Topic: Card Initiative not tied to stats (House Rule)

[janpmueller]

Nicely fleshed out. Something along these lines was exactly where I hoped I was heading
I'll ask my GM if we'll try that. I hate calculating...

[janpmueller]

Update: I tried the system yesterday with my GM, and it was fun! It acts like a minigame within the combat, and the greater randomness might even add to that effect! Great Idea, SamwiseSeven! I already gave you an idea point for it.

My former "different piles" idea seemed too much of a hassle yesterday. What we came up with instead was this:

Initiative	Action
0 - 5	Don't draw a card
6 - 10	Draw two cards, use the lower one
11-15	Draw one card
16-20	Draw a card. You may redraw, but you must use the 2nd card
21+	Draw two cards, use the higher one.

Stun automatically results in not being allowed to draw. Other effects (2handed weapons and the like) were dismissed.

Worked very well for us. We're gonna present it to the other players the Saturday after next. I'm very curious!

Jan

[VortexSurfer]

As the GM mentioned, I have to agree. It?s a really nice minigame. However, I prefer the following ranges to determine initiative:

0 - 15: Draw one card (I don?t want to put the lower ratings at such a big disadvantage)
16-20: Draw a card. You may redraw, but you must use the 2nd card
21+:    Draw two cards, use the higher one.

Stunned: Don?t draw, you?re last.
Retreated (if you use the SPAR system: http://www.guildcompanion.com/scrolls/2008/mar/sparforharp.html) or did a full parry in the last round: Draw two cards, use the lower one.

This worked pretty well for us; we even thought about developing a tabletop game (like HeroQuest) using our new ruleset, the combats were that much fun.   

[SamwiseSeven]

I'm glad you liked it.  It is a quick way to have the initiative change every round.  It's nice to look out at the table and figure out who is next.  You don't have to keep a piece of paper with initiative orders, or any of those initiative order trackers that some pay for with magnets and the like.

I don't know why (perhaps because it doesn't involve dice) that the players seem to like it more.  It's a bit of a change from normal RPGing.  They like the "flavor text" as well that mocks them when they draw a low number, and the silly war cries for the higher numbers.

Thanks for the idea points. 

[Realm Master K]

Hi,
I'm new to the forums, but I have been gamemastering Rolemaster for 7 years. I am looking at HARP as a way to simplify, and speed up our gaming. I love your Card Initiative idea. I have come up with an alternate way to deal with initiative bonus that I would like to share.

Init Bonus 0-5    Draw 3 cards, use the lowest
              6-10   Draw 2 cards, use the lowest
             11-15  Draw 1 card
             16-20  Draw 1 card, May draw a 2nd but must use it
               21+   Draw 2 cards, use the highest

Any time someone ends on a 7 they must draw another card and use that card, however, it does not count against their total drawn cards eg, if someone can draw 2 cards, and the first is a 7, they get another card automatically, but they can still draw their 2nd card

In playtesting this seems to work well, and it gives the lower intitative bonus folks a chance to have fun as well. In fact with some luck, they can even go first, although that would take a lot of luck, just like real life.

Let me know what you think.

Realm Master K

[SamwiseSeven]

I've been using this method of initiative in several other RPGs, and all the players enjoy it.  They like the excitement it brings every round, and they look forward to what card is going to be dealt to them.  They also like the flavor texts, though some I admit need revised for some better ones.