21
Active Initiative
C ombat isn't a polite state of affairs and
monsters don't wait in line to take their turn—battle is
wild and unpredictable. Work with your allies to support
each other, make plans, chain together powers, and exploit
weak points like a well-oiled fighting machine.
This chapter introduces the Active Initiative system,
allowing players to choose who acts next in the round.
The Dynamic Round
With Active Initiative, there is no pre-determined order of
initiative. Instead, once a person has finished their turn,
they get to choose who goes next—another player, group
of monsters, or environmental hazard.
A basic round follows four simple steps:
Who goes first?: Decide who triggered the scene and
acted first. Did you throw the first punch?
Take turns: Take your turn. Once you've finished your
actions, you get to pick who goes next.
End the round: Once everyone's finished their turn, end
the round and clear up any expired effects.
Start a new round: If there's still conflict, the last
person to act gets to decide who starts the new round.
Why Use Active Initiative?
There are four main benefits to using Active Initiative:
1. Better teamwork: Players can work together more easily
to chain actions together into big combo-moves.
2. More communication: Players talk more to each other.
3. More attentive players: Players are actively watching
what's happening for opportunities to jump in and act.
4. It's easy: No dice or math—just say who goes next.
PATREON.COM/GIFFYGLYPH | /R/DARKERDUNGEONS5E
1 Who Goes First?
First, you must decide who (or what) acted first and
thereby triggered the scene. Most times it will be obvious
who started things—someone throws the first punch, steps
on the trap, or casts a spell.
If it's not obvious who acted first, you can determine
this randomly by rolling for initiative—whoever rolls
highest goes first. Once the first turn is complete, switch
to dynamic turn ordering as described in step 2.
GM: You're caught in an ambush, Valiant—four
goblins and their hobgoblin leader, Brakkus. She
sneers at you. "Throw down your weapon, cleric, and
maybe we'll only cut off one hand."
Valiant: I haven't forgotten your last betrayal, Brakkus
—I'll never surrender. I raise my shield and charge.
GM: Sounds like you're triggering the fight with that
charge, Valiant—you have the first turn.
2 Take Turns
Take your turn as normal. Once you've finished your turn,
you get to pick who goes next—this can be any other
character, creature, hazard, or group of monsters that
hasn't acted yet in the current round.
Interrupting: Anyone who takes damage during your
turn can steal the initiative at the end of your turn (see
Interrupting), so be careful who you attack.
Delaying
You can't pass or delay once your turn begins, but you can
ready an action. This doesn't change your turn order—if
your readied action is the last act in a turn, you don't get
to choose the next person to act.
CHAPTER 21: ACTIVE INITIATIVE
95