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This will serve as a hub for tabletop roleplaying conversations but we won't be limiting it to only that topic!
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Stealing a joke from the matrix:
Can an initiative system allow for “skill expression,” where certain characters are more likely to act at the opportune time due to their stats, and a degree of randomness that’s still fun?
I believe striking that balance is ultimately going to be up to a significant level of playtesting, but also curious how close initial design could get to that balance with theory alone.
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In a similar vein, is it possible for an initiative system to support the competing needs of the more traditional binary of roleplaying vs combat centered scenes?
In a world where most TTRPG players’ number one complaint is they can’t find a time they are all free to play, can an initiative system be developed that supports asynchronous and real time play in equal measure?
Hi all, going to try and share some development of my card-based tabletop roleplaying game via posts on the forum!
Today’s post is about the initiative system (a.k.a. Tempo System).
When this card is on top of the Core deck, the Guide may change the top card of the Tempo Deck. Then the Guide activates the top card of the Tempo Deck.
These activated card effects are listed below.
The Tempo Deck is a pile of nine face-up cards. Eight cards are units of time. The ninth card defines the Tempo Deck and serves as a reference to players.
The top card of the Tempo Deck shows what units of time matter to the current scene.
For example if the top card is “Days” then the story cares about what characters do each day, but the individual hours, minutes, and moments of those days are not particularly important to the story.
Each character has a unique time token in the core deck. When their token is on top of the deck the character may act.
A character’s actions define how far “buried” they move in the core deck. Players can strategize by choosing certain actions that take more or less time.
Character actions can be informed by the top of the Tempo Deck. For example, a character may act to integrate into a community more easily over the course of a few seasons, but that might be impossible (or very difficult) for the character to do in a few moments.
