Charging Bear

Initiative System for 5e

Initiative is the key factor that determines the flow of combat. The original initiative system of 5e is easy and doesn't take up any time, but it keeps a static order of turns. The (Unearthed Arcana) Greyhawk Initiative system makes combat unpredictable and (subjectively) more fun, but adds a massive amount of complexity. The Charging Bear initiative system aims to find a middle, which has the best of both sides: Unpredictable combat and as little complexity as necessary.

Why should I use this?

Three big reasons and a small reason:

First, your players will be actively participating in combat twice every round. At the beginning of each round, when they plan their turns and roll initiative. And again when it's their turn and they get to leave their mark on the battlefield. This means your players are twice as active! (At least on paper.)

Secondly, you get unpredictable combat! Imagine a hunter attacking an unsuspecting bear. The hunter's arrow hits and everyone rolls initiative. The bear goes first and uses the Dash action to charge at his attacker. The hunter's turn follows and he gets to shoot again, but misses. With the old initiative system what follows is almost set in stone: The bear closes the distance and kills the attacker. With a new initiative every round you don't know what will happen: Is the hunter quick and gets to fire a third and lethal arrow before the bear attacks or did the bear already build up too much speed and the hunter is mauled to a pulp?

The third reason is an added layer of tactical planning. Example: One character of the group of heroes is unconcious and needs help, but the bad guys want to end him for good. With the original initiative system it is clear which healer has the chance to heal his friend before the bad guys get to end him. With this system it is not clear and the players are encouraged to work together to save their friend. It may be best that multiple characters prepare a healing spell and a third character may try to grapple one of the bad guys before he gets the chance to strike.

You are reading this because you are already interested, so this small reason maybe the deciding factor for you:

It's easy to learn and fast once it is in place.

How does this work?

At the beginning of each round all characters roll initative! The DM may still choose to give multiple enemies of the same group the same initiative. Which die you roll is determined by the action you are going to take - movement and bonus actions have no influence here. Your initiative is the roll of your initiative die added to your initiative bonus. The initiative die is determined according to the initiative dice table below.

Characters with higher initative get their turn first. Characters with the same initiative compare their initiative boni. The character with the higher initiative bonus goes first.

Charging Bear Initiative Dice Table

Action Initiative Die Attack (melee) d8 Attack (ranged) d10 Cast A Spell (cantrip) d8 Cast A Spell (any) d4 Dash d10 Disengage d12 Evade d20 Hide d6 Search d12 Use An Object d6

Wasted Actions

On a player's turn the character is already committed to the action that initiative was rolled for. If that action is not possible, it is wasted.

A fighter, who wanted to make a melee attack, may not be able to reach any enemy on his turn. He is still allowed to use his movement, a bonus action and the Action Surge ability (if available), but his action (the melee attack) is wasted.

A spellcaster who meant to cast a spell, but was silenced before his turn, may still move or make a bonus action, but his spellcasting action is wasted. If the spellcaster runs out of spell slots before its turn, the character may still cast a cantrip.

Ready Action

Someone who used the ready action, rolls initiative according to the action the character means to take as a reaction. If the moment the character is waiting for passes before its turn, the character executes the reaction on its own turn if possible, otherwise the action is wasted. If the player's turn comes up before the reaction triggers, the player makes his turn as usual, but has to stay committed to the announced ready action.

Variant: Simpler Attacks

If one wishes to make the system simpler, one may decide to combine melee attacks, ranged attacks and cantrips and use the d8 for each of them. With this variant a character may draw a different weapon on its turn and shoot an arrow rather than strike with a dagger. This variant makes wasted actions less likely, but it also loweres the stakes during battle and reduces the impact of tactical decisions made during the initiative rolling phase.

Legal

This Charging Bear initiative system may be used for any non-commercial purpose. If somebody comes up with a variation of this system or creates a new system inspired by this, please reference the Charging Bear initative system.