Initiative is a dirty word

Are such rules even necessary? One could simply opt to judge each situation on its own merits. The goblins have suprise so they go first, but the goblin archers do not have arrows drawn and readied, so perhaps the thief with dagger in hand can throw his blade before the enemy arrow fire...

Heck, I've played plenty of games, including D&D, where I dropped all the fancy initiative rules and turn orders and such and simply went 'round the table like any ordinary boardgame. Worked just fine.

I like jrients' idea. I tend to game that way anyway - we talk about things and then make rulings based on our stated actions and the current situation

I just let each player roll a d12 and add their DEX modifier. I roll once for all of the monsters. Then I count down ... anybody got a 12? 11? 10? Everybody gets to act on their turn, or they can defer to a lower number later on in the same round.

I tried having everyone declare actions low-to-high and then act high-to-low, but it seemed like too much of a bother.

I really like this approach. I recall when I was younger and my stepdad was DMing AD&D and then Classic for me and the family (he had played the original game) he handled initiative like this: you just make the judgment call based on the situation, with the benefit of the doubt usually going to the party.

I used initiative rolls for a long time, but now I'm more simplistic (thanks, guys!! ; Now I determine initiative by Dexterity score (highest goes first); for adversaries & monsters, I just assign them a score pre-game (I now have "average" scores for most creatures written, so that gives me back a lot of time in terms of pre-game prep).

I'm still using the combat sequence I linked to, up-thread (although more and more often, I'm using the simplified version). However, here's another method that appeals to me (stolen from here):

Each side rolls 1d6, with the lowest roll going first.
Spells take effect at die roll + spell level*
Ties are simultaneous**

* Referees would need to make any exceptions known to the players, of course.

** Ties could also be resolved by highest Dex, or by weapon, if the referee wanted to assign or import ratings.

This is how we used to do it. Everything resolved simultaneously, unless there was surprise.

I think tank's second paragraph refers to rules from the man-to-man appendix, but my memory of Chainmail is not so good.

Such detail is rather at odds with the abstract nature of the combat turn in D&D, but "out of sight is out of mind." The incongruity tends to rear its head in AD&D with all the trimmings, so perhaps one lesson is to keep things simple.

Special cases may call for special rulings, but considering every factor all the time can be a drag (YMMV).

It's an aid to player-character survival to have a chance of doing unto others without letting them return the favor. Dead orcs don't strike back.

That tends to be a bigger deal at lower levels. When folks have 20+ hit points, "simultaneous moves" may be preferable as speeding up the process. At that level, combat may come down to, "How many points do I lose this round?"

Although it may seem odd given the time frame -- especially if one is not in tune with the abstract concepts -- I generally find it best to limit combatants to a single activity per turn. One can move or fight or target a missile or cast a spell or use an item or do something else (such as get something from a pack).

I'm the heretic here.

My EPT group uses playing cards for intitiative. We flat out stole the Savage Worlds initiative system.

We did it because it's the easiest way IMHO, of knowing who goes first, who's already acted (turned cards) and who has had the chance to act but is withholding his action fo rsome reason (tapped card).

It is also totally random and independent of character stats and abilities, but we like it that way.

Oh, yeah. The best thing about it: there are NEVER any initiative ties.

Jokers grant +2 to hit and an extra die of damage. Everyone wants them. ;D

Real Men^TM use the plucking-chest-hairs method.

That sounds like a good idea. It makes for rolling around the table nice and easy. I like it.

One thing though, is that there might be a lot of simultaneous killing in the low-levels.

How about just saying that an even roll (for the PC) for attack indicates that that attack happens first, and an odd roll indicates it happens last.

So, a PC battling a couple of orcs swings his sword (rolls a 17), he hits, but only if the orcs don't do him in first. Had he rolled an 18, he could have blasted at least one of them before maybe dying to the other.

[Edit] It also cuts a die roll for initiative by using one you rolled anyways.

Greetings, by the way.

At least ditch the multiple rolls, IMO.

For a long time, I used Dexterity order a la Holmes (and a lot of other folks).

Don't screw with the excitement of uncertainty only to bring it back in a form that requires more work.

How does the no ties work? What if two people both get dealt a Jack? Or do you reduce the deck to one suit of cards?