Linking creatures initiative rolls

torstan · Post by **torstan** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:22 am

I am running a huge encounter and want to keep similar groups on the same initiative order. So I have three goblins (created with one goblin with a count of 3). When I roll initiative, they all go at different times. Can it be set so that they just get one initiative roll?

This would also be really handy for tokens that weren't necessarily duplicated using the count variable i.e. a caster and his familiar. Also, I noticed that in SW they have player controlled NPCs going on the same count as the player in question.

This may already exist, but I've had a hunt around in 1.2 and can't see it. Otherwise, great tool!

jay · Post by **jay** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:54 pm

I don't have any kind of support for this right now. I will add a tracker for it. What would be the best way to do this? I'd like to here some opinions before I implement it. The idea I have is to make a new combatant category that would assign combatants with the same name (ignoring the numbers) the same initiative. Would that be enough? Maybe there needs to be two categories? One for good guys and one for bad?

Thoughts and ideas?

Full Bleed · Post by **Full Bleed** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:15 pm

I wish I knew how to use init tool better...

But I think two mode of grouping might be in order:

1) Smart Grouping : Like you said by grouping same names (without paying attention to the numbers.)

And...

2) And Group Designation that would kind of be like putting monsters/characters into a single folder (in a file tree.) This way you wouldn't be limited to just same name groups.

jay · Post by **jay** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:36 am

Full Bleed wrote:2) And Group Designation that would kind of be like putting monsters/characters into a single folder (in a file tree.) This way you wouldn't be limited to just same name groups.

There are a couple of ways to do this. I could update the combatant categories to make all combatants in the group get the same initiative. Or I could add a special property that the initiative roller scripts read and give all combatants with the same value the same initiative. The first method is game generic, the second method would have to be coded into the initiative roller for each game. In either case I have the problem of deciding what initiative modifier I should use to create the initiative. If your game doesn't have modifiers then this isn't a problem, but if it does do I use the highest modifier, the lowest modifier, or an average of all modifiers?

jay · Post by **jay** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:27 pm

I implemented this in IT 1.1 b2. I added an initiative group property to combatants that lets you type in a group name. All combatants with the same group name receive the same initiative. If you type an asterisk (*) in front of the name that combatant's initiative modifier will be used to calculate the initiative.