DnD Initiative Explained

In order to play Dungeons and Dragons, you have to understand the game mechanics, and those include a nifty little thing called initiative. For those that are new to the game – initiative is essential for combat and it refers to the order in which both player and non-player characters (NPCs) take their turns during it. So, the person with the highest initiative score will get to attack first, and the one with the lowest will go last.

As a DnD newbie with a whole lot of learning to do, initiative might seem like just another thing meant to confuse you, but don’t worry, I got you covered! In this guide, I will explain why initiative is important, how to calculate it, and give examples of which outside or inside factors can influence your initiative score, so let’s get started!

How to Calculate Initiative DnD 5e

Everyone who has ever played Dungeons & Dragons is familiar with the dreaded “Roll for Initiative”. I don’t think there’s any other sentence that instills that much fear into the hearts of DnD players, especially when they aren’t expecting it.

So, how would you figure out your Initiative score? It’s easy – you roll a d20, add the Dexterity modifier and other relevant modifiers that are applicable and that’s it – your Initiative is ready to go. Sounds easy enough, but now let’s explore those pesky little “relevant modifiers” that can influence your final Initiative score.

What Influences Our Initiative Score?

Believe it or not, certain spells, magic items, equipment, feats, and class features can boost your Initiative score, so let’s go through some of them:

Alert is a perfect example of this since it adds +5 to your score
A Bard can use the Jack of All Trades class feature to add half their proficiency to an Initiative roll. The same goes for the fighter archetype Champion
A Barbarian’s Feral Instinct feature grants an advantage to Initiative rolls
The Sentinel Shield and the spell Foresight also give an advantage to Initiative rolls
If you play a Swashbuckler Rogue, you can add your Charisma modifier in addition to the Dexterity when rolling Initiative
Similarly, the Gloom Stalker archetype of a ranger lets you add your Wisdom modifier
For spellcasters – a War Mage and Chronurgy wizards can add the Intelligence modifier to their Initiative rolls
A Wild Magic sorcerer gets an advantage on one ability check per long rest
If you draw a Star from the Deck of Many Things you can increase an ability score by +2. You can use it for Dexterity to gain an Initiative boost
Scorpion Armor gives +5 to Initiative, if not incapacitated
You can use an Inspiration point to gain an advantage on an Initiative roll
The target of Enhance Ability, specifically Cat’s Grace gets an advantage on Dexterity checks
Guidance can add a d4 to any ability check
A side that gets ambushed and starts the combat surprised can go to the bottom of the Initiative order
Hex can give players a disadvantage on Initiative rolls
Wearing armor you’re not proficient in also gives you a disadvantage on Dexterity checks, therefore an Initiative roll too

Is There an Alternate System for Initiative?

Initiative really hasn’t got an overhaul or been updated for many years, but there are a few different ways to handle it. So, let’s go through the alternate Initiative systems together!

Initiative Score

With this rule, players don’t have to roll for Initiative every time combat starts. Rather, everyone will have a passive Initiative score which is 10 + Dexterity modifier. This can save the players a tiny amount of time, but may significantly help the DM since they have to roll for monsters, calculate everything and keep track too! On the other hand, some players might get salty that they’re always at the bottom of the Initiative order, so this method isn’t for everyone.

Side Initiative

Another way to cut down on time is to do one group Initiative for our PCs, and another one for the monsters. In this method, no modifier is used and the side that rolls a higher d20 instantly wins and they go first. When it’s one side’s turn, the members of that side can go in any order they choose. When there is more than one side, every group still makes one roll each.

The main pro of using Side Initiative is that the DM will have much less work to do. Also, this system can help players focus all of their attacks on a single enemy and pick them off before their turn even starts, but the same thing can also happen to the PCs if the monster gets a chance to attack first, so tread lightly.

Speed Factor

Sometimes, DMs feel like players can abuse the Initiative order – since it’s predictable from the second round – and may choose to make some reckless decisions knowing when the monsters can fight back. That’s why Speed Factor was introduced, as a way to switch things up a little bit.

In this method, at the start of every round, all combat participants must choose an action they will do during their turn and then they roll Initiative. Some actions might bump them up or down in the Initiative order. The table with modifiers can be found on page 271 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. This system will make Initiative and combat in general a bit more dynamic, but it will take some time to implement and will require a lot more time than rolling a d20.

If you need extra clarification and instruction on this specific method, check out the Dungeon Master’s Guide – the section on Speed Factor is pretty hefty.

Popcorn Initiative

This method of handling Initiative was created by TheAngryGM. Basically, it works like this – at the start of combat each participant rolls for Initiative and the character who rolls the highest d20 goes first. Then, that character can choose who goes next – either another PC, the whole party, a monster, or an NPC – it’s their choice! Then that person chooses the next one and so on until everyone makes their move. The character who closes out the round chooses who will start the next one.

This is a super fun way to switch things up and try to fiddle with the Initiative order. Also, PCs can use this as a strategic way to plan their attacks and pick off the enemies one by one. The “downside” of the Popcorn Initiative is that each side won’t go out of their way to choose their opponents to go next, so, in my opinion, it’s going to turn into Side Initiative very quickly.

Dynamic Initiative System

A fun alternative to the standard Initiative system is the Dynamic Initiative System (DIS) inspired by the Greyhawk Initiative System.

It’s a bit similar to the Speed Factor because everyone has to choose their action and then roll for Initiative at the start of every round, but it’s definitely more complex. Monsters roll Initiative depending on their size, and PCs roll different dice depending on the action they’re planning on taking – weapon attack, casting a spell, action, moving, or even if they want to switch an action they were planning on doing.