I've got a player looking at taking rapid reaction. This talent allows a hero to spend threat to increase successes on his initiative roll. Do you think the player spends blind or informed as to the results of everyone else?

I'm leaning towards "informed", since a lot of the game is player facing.

You mean spend Strain. It doesn't say specifically but I don't see any reason to not let them roll their dice and then decide, hardly game breaking.

Yup, Strain, It's late here and I'm pretty tired. Thanks for your reply, 2P51.

NP. Njoy.

I'm with @2P51 i don't really think it's game breaking no matter how you do it, but i would urge to maintain consistency in how it is done. Though i would urge people to err on the side of the player, they spent XP for the talent, and are spending a resource (strain) to use it. That said, that also doesn't mean it always has to be a "PC slot first" situation either.

A GM has other ways to allow the PC to benefit from the talent, as well as work around it. Such as a more baddies joining the fight after the first round. They roll initiative when they join, but everyone else has already rolled. Just as a quick example. Just make sure it isn't done simply to spite the player or "get one up on them", but if done for a proper narrative effect it can be really cool.

Just to reiterate the consistency is the important part for both player perception and overall balance. Or i could be spouting crazy all over the place again .... =P

Looks like I’m in the minority here, but I require strain to be suffered before the roll. The talent, in my opinion, lets you gamble with your strain expenditure.

you suffer strain in the hopes that it’ll be worth it.

My default reaction is to say before the roll. Mainly because i prefer the element of risk when it comes to situations like this. But i think after is more consistent with other talents, like parry.

Thank you, everyone. I'm going with the majority on this one.

I don't agree with the gamble and risk thinking on this. That's what the dice are for.

3 hours ago, 2P51 said:

I don't agree with the gamble and risk thinking on this. That's what the dice are for.

That’s not how it works, though. If you gamble before the roll you have to guess how much will be most beneficial and hope it works out. If you wait until the dice have been rolled, there’s no guesswork: you see what the outcome is and know how much strain you need to suffer for it to be worthwhile. There’s no rush whatsoever, since you know exactly how much strain will make a difference. An de a lot of times hat William be nothing; either you rolled super well and generate the first slot or you rolled poor enough that all your rank should won’t matter.

The gamble is the act of rolling dice. I don't need more gamble than the random number generator that they represent. If you do it the way you are advocating I wouldn't bother buying the ranked Talent, when I can just raise the appropriate Skill and essentially accomplish the exact thing without wasting the xp on a Talent slot, and not having to suffer Strain by simply having a great dice pool. The risk is also if you have 3 ranks and burn 3 Strain before you even move, aim, unholster, or Dodge before the fight even starts you've impacted your ability to do a lot in an encounter. I'll stick with the way I do it thanks.

We spend the strain after the roll. IMO, this allows the most benefit for the talent.

Our GM will collect initiative results by asking, "Who beats S and A?" If Rapid Reaction would make a difference to my roll, I respond with "Ow! Now I do."

The pirate is right about the strain cost before combat. Especially if you haven't had time to recover fully from your last encounter.

The rules as written don't seem to compel any particular answer, but my practice has been to decide before rolling.

One reason to do so is the speed of resolving the action at the table. If I decide and then roll, I am reporting my initiative along with everyone else at the table and things move at the typical pace. If I roll, receive everyone's reports, then decide, then make a new report, I'm adding a procedural step to the combat.

It's not a big deal, but it is incumbent on me as a player to keep my turn moving, especially when it is going to come up every time combat starts and especially if I'm prone to dither about whether or not to spend the strain. Just a personal preference, there isn't much in it one way or the other.

Thread resurrection engaged!

We actually combine your suggestions. My players roll, see what their result is without knowing npc results, and then decide if they want to spend strain. So they spend the strain to mitigate a bad roll or to get an exceptional roll if they think the encounter is likely to be difficult and its important that they go first, but they don't know what the opposing slots are going to be. No one has complained that they feel this is unfair so far.