Rules of the Game - All About Initiative

Player characters in the D&D game often go looking for trouble and, more often than not, they find it. When trouble arises, combat is sure to follow. The action during a round of battle in the D&D game takes place more or less simultaneously; however, resolving everyone's activities at the same time isn't too practical, so everybody must take turns. That's where initiative comes in.

Initiative doesn't pose too many difficulties for players and DMs. Nevertheless, situations often arise that can make even something as simple as initiative seem hopelessly confusing. These series examines those times when the action in a D&D campaign makes the initiative rules break down.



A complete tour of the initiative rules requires several stops. Pages 136-137 in the Player's Handbook cover initiative fundamentals. The descriptions of special initiative actions, which begin on page 160 in the Player's Handbook, add considerable depth and complexity to the initiative rules. The rules for starting and running an encounter on pages 22-24 in the Dungeon Master's Guide include additional information on initiative. A look at the introduction to D&D combat on page 133 in the Player's Handbook and the general information on acting during combat on page 138 also would prove helpful in understanding initiative.

From the page 136-137 of the Player's Handbook: 

Initiative
Every round, each combatant gets to do something. The combatants' initiative checks, from highest to lowest, determine the order in which they act.

Initiative Checks: At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. Each character applies his or her Dexterity modifier to the roll. The DM finds out what order characters are acting in, counting down from highest result to lowest, and each character acts in turn. In every round that follows, the characters act in the same order (unless a character takes an action that results in his or her initiative changing; see Special Initiative Actions, page 160). Usually, the DM writes the names of the characters down in initiative order so that on subsequent rounds he can move quickly from one character to the next. If two or more combatants have the same initiative check result, the combatants who are tied act in order of total initiative modifier (highest first). If there is still a tie, the tied characters should roll again to determine which one of them goes before the other.

Monster Initiative: Typically, the DM makes a single initiative check for monsters and other opponents. That way, each player gets a turn each round and the DM also gets one turn. At the DM's option, however, he can make separate initiative checks for different groups of monsters or even for individual creatures. For instance, the DM may make one initiative heck for an evil cleric of Nerull and another check for all seven of her zombie guards.

Flat-Footed: At the start of a battle, before you have had a chance to act (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order), you are flat-footed. You can't use your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) while flat-footed. (This fact can be very bad for you if you're attacked by rogues.) Barbarians and rogues have the uncanny dodge extraordinary ability, which allows them to avoid losing their Dexterity bonus to AC due to being flat-footed. A flat-footed character can't make attacks of opportunity.

Inaction: Even if you can't take actions (for instance, if you become paralyzed or unconscious), you retain your initiative score for the duration of the encounter. For example, when paralyzed by a ghoul, you may miss one or more actions, but once the cleric casts remove paralysis on you, you may act again on your next turn.


When a combat starts, if you are not aware of your opponents and they are aware of you, you're surprised.



Sometimes all the combatants on a side are aware of their opponents, sometimes none are, and sometimes only some of them are. Sometimes a few combatants on each side are aware and the other combatants on each side are unaware.

The DM determines who is aware of whom at the start of a battle. He may call for Listen checks, Spot checks, or other checks to see how aware the adventurers are of their opponents.

The Surprise Round: If some but not all of the combatants are aware of their opponents, a surprise round happens before regular rounds begin. Any combatants aware of the opponents can act in the surprise round, so they roll for initiative. In initiative order (highest to lowest), combatants who started the battle aware of their opponents each take a standard action during the surprise round (see Standard Actions, page 139). You can also take free actions during the surprise round, at the DM's discretion. If no one or everyone is surprised, no surprise round occurs.

Unaware Combatants: Combatants who are unaware at the start of battle don't get to act in the surprise round. Unaware combatants are flat-footed because they have not acted yet, so they lose any Dexterity bonus to AC.


Here's an overview of the initiative rules and some key concepts relating to initiative:

• Combat in the D&D game takes place in rounds 6 seconds long.

The initiative rules exist to make sure that everyone involved in a battle gets a chance to act once during each round of combat. A round remains 6 seconds long no matter how many combatants become involved in a battle. This is possible because, as noted earlier, everyone who acts in a round is assumed to act more or less simultaneously.

• Initiative checks determine the order in which combatants' actions are resolved during a round. Once the DM establishes an initiative order for a battle, there's very little that can change it.

As noted on page 136 in the Player's Handbook, an initiative check is a Dexterity check. Few other things can affect an initiative check. Feats such as Improved Initiative can improve your initiative bonus. Any improvement or impairment to your Dexterity score that is in effect when the battle begins affects your initiative for that battle. If your Dexterity score changes during the battle, your initiative result doesn't change. For example, if you receive a cat's grace spell before a battle begins, you get the benefit of the improvement to your Dexterity score when you make your initiative check for that battle. If a foe dispels your cat's grace spell after the battle begins, your Dexterity score decreases appropriately, but your initiative number doesn't change as the result of the decrease.

The initiative order in a battle isn't completely set in stone, however. The ready and delay actions both have the potential to change a combatant's place in the order (and they usually do). Part Three considers these actions in more detail.

As noted earlier, one pass through the initiative order constitutes one 6-second round. One could say that a round of combat begins just before the combatant with the highest initiative number acts and ends just after the combatant with the lowest initiative number acts.

Despite the foregoing, remember that the term "round" can be relative. It can refer to one complete initiative cycle, or it can refer to the period of time between one combatant's turn and that combatant's next turn.


Each round represents 6 seconds in the game world. At the table, a round presents an opportunity for each character involved in a combat situation to take an action. Anything a person could reasonably do in 6 seconds, your character can do in 1 round.

Each round's activity begins with the character with the highest initiative result and then proceeds, in order, from there. Each round of a combat uses the same initiative order. When a character's turn comes up in the initiative sequence, that character performs his entire round's worth of actions. (For exceptions, see Attacks of Opportunity, page 137, and Special Initiative Actions, page 160.)


• Combatants make initiative checks when the DM decides that an encounter has begun or has the potential to begin.

The rules leave identifying an encounter's start to the DM's good judgment. As a rule of thumb, however, an encounter begins when two groups are close enough to each other to perceive each other and at least one of the two groups has done so. As we shall see in Part Two, it is sometimes best to call for initiative when a group's meeting is merely imminent, such as when a party opens a door in an unexplored dungeon. In any case, it's usually best to call for initiative checks whenever you find that establishing an initiative order might prove helpful. For example, establishing an initiative order could prove useful during an encounter in which several different creatures are trying to deal with a series of traps or negotiations with several different creatures.

• A group (or a single character) can surprise a potential foe by noticing that foe before the foe can notice them.

When one group surprises another, a surprise round ensues. During a surprise round, the character or group that has achieved surprise can take one standard action. Creatures that have been surprised cannot act during a surprise round.

At times, some creatures in a group will notice a foe when the others do not. In such cases, an encounter still begins with a surprise round, but everyone who has noticed the other group gets to act during the surprise round, though the acting creatures still are limited to one standard action each.

• Combatants remain in initiative order until the DM decides that it is no longer necessary. Releasing characters from the initiative order usually marks an encounter's end.

It's usually a good idea to keep characters in initiative order until all danger to them (at least from the current encounter) is past. Players might pick up on this, so sometimes you may want to keep using an initiative order for a little longer than strictly necessary just to maintain a sense of danger and tension in the game. Once a party has dealt with the challenges and obstacles an encounter offers, however, you'll probably find that maintaining an initiative order slows things down. For example, after the party defeats a group of monsters in an encounter they'll probably want to distribute some healing magic among the player characters, loot their defeated foes, and look for treasure. It's usually best to simply allow the players to handle those tasks outside of the initiative order.

Sometimes, it's not entirely clear just when actions in initiative should stop. We'll consider some of those situations in Part Three.

• All combatants roll once for initiative when the DM decides an encounter has begun.

The rules don't allow you to "take 20" or even "take 10" on an initiative check. Your initiative check result initially represents your character's ability to react when an encounter begins. (That's why characters are flat-footed until they take an action in an encounter's first round.) You have only one chance for an initial reaction to an encounter, and the rules don't allow you to prepare yourself for an encounter when you don't know it's coming.

If you're fortunate enough to notice potential foes before they notice you, you achieve surprise over your foe, which is a great advantage for you. See page 137 in the Player's Handbook. Even so, if your foe survives your initial action, you could lose your advantage. That's why you and your foe must make initiative checks after a surprise round.



The rules make one very valuable suggestion for any DM trying to handle combat smoothly and efficiently: Write down the initiative order. Many DMs I know keep a pad of paper or a small dry erase board for jotting down initiative. This is a great idea, especially if you can prop up your writing surface when you're done -- if you do so, everyone can see the initiative order and will know when their turns come. I use a particularly large vinyl mat (marked in 1-inch squares) to regulate combat and I jot the initiative right on the mat.

I also use another trick. When preparing for a game, I jot down the game statistics for everything the PCs will meet onto index cards. I also have each player record key information about their characters (ability scores, Armor Class, base attack and grapple bonuses, saving throw bonuses, and key skill scores) on index cards as well. When an encounter starts, I place all the cards into initiative order. When someone delays or readies an action, I can remove the appropriate card from the order and place it back in the correct place when the combatant finally acts. If I happen to drop or somehow scramble the cards, I can easily reset the cards by referring to the written initiative order, and the players also have the written order for reference.

I find this method well worth the effort it entails. One of the biggest advantages of the D&D game's initiative system is its potential to speed up combat, and the combination of cards and a written initiative can make things speedy indeed.

Beginning an Encounter 

D&D characters often act when they're not involved in encounters. Such actions might be as simple as walking down deserted corridors or as complex as making armor or making magic items. Such activities seldom require initiative checks. Some actions, such as opening doors, picking locks, and searching the shadows for hidden foes tend to generate conflict. So, exactly when do you check for initiative? Does initiative begin with the act that precipitates a battle, or does it begin after that act? To answer that question, it's helpful to consider just what the initiative rules are trying to accomplish.



As noted in Part One, the D&D game's initiative system is designed to promote quick and smooth play. The system's cyclical nature allows players to consider and execute their actions without the need to declare them ahead of time and allows them to anticipate when their turns to act are coming up.


As a general rule, combat actions should only be performed in combat—when you're keeping track of rounds and the players are acting in initiative order. You'll find obvious exceptions to this rule. For example, a cleric doesn't need to roll initiative to cast cure light wounds on a friend after the battle's over. Spellcasting and skill use are often used outside combat, and that's fine. Attacks, readied actions, charges, and other actions are meant to simulate combat, however, and are best used within the round structure.


The system's design also includes other features that aren't readily apparent. For example your character may gain the upper hand in a confrontation and press an advantage by anticipating your foe's manoeuvres and countering them. In the D&D game, you can do that through the delay or ready actions. These actions allow you to treat a high initiative result as an asset you can spend, but see the discussions of delay and ready in Part Three.

In spite of your ability to postpone your actions until a more advantageous time, you can't prepare for everything. Sometimes, you get caught with your pants down no matter how careful you are. This is why you cannot delay or ready until after you've made an initiative check.



The Dungeon Master's Guide says an encounter begins in one of three situations.

From the page 22 of the Dungeon Master's Guide: 

• One side becomes aware of the other and thus can act first.

• Both sides become aware of each other at the same time.

• Some, but not all, creatures on one or both sides become aware of the other side.


In each case, there is no encounter until at least one creature is aware of at least one potential foe. Without this awareness, there is no encounter and no initiative order.

It might prove helpful to examine some potential encounter openings and determine when to make initiative checks.



This is possibly the most straightforward encounter opening. The two sides check initiative when they notice each other, usually the moment when the two groups have line of sight to each other and thus can see each other.



In many campaigns, most encounters will begin this way. There are many possible variations to this scenario, and some variations affect initiative.

• Neither side notices the other before the door opens. Such a situation might occur when the room's occupants aren't keeping watch beyond the chamber's closed door (or cannot do so) and the party also fails to notice that the chamber has occupants. The party might simply fail to check the door or their attempts to do so (such as Listen checks) fail. 

In this case, the encounter doesn't truly begin until someone opens the door. The action used to open the door takes place before the encounter and the character who takes the action does so before anyone makes an initiative check.

• One side notices the other before the door opens. Perhaps the room's occupants have a peephole they can use to look beyond the door. Or perhaps the intruders have made a successful Listen check that reveals the room's occupants. 

Things are easier to handle here if the party notes the room's occupants first. When I'm running the game, things go like this: The character who notes the room's occupants gets a free action (outside of initiative) to notify allies about the potential foes beyond the door. The newly informed characters take time preparing to enter the room, also outside initiative.

When the party is ready to hit the room, I run a surprise round. One or two characters open the door, and these characters act first. The move action the characters use to open the door counts as the single action they are allowed during the surprise round. You're actually limited to one standard action when you act during a surprise round, but you can always use a move action in place of a standard action (but not vice versa); see page 138 in the Player's Handbook and Rules of the Game: All About Actions.

Once the door opens, the remainder of the party takes the single standard actions (or move actions) they're allowed during a surprise round. Since it's usually best to handle actions one character at a time, I have the characters act in the order they're standing before the door or in the order of their initiative modifier, whichever seems most appropriate for the situation. There still are no initiative checks because a surprise round represents a flurry of unexpected activity before a battle begins in earnest. After the party uses their surprise actions, everyone makes initiative checks. None of the PCs will be flat-footed, even if they don't act early in the initiative order, because they acted during the surprise round.

That's it. Once everyone checks initiative and I've recorded the initiative order, the encounter proceeds from there. Here are a few more things to consider:

Overall, the approach described here favors the group assaulting the room. It might seem a little harsh to make characters use their surprise actions to open the door, but the act takes some time and the defenders inside the room deserve a little break for being behind a closed door. Allowing the party to open the door before the surprise (so that the characters opening the door get to act against the foe along with their allies), would tilt the situation even further toward the attackers.

You could make things tougher on the attackers by skipping the surprise round. The attackers could prepare themselves as noted earlier, but the encounter would not truly begin until the door opens. At that point, both parties would be aware of each other and initiative checks would be in order. If you choose this approach, it's reasonable to assume that the attackers might be flat-footed until their first actions. The party might know a battle is coming, but they're still subject to a moment of uncertainty when the actual event begins.

It's worth noting here that peace officers and members of the military I've spoken with tell me that assaulting a closed, defended room can prove quite dangerous, especially if the defenders keep their heads. I tend to prefer an approach that favors the PCs because they're supposed to be the heroes and the stars of the campaign. You might choose differently, and so might I if the PCs face a particularly canny or well-prepared foe.

All the foregoing assumes that the characters entering the room notice the opposition first. What happens if the room's defenders are forewarned and the group entering the room remains unaware of what awaits them beyond the door? If the defenders decide to preempt their foes and attack, you can run the encounter exactly as described above, except that the group attacking from inside the room surprises the party outside.

If the defenders decide to wait for the enemy to enter their chamber, they can use the time before the attack comes as they see fit. There's no need for initiative checks while the defenders prepare.

When the party outside finally opens the door, everyone checks for initiative when the door opens. You can allow the group inside the room a surprise round first, but I don't recommend doing so. It usually doesn't pay to await a foe's action. Characters who know a confrontation is about to commence might want to ready actions. Doing so would bend the rules because you're not supposed to use the ready action until after an encounter starts. The DM, however, might want to allow readying in this special situation. In any case, ready is an action itself, and the character with the readied action must give up other preparations.



This situation really isn't much different from breaking into a closed room. The party opens the chest before the encounter really begins and nobody checks for initiative until the fiend emerges from its imprisonment. One side might surprise the other if they spot the opposition before being noticed themselves, just as noted previously. The DM also can adjust things to favor one side or the other, also as noted previously.




The rules don't give much guidance about deciding when an encounter is over. Nevertheless, the DM is obliged to declare an end to one encounter before the party can move on to the next encounter. As noted in Part One, declaring an encounter's end also can speed play by allowing player characters a chance to recover and reorganize without the burden of working though the initiative order over and over again. Also, there's at least one effect in the game that lasts for the duration of an encounter. A character (usually a barbarian) who has used the rage class feature remains fatigued for the duration of an encounter. Because the fatigue resulting from barbarian rage ends when the encounter ends, determining exactly when the encounter ends can prove crucial.

In Part One, I suggested that characters should remain in initiative order until all danger the encounter poses to them is past. That also is a pretty good rule of thumb for marking an encounter's end. Any or all of the following conditions might signal an encounter's end:

• All foes the party faces in an encounter are defeated.

Foes are defeated when they're dead, dying, or otherwise unable to function offensively. Creatures that have fled the encounter or surrendered should be considered defeated for purposes of marking an encounter's end.

Sometimes, a foe might withdraw for a short time and then return to mount a new attack. If the returning foe has been away for significant time (say a full minute, or 10 rounds) and the party either has not bothered to locate the foe or hasn't made any effective efforts to do so, it's probably best to treat the return as a new encounter.

If a foe flees and the party pursues closely enough so that the foe must keep moving to avoid being attacked, the encounter isn't over until the party breaks off the pursuit. Likewise, if the party can pursue and attack (perhaps with spells or ranged weaponry), the encounter isn't over.

• All members of the party are defeated.

Use the same criteria for defeat noted above.

• Both sides agree to cease hostilities.

This could be a plainly stated agreement to stop fighting, or both sides might choose to withdraw from the battlefield (or at least put some space between each other).

Combatants could possibly effectively enter a truce simply by ceasing all hostile actions, but stand their ground. If an encounter enters a phase where nobody is attacking a foe and the two groups simply talk or observe each other, you might wish to declare the encounter over. You can use the same criteria suggested above for dealing with a foe that leaves the scene of a battle and returns to fight later. If the truce has held for about a minute and it seems nobody is inclined to fight, go ahead and declare the encounter over. You can do that even if you've got one or two suspicious holdouts on either (or both sides). Such characters might ready actions to resume combat if anyone makes a false move. It's perfectly okay to allow the diehards in a group to stand there, tense and scowling, while everyone else relaxes.

Of course, hostilities might break out again, marking the beginning of a new encounter. A group that finds itself in a bad situation might want to feign a truce just to get the chance to jump the foe again. If you're in doubt about whether to start a new encounter with a new initiative order or to simply resume the action with the old initiative order, use an appropriate skill check to determine if the "previous" encounter ever really came to an end. A Diplomacy check that moves a foe's attitude from hostile to unfriendly (or more favorable) would do the trick (decisively ending hostilities). A Bluff check to put a foe at least temporarily at ease also would do the trick.

If you decide to continue using an old initiative order, simply pick up the action starting with whichever combatant has decided to resume hostilities (adjusting for any readied actions left over from the previous encounter).

If you decide to use a new initiative order, place anyone who has a readied action at the beginning of the order (to reflect the character's state of wariness). If several characters have readied actions, place them in order of their initiative modifiers, and use initiative checks to break any ties). Creature that don't have readied actions check initiative normally, except that they're placed in the order after creatures with readied actions.

It's usually best to skip the surprise round when the action resumes after a break in hostilities. If someone has really managed to hoodwink the opposition and has made them lower their guard, however, a surprise round might be in order. In such a case, the deceitful character (and any allies who are in on the ruse) should be the only character (or characters) who act during the surprise round, even though many other characters at the scene are aware of their foes.



A few other aspects of initiative can cause trouble from time to time. Usually a careful look at the rules -- or a little common sense -- will solve the problem.



As noted in Part One, both of these options can change the initiative order during a battle. The ready and delay actions are discussed in detail on page 160 in the Player's Handbook, and in Rules of the Game: All About Actions. Here are a few more notes:

From the page 160 of the Player's Handbook: 

Special Initiative Actions
Here are ways to change when you act during combat by altering your place in the initiative order.


By choosing to delay, you take no action and then act normally on whatever initiative count you decide to act. When you delay, you voluntarily reduce your own initiative result for the rest of the combat. When your new, lower initiative count comes up later in the same round, you can act normally. You can specify this new initiative result or just wait until some time later in the round and act then, thus fixing your new initiative count at that point.

Delaying is useful if you need to see what your friends or opponents are going to do before deciding what to do yourself. The price you pay is lost initiative. You never get back the time you spend waiting to see what's going to happen. You can't, however, interrupt anyone else's action (as you can with a readied action).

Initiative Consequences of Delaying: Your initiative result becomes the count on which you took the delayed action. If you come to your next action and have not yet performed an action, you don't get to take a delayed action (though you can delay again). If you take a delayed action in the next round, before your regular turn comes up, your initiative count rises to that new point in the order of battle, and you do not get your regular action that round.



The ready action lets you prepare to take an action later, after your turn is over but before your next one has begun. Readying is a standard action. It does not provoke an attack of opportunity (though the action that you ready might do so).

Readying an Action: You can ready a standard action, a move action, or a free action. To do so, specify the action you will take and the conditions under which you will take it. For example, you might specify that you will shoot an arrow at anyone coming through a nearby doorway. Then, any time before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition. The action occurs just before the action that triggers it. If the triggered action is part of another character's activities, you interrupt the other character. Assuming he is still capable of doing so, he continues his actions once you complete your readied action.

Your initiative result changes. For the rest of the encounter, your initiative result is the count on which you took the readied action, and you act immediately ahead of the character whose action triggered your readied action.

You can take a 5-foot step as part of your readied action, but only if you don't otherwise move any distance during the round. For instance, if you move up to an open door and then ready an action to swing your sword at whatever comes near, you can't take a 5-foot step along with the readied action (since you've already moved in this round).

Initiative Consequences of Readying: Your initiative result becomes the count on which you took the readied action. If you come to your next action and have not yet performed your readied action, you don't get to take the readied action (though you can ready the same action again). If you take your readied action in the next round, before your regular turn comes up, your initiative count rises to that new point in the order of battle, and you do not get your regular action that round.

Distracting Spellcasters: You can ready an attack against a spellcaster with the trigger "if she starts casting a spell." If you damage the spellcaster, she may lose the spell she was trying to cast (as determined by her Concentration check result).

Readying to Counterspell: You may ready a counterspell against a spellcaster (often with the trigger "if she starts casting a spell"). In this case, when the spellcaster starts a spell, you get a chance to identify it with a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). If you do, and if you can cast that same spell (are able to cast it and have it prepared, if you prepare spells), you can cast the spell as a counterspell and automatically ruin the other spellcaster's spell. Counterspelling works even if one spell is divine and the other arcane.

A spellcaster can use dispel magic (page 223) to counterspell another spellcaster, but it doesn't always work.

Readying a Weapon against a Charge: You can ready certain piercing weapons, setting them to receive charges (see Table 7-5: Weapons, page 116). A readied weapon of this type deals double damage if you score a hit with it against a charging character.


Delay: Delay is a non-action. That is, it doesn't use up any of your time in a round. When delaying, you can specify a point in a round when you want to act (for example, right after a particular ally acts, or any other point you can manage to specify). Or you can simply wait until the time seems right and take your turn.

When you act, you assume that turn in the initiative order for the remainder of the encounter (unless you ready or delay again). For example, you act first in a round, with an initiative result of 20. An ally acts next with an initiative result 18, followed by foes with initiative results of 13, 11, and 8, and a final ally with an initiative result of 2. If you delay until your first foe acts, you take your turn after that foe, and than means you act between initiative counts 13 and 11 (effectively at count 12). You cannot interrupt the action your foe takes at count 13, but you have a full round's worth of actions (that is a standard action plus a move action, or a full-round action) to use during your delayed turn.

You can use a delay to act earlier in the initiative order. To do so, you must delay and then wait to act until the next round begins (as noted in Part One, a new round begins after the last combatant in the previous round has acted).

Let's say the combat in the previous example continues. Thanks to your earlier delay, you're now the third combatant to act in the initiative order (the new order is now 18, 13, 12, 11, 8, 2). If you delay until after the round ends (after the combatant with the initiative result of 2 acts), you can choose to act before anyone else acts in the following round. Once you do so, you'll keep your new position in the initiative order until you (or another combatant) changes the initiative order again.

So, what happens if two combatants delay and decide to act in the same place in the round? I recommend resolving the situation the same way you resolve tied initiative checks. The combatant with the highest initiative modifier goes first and if the two combatants have the same initiative modifier, they make initiative checks to break the tie.

Ready: Ready is a standard action that allows you to prepare another standard action or a move action at some later point in the round. You must specify some condition that triggers your readied action.

Ready has advantages and disadvantages when compared to delay. The main advantage ready has over delay is that you resolve your readied action before the event that triggers it and you sometimes can disrupt a foe's action, such as when you ready an action to distract a spellcaster.

The main disadvantage ready has versus delay is that you can ready only a standard or move action -- you don't get a full round's worth of actions when you ready.

The other big disadvantage to readying is that you're pretty well stuck if things don't go according to plan. For example, suppose you ready an attack against the first enemy that comes through a door and a 20-ton boulder rolls out instead. You're pretty much obliged to stand there and get crushed (though one hopes you'll be allowed a Reflex save to avoid the worst effects) even though you theoretically have an action available to you when the boulder makes its entrance. Encounters in the game are just too fast-moving and confusing to allow you to change plans between your turns in the initiative order.

When you use your readied action, you move to that place in the initiative order, and you stay at your new place until the order changes again. The change in the initiative order works pretty much as described in the section on delay, except that you act before the event that triggers your readied action.



Characters who have been rendered inactive (for example, by being paralyzed or reduced to negative hit points) can become active again after whatever ails them is removed. According to the Player's Handbook, these characters retain their places in the initiative order and can act again when their next turns come. The rules don't say so, but it's best to assume that these characters are not flat-footed when they reenter the fray (because they never really left).

This rule, while easy to use and remember, can produce some odd results from time to time. For example, if you return to the action just before your next turn, you get to act right away. If you return just after your turn comes up, however, you must wait an entire round to act. To make a character's return to activity a little more predictable, try this completely unofficial rule: Allow a character who has missed at least one turn due involuntary inactivity to act immediately after being revived. The effect on the character's initiative is exactly the same as it would be if the revived character had delayed for a round or more.



That wraps up our look at initiative. I've attempted to cover a few gaps in the initiative rules. The D&D game being what it is, you'll probably encounter a few more tricky areas. When you deal with these, remember that the key decision you have to make is whether an encounter has already begun or is merely about to begin. Once you've made that determination, the rest of your task should prove fairly simple.



Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies and was the Sage of Dragon Magazine for many years. Skip is a co-designer of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the chief architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his kitchen or garden (rabbits and deer are not Skip's friends) or works on repairing and improving the century-old farmhouse that he shares with his wife, Penny, and a growing menagerie of pets.

Based on the original Dungeons & Dragons® game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.

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