So I didn't get into the beta at all. I just recently picked up the beginner game and found that I really like the dice pool mechanic. I was wondering:

1. Does the initiative system from the beginner game carry over to the Core Game? I like how simple it is, and the fact that the party can decide who goes in what slot is really nice.

2. In a similar vein, does the abstract range system carry over to the Core Rules. If so, I will be retrofitting the range bands back over because I don't really care for measuring movement, or counting squares. I am a narrative GM all the way, basic visual representation is fine by me.

Mark It Zero said:

Yes to both.

mouthymerc said:

That is a pretty novel initiative system. Although when I read it, having never GMed/played the system, I found myself wondering if it might lead to 'analysis paralysis' as players decide who acts when. Possibly even hurt feelings if someone's forced to go last a lot? I'd be interested in hearing about people's experiences with it.

I. J. Thompson said:

It's the same system used in Warhammer, and my players loved it. No one ended up with hurt feeling, rather everyone stayed laser focused on what was going on, and it brought out a kind of tight team tactics that I hadn't seen from my group before.

Yeah, I like how it emphasizes teamwork. The Doctor might go last the first round, since no one is wounded and he can't do medical treatments on anyone. But on the second round, when someone is near their threshold, he might go first. If he ended up going in the last slot on the first tirn and the first slot on the second turn, he might even get to do two turns in a row! XD

Awesome! Great to hear! I don't anticipate a lot of abuse, but I can always make things interesting for players who hog the initiative slots without a solid group consensus.

Well personally, if I had a fellow player that always complained if he didn't go first, I would convince my other fellow players to not let him go first unless it would make narrative/tactical sense/he stops complaining about it.

Yeah, the initiative system in EotE is pretty sweet.

Not only does the fluid nature of it help keep every player interested, but it can be used to set up some pretty cool sequences that you might otherwise not get to pull off in a more traditional initiative system.

Case in point, during the session of "Shadows of a Black Sun" that was run at my FLGS, during a fight with some Black Sun goons, one PC hoped into our speeder and used it run down a couple of the minions. As it so happened, I was using the speeder as cover, and I'd taken an extra maneuver to Aim at the Underboss. So when the speeder pulled away suddenly, leaving me exposed, I was free to take the next action, spend another manuever to Aim yet again, and blow the slimy creep away.

Under a traditional initiative system, if I had already acted that turn or my initiative score was lower than the bad guy's, said cool scene would be far less likely to occur.

Donovan Morningfire said:

Nice, I wish I had snagged that adventure.

I do like the fluidity of it. It's a way to add a small layer of tactical choice to a narrative focused game.

Do you roll initiative per group of similar NPCs (i.e. 6 Gamorrean henchmen = 1 roll for initiative) or do you roll per individual / group of minions?

I think it implied in the beginner's guide that both were feasible.

While I'm less qualified to answer officially, I know how I'll likely handle it. Personally I'd do it based on enemy importance, letting "nemesis" enemies always have their own slot. Frequently in the movies, "nemesis" enemies (Vader, Boba Fett, Darth Maul, etc) always seemed to move more with surety, and less with haste. Their actions were steady and deliberate given their level of confidence. Plus they always feel like they are on their own "initiative slot" because their actions are far more important than those of lesser, more numerous adversaries.

Since minion groups (a squad of 6 minion stormtroopers, for example) only get one turn each round, you would only roll their initiative once.

That means that, if the minion groups have Cool or Vigilance (depending on the initiative situation being an ambush or a planned fight) as a group skill (where they get 1 skill point per extra person in the squad beyond the first) their initiative roll can be decent, rather than just based off the relevant attribute. So a group of stormtroopers will be much more alert than a single one.

Henchmen and Nemesi (sp?) would each get their individual initiative rolls through, instead of one roll for the entire squad (which for pretty much all intents and purposes counts as one person.

Endrik Tenebris said:

Nemesis is the singular, Nemeses is the plural, pronounced neh meh sees.

Yeah, I suppose that is how it would work. That's what I get for responding at four or something in the morning XD.

My group voted against choosing initiative slots every round. They felt that combat was already in motion and didn't want to slow it down with a discussion every round. We also try and stay away from discussion about in-game actions while out of character, and everyone felt like there wasn't enough time to have a big conversation while trying to fight. This led to more interested dynamics as people tried to figure out what their teammates would do, based on how well they knew their skills and abilities.

Personally as the GM, I don't like the choosing of slots as it makes it very difficult to track. If someone is in cover, or gets a boost die for the next turn, in the standard format I can just make a note next to their name. If people are constantly changing their initiative order, how do I track that?

I'm not against trying it out, and I like how some of the gameplay has changed in some of the examples people posted, but right now it seems like a nightmare for me to try and follow.