So I was recently watching some people play Bolt Action for the first time. I found their initiative system rather interesting.
For those of you who don't know. Each player gets a colored die, they put all of the dice into a bag, then they pull out the dice and if It is your color you get to go. Once everyone dice have been pulled. you reload the bag with all of the dice and go again. I thought this was a cool system because it stopped people from really being able to plan ahead. You didn't know when you would actually get to go.
I also know there are other RPG Tabletop games that do a similar thing by making you roll each round. I really hate that system, because you have to figure out the new order each time. But I was curious if anyone ever tried something like Bolt Action for a Session?
My ideas for using this would be something like this.
Each player gets a die for each point they have in their initiative, this way players with a higher initiative still have a better chance of going first. If you dice gets pulled you get to go. If your color gets pulled again, set aside until you get a color that hasn't gone yet. Once everyone gets to go. Reload the bag.
Excluding negative because I am not sure this system can handle that. You could do something like 1 die for each point in dex and anything else that gives points to initiative just adds one additional die. Yes, you could still have someone who has eight dice in the bag, but clearly, that guy wants to go first. The annoying part would be pulling out their 7 other dice. If you really want to curve that you could go a step further and have it so if someone is over 4 you half everyones dice rounded up.
Another route that might work is dropping the initiative calculation altogether. Instead, everyone gets one die. If they have anything that gives them a bonus or that gives them advantage on initiative they get 1 extra die for each thing. This way people who take feats and have class features on initiative don't feel like they are losing it. Really the only thing you would be losing out on is the bonus from dex.
Does this sound like something that would work? Any idea's on how to improve my idea? I am going to talk to my players and see if they would give it a go for one session just to see what it's like.
What if it was 1 die for every two points with a minimum of one? That way you may really only hit 6 die with characters that just dumped into their initiative. I would also probably change this for higher levels. I was really only looking into it at level 5 for now.
Though you are right negative does make it quite hard. I don't have anyone with that, so it wasn't an issue when I was thinking of this. It would make someone with a negative basically the same as someone with a +0 or +1.
Then there is advantage on initiative, which this would just throw out. I think the system could be fun and interesting. But I also think it would mean customizing how initiative is calculated too.
Excluding negative because I am not sure this system can handle that. You could do something like 1 die for each point in dex and anything else that gives points to initiative just adds one additional die. Yes, you could still have someone who has eight dice in the bag, but clearly, that guy wants to go first. The annoying part would be pulling out their 7 other dice. If you really want to curve that you could go a step further and have it so if someone is over 4 you half everyones dice rounded up.
Another route that might work is dropping the initiative calculation altogether. Instead, everyone gets one die. If they have anything that gives them a bonus or that gives them advantage on initiative they get 1 extra die for each thing. This way people who take feats and have class features on initiative don't feel like they are losing it. Really the only thing you would be losing out on is the bonus from dex.
I don't know, I just like the idea of a rotating initiative. I think this would be a cool way to implement it, but it would clearly not work the way initiative is calculated now. I just think it might make a fight feel more fluid if each round you didn't know when you were going to go.
I still think I am going to give it a go and see what happens. I don't think any of my players really built their characters with the idea of going first. So at least for my table they are low enough level that it might be an interesting mechanic.
FWIW, I have never found rolling for initiative each round to be a particular burden at all, and it's how I've always done it since...well, a long time :)
What always seemed to work very smoothly was to have everyone roll, DM rolls for monsters, and then have each person simply remember--or jot down on a piece of note paper, or leave a die up in front of them for their own reference--what their init was. <shrug emoji with smiley face>
In action then, the DM just runs down the init list. Anyone over 20? 19? 18? and etc. People speak up with their init is called, and they act. (And if they don't speak up...oops, you hesitated, you can go next round :)
Or, with a small enough group, it wasn't a big deal at all for the DM to keep a piece of paper with quickly written columns of inits for each round. At the beginning of the session, you list the names of all the players at the left edge of the sheet. Each round, you quickly pencil in the new INIT rolls, plus any for monsters below, and you're off and running. 5 seconds.
I have no problem with however people want to do it, whatever makes your game more fun for you :) But I confess to being a bit mildly baffled by the claim that tracking INIT when it's rolled each round is 'a hassle'. A group of 4 players facing 10 orcs. That's 5 numbers you have to write down--not really a big deal :) When it comes with the benefits of mixing up combat order and making combat a bit less mechanistic, writing down 5, or even 10, numbers on a sheet of paper is even less of a big deal.
YMMdefinitelyV, but that's how I've always seen it. Init each round is not really a big deal to do.
FWIW, I have never found rolling for initiative each round to be a particular burden at all, and it's how I've always done it since...well, a long time :)
What always seemed to work very smoothly was to have everyone roll, DM rolls for monsters, and then have each person simply remember--or jot down on a piece of note paper, or leave a die up in front of them for their own reference--what their init was. <shrug emoji with smiley face>
In action then, the DM just runs down the init list. Anyone over 20? 19? 18? and etc. People speak up with their init is called, and they act. (And if they don't speak up...oops, you hesitated, you can go next round :)
Or, with a small enough group, it wasn't a big deal at all for the DM to keep a piece of paper with quickly written columns of inits for each round. At the beginning of the session, you list the names of all the players at the left edge of the sheet. Each round, you quickly pencil in the new INIT rolls, plus any for monsters below, and you're off and running. 5 seconds.
I have no problem with however people want to do it, whatever makes your game more fun for you :) But I confess to being a bit mildly baffled by the claim that tracking INIT when it's rolled each round is 'a hassle'. A group of 4 players facing 10 orcs. That's 5 numbers you have to write down--not really a big deal :) When it comes with the benefits of mixing up combat order and making combat a bit less mechanistic, writing down 5, or even 10, numbers on a sheet of paper is even less of a big deal.
YMMdefinitelyV, but that's how I've always seen it. Init each round is not really a big deal to do.
I play with 5 to 6 players usually and go back and forth on monsters having their own vs shared initiative. I never said it was a hassle, I said I hated it. I don't like the feel of it and to me, it is annoying to have to roll for a new initiative each round. Not because it is complicated or really even that time-consuming. It is simply an annoying mechanic. However, I do like the feel of combat where I am not always in the same position.
It's why I have always put up with the roll for initiative every round mechanic because though I dislike it I love the outcome of it. It's why I actually loved the idea of how Bolt Action handled initiative each round. To me, it seems like it gets the same effect done in a much faster way simpler way.
Though to be honest I haven't had a time to try it out in an actual game of D&D yet, so I am not sure how it well work.
Lastly, yes, you are right it isn't complicated but it would clearly be the longer of the two. Especially if you used my last idea where it was everyone gets one die, and you only receive extra dice if you have something giving you a bonus. At least in the games, I have played only a few people ever got 1 or maybe 2 things that gave a bonus to initiative.
FWIW, I have never found rolling for initiative each round to be a particular burden at all, and it's how I've always done it since...well, a long time :)
What always seemed to work very smoothly was to have everyone roll, DM rolls for monsters, and then have each person simply remember--or jot down on a piece of note paper, or leave a die up in front of them for their own reference--what their init was. <shrug emoji with smiley face>
In action then, the DM just runs down the init list. Anyone over 20? 19? 18? and etc. People speak up with their init is called, and they act. (And if they don't speak up...oops, you hesitated, you can go next round :)
Or, with a small enough group, it wasn't a big deal at all for the DM to keep a piece of paper with quickly written columns of inits for each round. At the beginning of the session, you list the names of all the players at the left edge of the sheet. Each round, you quickly pencil in the new INIT rolls, plus any for monsters below, and you're off and running. 5 seconds.
I have no problem with however people want to do it, whatever makes your game more fun for you :) But I confess to being a bit mildly baffled by the claim that tracking INIT when it's rolled each round is 'a hassle'. A group of 4 players facing 10 orcs. That's 5 numbers you have to write down--not really a big deal :) When it comes with the benefits of mixing up combat order and making combat a bit less mechanistic, writing down 5, or even 10, numbers on a sheet of paper is even less of a big deal.
YMMdefinitelyV, but that's how I've always seen it. Init each round is not really a big deal to do.
I play with 5 to 6 players usually and go back and forth on monsters having their own vs shared initiative. I never said it was a hassle, I said I hated it. I don't like the feel of it and to me, it is annoying to have to roll for a new initiative each round. Not because it is complicated or really even that time-consuming. It is simply an annoying mechanic. However, I do like the feel of combat where I am not always in the same position.
It's why I have always put up with the roll for initiative every round mechanic because though I dislike it I love the outcome of it. It's why I actually loved the idea of how Bolt Action handled initiative each round. To me, it seems like it gets the same effect done in a much faster way simpler way.
Though to be honest I haven't had a time to try it out in an actual game of D&D yet, so I am not sure how it well work.
Lastly, yes, you are right it isn't complicated but it would clearly be the longer of the two. Especially if you used my last idea where it was everyone gets one die, and you only receive extra dice if you have something giving you a bonus. At least in the games, I have played only a few people ever got 1 or maybe 2 things that gave a bonus to initiative.
The 'bag o dice' idea seems like it could work, absolutely. If it does, go for it. And sorry if I misread you. When you say init-each-round is annoying because you have to figure out the new order each round, I took that to mean that the figuring out was a hassle--extra time spent. Not that it was difficult, just wasted time. Otherwise it would't be annoying, right :) And if it's annoying, it's annoying. Don't keep using it because I think it's okay :)
To me, the dice in the bag seems like it would take more time, actually. Again not to discourage you from trying it, I'm just thinking about it. If everyone rolls init at once and just remembers it (or keeps their die face-up in front of them so they don't have to remember it, which I've used before), that's a one-time thing. Then I call out numbers, people respond, and we're off. But the bag of dice means I'm reaching in for a die every time someone new acts, then putting them all back in the bag when I'm done. I don't see that this way would be quicker than everyone rolling one die each round and the DM calling out numbers.
In the end, we're talking about a few seconds difference, though, over hours of gaming. Not a big deal. The bag o dice certainly wouldn't be 'time consuming' as a method. It might add a cool tension element too, which could be fun. It's definitely its own system with its own benefits and drawbacks. I wouldn't object to it as a player, unless people's modifiers are changing too frequently. If there's a discussion before each round, or even each battle, about how many dice someone gets, that could drag it out, where a roll plus adding a bonus may not. Or it may work better :D
That is why I think the last idea is probably the best idea.
Everyone gets one die if you having something like a Barbarians Feral Instinct class feat you get an additional die. For the most part unless they get something during that session that effects initiative their dice shouldn't change all session.
From there I pull out the die and call the players name with the matching color. At the end of the round dump all the dice back in. I don't see that taking longer than rolling dice each round and calling out numbers. But hey I haven't tried it yet, for all I know it could take twice as long. lol
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So I was recently watching some people play Bolt Action for the first time. I found their initiative system rather interesting.
For those of you who don't know. Each player gets a colored die, they put all of the dice into a bag, then they pull out the dice and if It is your color you get to go. Once everyone dice have been pulled. you reload the bag with all of the dice and go again. I thought this was a cool system because it stopped people from really being able to plan ahead. You didn't know when you would actually get to go.
I also know there are other RPG Tabletop games that do a similar thing by making you roll each round. I really hate that system, because you have to figure out the new order each time. But I was curious if anyone ever tried something like Bolt Action for a Session?
My ideas for using this would be something like this.
Does this sound like something that would work? Any idea's on how to improve my idea? I am going to talk to my players and see if they would give it a go for one session just to see what it's like.
This sounds like it would start to be a pain if a character has over +5 to initiative. And what happens to negative initiative bonuses?
What if it was 1 die for every two points with a minimum of one? That way you may really only hit 6 die with characters that just dumped into their initiative. I would also probably change this for higher levels. I was really only looking into it at level 5 for now.
Though you are right negative does make it quite hard. I don't have anyone with that, so it wasn't an issue when I was thinking of this. It would make someone with a negative basically the same as someone with a +0 or +1.
Then there is advantage on initiative, which this would just throw out. I think the system could be fun and interesting. But I also think it would mean customizing how initiative is calculated too.
Excluding negative because I am not sure this system can handle that. You could do something like 1 die for each point in dex and anything else that gives points to initiative just adds one additional die. Yes, you could still have someone who has eight dice in the bag, but clearly, that guy wants to go first. The annoying part would be pulling out their 7 other dice. If you really want to curve that you could go a step further and have it so if someone is over 4 you half everyones dice rounded up.
Another route that might work is dropping the initiative calculation altogether. Instead, everyone gets one die. If they have anything that gives them a bonus or that gives them advantage on initiative they get 1 extra die for each thing. This way people who take feats and have class features on initiative don't feel like they are losing it. Really the only thing you would be losing out on is the bonus from dex.
I don't know, I just like the idea of a rotating initiative. I think this would be a cool way to implement it, but it would clearly not work the way initiative is calculated now. I just think it might make a fight feel more fluid if each round you didn't know when you were going to go.
I still think I am going to give it a go and see what happens. I don't think any of my players really built their characters with the idea of going first. So at least for my table they are low enough level that it might be an interesting mechanic.
FWIW, I have never found rolling for initiative each round to be a particular burden at all, and it's how I've always done it since...well, a long time :)
What always seemed to work very smoothly was to have everyone roll, DM rolls for monsters, and then have each person simply remember--or jot down on a piece of note paper, or leave a die up in front of them for their own reference--what their init was. <shrug emoji with smiley face>
In action then, the DM just runs down the init list. Anyone over 20? 19? 18? and etc. People speak up with their init is called, and they act. (And if they don't speak up...oops, you hesitated, you can go next round :)
Or, with a small enough group, it wasn't a big deal at all for the DM to keep a piece of paper with quickly written columns of inits for each round. At the beginning of the session, you list the names of all the players at the left edge of the sheet. Each round, you quickly pencil in the new INIT rolls, plus any for monsters below, and you're off and running. 5 seconds.
I have no problem with however people want to do it, whatever makes your game more fun for you :) But I confess to being a bit mildly baffled by the claim that tracking INIT when it's rolled each round is 'a hassle'. A group of 4 players facing 10 orcs. That's 5 numbers you have to write down--not really a big deal :) When it comes with the benefits of mixing up combat order and making combat a bit less mechanistic, writing down 5, or even 10, numbers on a sheet of paper is even less of a big deal.
YMMdefinitelyV, but that's how I've always seen it. Init each round is not really a big deal to do.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I play with 5 to 6 players usually and go back and forth on monsters having their own vs shared initiative. I never said it was a hassle, I said I hated it. I don't like the feel of it and to me, it is annoying to have to roll for a new initiative each round. Not because it is complicated or really even that time-consuming. It is simply an annoying mechanic. However, I do like the feel of combat where I am not always in the same position.
It's why I have always put up with the roll for initiative every round mechanic because though I dislike it I love the outcome of it. It's why I actually loved the idea of how Bolt Action handled initiative each round. To me, it seems like it gets the same effect done in a much faster way simpler way.
Though to be honest I haven't had a time to try it out in an actual game of D&D yet, so I am not sure how it well work.
Lastly, yes, you are right it isn't complicated but it would clearly be the longer of the two. Especially if you used my last idea where it was everyone gets one die, and you only receive extra dice if you have something giving you a bonus. At least in the games, I have played only a few people ever got 1 or maybe 2 things that gave a bonus to initiative.
The 'bag o dice' idea seems like it could work, absolutely. If it does, go for it. And sorry if I misread you. When you say init-each-round is annoying because you have to figure out the new order each round, I took that to mean that the figuring out was a hassle--extra time spent. Not that it was difficult, just wasted time. Otherwise it would't be annoying, right :) And if it's annoying, it's annoying. Don't keep using it because I think it's okay :)
To me, the dice in the bag seems like it would take more time, actually. Again not to discourage you from trying it, I'm just thinking about it. If everyone rolls init at once and just remembers it (or keeps their die face-up in front of them so they don't have to remember it, which I've used before), that's a one-time thing. Then I call out numbers, people respond, and we're off. But the bag of dice means I'm reaching in for a die every time someone new acts, then putting them all back in the bag when I'm done. I don't see that this way would be quicker than everyone rolling one die each round and the DM calling out numbers.
In the end, we're talking about a few seconds difference, though, over hours of gaming. Not a big deal. The bag o dice certainly wouldn't be 'time consuming' as a method. It might add a cool tension element too, which could be fun. It's definitely its own system with its own benefits and drawbacks. I wouldn't object to it as a player, unless people's modifiers are changing too frequently. If there's a discussion before each round, or even each battle, about how many dice someone gets, that could drag it out, where a roll plus adding a bonus may not. Or it may work better :D
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
That is why I think the last idea is probably the best idea.
Everyone gets one die if you having something like a Barbarians Feral Instinct class feat you get an additional die. For the most part unless they get something during that session that effects initiative their dice shouldn't change all session.
From there I pull out the die and call the players name with the matching color. At the end of the round dump all the dice back in. I don't see that taking longer than rolling dice each round and calling out numbers. But hey I haven't tried it yet, for all I know it could take twice as long. lol