Gaming designs without initiative order?

[Patrice]

Yes that's what I definitly have to check during playtests. From one side it supports teamwork in one way or competitive play the other, but on the other side it could have the effect you describe.

The only way an opponent would have to thwart such a team plan would be to use wisely its instants and interrupts. That would mean that an opponent without instants nor interrupts is almost a dead duck. I can accept this. There has to be minions, the stormtrooper kind of enemies, trivial foes and there has to be big shots, bosses, with loads of instant powers and interrupt capacities. At least there has to be in my game . Likewise, some characters are good at getting themselves out of the way, at escaping danger or at leading a team. Others aren't. It's not their role and they can expect to be targeted quite a few times. Moreover, allowing the PCs to help one another through collaborative concerted action is something I want to fully allow.

I'm trying to build at the same time a definite pattern of possibilities for each "class" (profession, type, whatever). One would be about having initiative advantage and quickness, extra actions. I don't want to give this power to everyone, nor to blend everyone in the same field of possibilities. I want to create distinctive roles, that's why I'm keeping this option to one style of character only.

[MatrixGamer]

This is a responce to the top message. My experiences with the problem.

I've got a version of the Engle Matrix Game that doesn't use a turn sequence or order of play. Players start the game with a set od 15 to 20 coins that they use to buy the right to make something happen.

A player thwacks a coin on the take and "takes the initiative" other players may pay more coins an "steal the initiative". The player describes their action and a referee sets a "to happen" roll. Other players may jump in with counter-arguments and responce actions. Many dice are rolled and an outcome is decided.

The player who wins the rolling has a 30 second window to take the initiative. If they hesitate then someone else can jump in.

The thing of it is that nothing happens in the game without it being described in an action argument.

It is simple and fairly clean but really demands a lot of the players. They have to think of their feet well or they can get rolled over.

Chris Engle