Dungeons & Dragons: What Is Initiative?
How do you decide who goes first in a room full of angry, shouting men? A game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock won’t cut it, and any notion of a sit-down, powwow will not end well.
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Long-time players of Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs have faced the same problem countless times and, aside from the informal ‘who speaks first’ when talking to fellow party members, a better solution is required to handle complex in-game events and actions. Other games, including older editions of D&D, haven't always handled this very well, but thanks to changes in the fifth edition rules of the game this has never been easier.
Initiative Checks are an important test that determines the order in which characters take actions in an encounter. On your character sheet, there is a box for your initiative modifier. We calculate this by taking your dexterity modifier and applying any additional bonus modifiers from your proficiencies, feats of strength, class, abilities, etc.
When the DM asks for an Initiative Check, you roll a D20 and add the initiative value from the character sheet. Initiative Checks usually involve all player characters and all Non-Player Characters (NPCs) as well, but an experienced Dungeon Master (DM) can weave the mechanic into an adventure in creative ways. The most common reason for an initiative check is an encounter with NPCs, usually with combat. The DM records the result of all checks and places the characters and NPCs into order, with the highest score going first, to the lowest score going last, so you only have to take an Initiative check once per encounter and this is always at the beginning. The order for participation remains the same for
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