[Torg] More General Initiative Thoughts

[winstoninabox]

I think your posts about Initiative (and the timing of actions) have been fascinating reading, and I"m saving them to my file of interesting stuff about TORG.

Game mechanics aside, the posts highlight timing effects that GMs of any game should keep in mind when in play.

Thanks.

winston

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:06:58 -0400
From: benn at 4efix.com
To: torg at justintimeadventures.com; jeff at chaosphere.com
CC: 
Subject: [Torg] More General Initiative Thoughts






  


More General Initiative Thoughts in prep for
round two. 


I thought it would be useful for me to take a
step back
and devote one post to the basics of initiative in RPGs, to clearly
(and
hopefully correctly) state the point of all of these systems.  What I am about to go into maybe be obvious
and completely un-earthshaking, but I feel that at least I could
benefit from
the examination. 


There are generally three kinds of pace to
storytelling:



  There’s the standard pace when you looping through asking
each character what they are doing, and reporting back to them their
successes
and failures, along with any new circumstances that arise.  This is the
time I think that most game are in most of the time.
  There's the slower pace often referred to as "macro" time when
the player and the GM discuss what is happening in very general terms,
typically for long endeavors like travelling or less interesting parts
of the story.
  Then there the action sequences where a lot of attention is paid
to details, timing, and other "micro" matters.  This can be called
"going into Combat", although that can be inaccurate if the action
conflict is non physical in nature.  A more accurate term, which is
also widely used, is "round-by-round", called that for obvious reasons

It is in this third pacing of roleplaying that timing matters become
important.  If two characters are reaching for the crystal, who gets it
first?  If one character tries to attack a helpless victim, can another
character interrupt that action?  If one character hangs back, to
better react to unfolding events, does this prevent him from reacting
in time?  If a character starts to do an action, but changes their mind
halfway through to do something else instead, does their new action
resolve before or after other actions do?  And so on.



In many cases, there can be round-by-round action without the order of
action being contested.  For example, if three characters are working
together to disarm a bomb, they can go in any order they wish.  It is
usually only in inter-character conflict and/or competition that the
order matters.  Therefor, it is quite appropriate no matter what
initiative system one favors or uses, to ignore it until it is needed -
but when it is needed, one pulls up the numbers and mechanics and
determines the timings.



And let's be even more clear here:  We are not as concerned with the
order in which characters *begin* their action (although that can be
important too) but the order in which the actions actually *resolve*
and *happen*.  So when we are talking about who gets to go first, we
are really talking about who's actions get resolved first, not begun
first.



[Side Note: Some actions have effects that do not take place until
later, even though the action finishes earlier.  For example, the
action of a character might be to hit the button that releases the
sleep gas in the test chamber.  The action actually has three points of
timing: when the action begins, when it completes, and when it's
effects happen.  In this case, the character starts to the action by
telling the GM she is pushing the button.  The action resolves when she
actually pushes the button.  The *effect* resolves when the sleep gas
gets released and begin to force the inhabitants of the test chamber to
make Toughness checks.



Most *action* resolution is simultaneous with effect resolution -
pulling the trigger of a gun resolves the action of "I fire at Brad"
and determining what if any damage Brad suffers resolves the effect of
that action, and both usually happen simultaneously in RPGs.  While
actions that have delayed effects like the sleep gas example above need
to be carefully overseen and timed by the GM, the majority of timing
concerns will be related to the resolution of the *action*, with the
*effect's* resolution being simultaneous and concomitant. ]



So, one needs some method for determining the answers to several
timings based matters.  I think they broadly break down to three basic
timing concerns:


  Order: Who's actions get resolved first?  This is obviously the
most important question regarding timing.
  Interruptive Actions: In what ways can one interrupt an action? 
That is, if one character starts an action, is there some way in which
under the right circumstances another character can start and complete
an action before the resolution of the action of the first character?
  Holding Actions: Can one simply "hold" one's action, and choose
to go later in the round?  If so, how does that affect the timing of
the resolution of that character's actions?
  Improving Initiative:  And finally, are there methods or
mechanics for influence the timing itself, to directly influence one's
order of resolution of action?  Such as some kind of "refocus"
mechanism by which a character can instead of acting seek out more
favorable timing for one or more future rounds?

The answers to these four concerns define and delineate the Initiative
System of any game.  So when reviewing or creating an Initiative
system, the factors to closely examine are Order, Interrupts, Holding,
and Improving.



My question to the list in general is does this sound accurate in
defining and describing the general needs, goals, and designs of RPG
initiative systems overall?  



-Benn




_________________________________________________________________
Discover the new Windows Vista
http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=windows+vista&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.justintimeadventures.com/pipermail/torg/attachments/20080620/17de04b3/attachment.html>