless they have feats or abilities that modify initiative).
You then rank them in order and off you go.
There are a few tricks that DMs use to help speed things along - I use carboard tokens. I write the name of each player character on a token and then "minions" and "boss" on other tokens. When initiative is rolled, I get one of the players to place these in order and we use that to track initiative during the combat.
Thank y'all. I got it now. If necessary, I am gonna be doing marks on map for positions, when needed. This game will be 4 or 5 friends on Skype, all involved are old time dnders getting back for a visit down memory lane. I am a decent story teller, so we should get the game flowing fairly well. Mostly I am learning the modifications. AC is easy to understand, as is... THAC10 (as opposed to the old THAC0). The game tonight is making me nervous mostly because... it is the first time in MANY years I have DMed... I am sure that after one or two sessions, I will be over that.
Oh... as to player keeping track of list and initiatives, that is an old tradition in our group, so no problem there.
SO I have an interesting question here. SO playing a fighter and I had a +2 init all the way to Lv6 but when I went to lv 7 my init went to +4. Nothing ells was changed besides just adding the level. So my question here is how did this happen? Dex mod is still +2 and again like I said I did not add anything. In fact I built a second character in the exact build so I could see where or what I did to make this happen and when it happened was when I change the LV from 6 to 7 then checked the sheet If you want you can check it out here -> Hawkin
SO I have an interesting question here. SO playing a fighter and I had a +2 init all the way to Lv6 but when I went to lv 7 my init went to +4. Nothing ells was changed besides just adding the level. So my question here is how did this happen? Dex mod is still +2 and again like I said I did not add anything. In fact I built a second character in the exact build so I could see where or what I did to make this happen and when it happened was when I change the LV from 6 to 7 then checked the sheet If you want you can check it out here -> Hawkin
It's from your "Remarkable Athlete" ability. It allows you to add half your proficiency bonus to any ability check (Str, Dex or Con) that doesn't use your proficiency. Nobody has proficiency on Initiative (that I'm aware of) and it is a Dex check so you get +2 to it at level 7.
SO I have an interesting question here. SO playing a fighter and I had a +2 init all the way to Lv6 but when I went to lv 7 my init went to +4. Nothing ells was changed besides just adding the level. So my question here is how did this happen? Dex mod is still +2 and again like I said I did not add anything. In fact I built a second character in the exact build so I could see where or what I did to make this happen and when it happened was when I change the LV from 6 to 7 then checked the sheet If you want you can check it out here -> Hawkin
It's from your "Remarkable Athlete" ability. It allows you to add half your proficiency bonus to any ability check (Str, Dex or Con) that doesn't use your proficiency. Nobody has proficiency on Initiative (that I'm aware of) and it is a Dex check so you get +2 to it at level 7.
But his proficiency would be +3 at that point, so the bonus to initiative would be just +1. What's the other +1?
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Half rounded up. Half of 3 is 1.5, which you round up to 2
Unless stated otherwise, you always round down in D&D. Half of 3 would be 1 (1.5 rounded down)
I believe they're talking about Remarkable Athlete, which gives you this bonus:
'Starting at 7th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus.'
So you'd get a +2 bonus. If it's Jack of all trades you're talking about, then it's a +1, since:
Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.
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So, I just made a Level 14 Goliath Gunslinger Fighter. My Dex mod is +5, however my Initiative mod is +10, and I don't know why that is. May someone please help me understand this?
So, I just made a Level 14 Goliath Gunslinger Fighter. My Dex mod is +5, however my Initiative mod is +10, and I don't know why that is. May someone please help me understand this?
Because of this:
Quickdraw
When you reach 7th level, you add your proficiency bonus to your initiative. You can also stow a firearm, then draw another firearm as a single object interaction on your turn.
Is this happening to anybody else? Suddenly, when I roll Initiative, I get a number, followed by ".15". I don't know why I would merit a random percentage bonus (whatever that would be), but it doesn't seem random at all: it's always ".15".
This just started happening, though I haven't made any changes to the character, so pretty baffled. Any suggestions on how to correct this situation? Thanks in advance.
It's adding your Dexterity score, divided by 100, to your initiative as a Tie-Breaker.
If you have a Dexterity of 15(+2), roll 17, and get an initiative score of 19 .... while I have a Dexterity of 8(-1), roll 20, and get an Initiative score of 19 .... which of us goes first? :)
Answer: you have a 15.15 ... I have a 15.08 ... 15.15 > 15.08 ... YOU GO FIRST. :)
(I assume there's a setting somewhere to turn that feature on and off.)
It has been a very long time since I have played DnD (I am a master of first edition rules, so jumping to 5e is a bit of a leap). One new concept is getting to me. Mostly it is the relatively vague discussion in the PHb. Initiative. To quote:
"Initiative
"Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order. The DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same time.
"The DM ranks the combatants in order from the one with the highest Dexterity check total to the one with the lowest. This is the order (called the initiative order) in which they act during each round. The initiative order remains the same from round to round."
What, exactly is a dexterity check total? I am guessing it is Dex+ d20 roll. But, of course, that confuses me. If I understand the dex check, rolling a d20 against dex makes it harder for individuals with higher dex to make the roll. When it should be simpler. Or is Dex check rolling (20-dex) or better (14 dex would need to roll 6 or better). All this confusion aside, all I really need to know is what, exactly, is a "dexterity check."
Please respond ASAP. I have a game starting at 9:30 ET tonight.
The Dexterity check is the result of a d20 roll + the DEX modifier. But for initiative, there is no DC to compare.
The highest DEX check go first, and so on in the order of checks.
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D&D Beyond FoundersInitiative has been much simplified for 5th edition.
Everyone rolls initiative once at the start of the fight and you don't re-roll each round any more.
Basically, everyone involved in combat rolls a d20 and adds their initiative modifier (this is their dex penalty/bonus unless they have feats or abilities that modify initiative).
You then rank them in order and off you go.
There are a few tricks that DMs use to help speed things along - I use carboard tokens. I write the name of each player character on a token and then "minions" and "boss" on other tokens. When initiative is rolled, I get one of the players to place these in order and we use that to track initiative during the combat.
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Thank y'all. I got it now. If necessary, I am gonna be doing marks on map for positions, when needed. This game will be 4 or 5 friends on Skype, all involved are old time dnders getting back for a visit down memory lane. I am a decent story teller, so we should get the game flowing fairly well. Mostly I am learning the modifications. AC is easy to understand, as is... THAC10 (as opposed to the old THAC0). The game tonight is making me nervous mostly because... it is the first time in MANY years I have DMed... I am sure that after one or two sessions, I will be over that.
Oh... as to player keeping track of list and initiatives, that is an old tradition in our group, so no problem there.
SO I have an interesting question here. SO playing a fighter and I had a +2 init all the way to Lv6 but when I went to lv 7 my init went to +4. Nothing ells was changed besides just adding the level.
If you want you can check it out here -> Hawkin
So my question here is how did this happen? Dex mod is still +2 and again like I said I did not add anything. In fact I built a second character in the exact build so I could see where or what I did to make this happen and when it happened was when I change the LV from 6 to 7 then checked the sheet
It's from your "Remarkable Athlete" ability. It allows you to add half your proficiency bonus to any ability check (Str, Dex or Con) that doesn't use your proficiency. Nobody has proficiency on Initiative (that I'm aware of) and it is a Dex check so you get +2 to it at level 7.
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But his proficiency would be +3 at that point, so the bonus to initiative would be just +1. What's the other +1?
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Remarkable Athlete specifically says to round up after halving.
Mega Yahtzee Thread:
Highest 41: brocker2001 (#11,285).
Yahtzee of 2's: Emmber (#36,161).
Lowest 9: JoeltheWalrus (#312), Emmber (#12,505) and Dertinus (#20,953).
Ah... Thought it was like Jack of All Trades.
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Hi there. Taking advantage that you are already talking about ini. What about the Ranger proficiency on Dex checks, does It applies to ini dex checks?
No, only on Saving Throws.
Half rounded up. Half of 3 is 1.5, which you round up to 2
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I believe they're talking about Remarkable Athlete, which gives you this bonus:
'Starting at 7th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus (round up) to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus.'
So you'd get a +2 bonus. If it's Jack of all trades you're talking about, then it's a +1, since:
Starting at 2nd level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make that doesn’t already include your proficiency bonus.
Subclass Evaluations So Far:
Sorcerer
Warlock
My statblock. Fear me!
Hosted a battle between the Cult of Sedge and the Forum Counters here(Done now). I_Love_Tarrasques has won the fight, scoring a victory for the fiendish Moderators.
So, I just made a Level 14 Goliath Gunslinger Fighter. My Dex mod is +5, however my Initiative mod is +10, and I don't know why that is. May someone please help me understand this?
Because of this:
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Ah, that makes sense. Thank you
Take a look at Roll20.
It's a free Virtual Tabletop, and it has decent D&D 5E support.
Is this happening to anybody else? Suddenly, when I roll Initiative, I get a number, followed by ".15". I don't know why I would merit a random percentage bonus (whatever that would be), but it doesn't seem random at all: it's always ".15".
This just started happening, though I haven't made any changes to the character, so pretty baffled. Any suggestions on how to correct this situation? Thanks in advance.
It's adding your Dexterity score, divided by 100, to your initiative as a Tie-Breaker.
If you have a Dexterity of 15(+2), roll 17, and get an initiative score of 19 .... while I have a Dexterity of 8(-1), roll 20, and get an Initiative score of 19 .... which of us goes first? :)
Answer: you have a 15.15 ... I have a 15.08 ... 15.15 > 15.08 ... YOU GO FIRST. :)
(I assume there's a setting somewhere to turn that feature on and off.)