The Initiative Problem - Dungeon Master Tools

And he's running the old school rules too!
We're doomed!

 "Roll for initiative." It's become a meme. It means that it is time for the characters to throw down with some monsters. It means, everything just got more serious.

It also means the game comes to a screeching halt as everyone at the table rolls dice, adds modifiers and the DM tries to put everyone in turn order, display that turn order, and correct any errors that may come up. After all that, you can start the battle. With a group of new players or large group this can take 5 minutes or more. It feels like an element of the game that could be improved.

Keeping Initiative

So let's work within the rules.

Only roll once for each creature type. So if the group is being attacked by 4 mephitis, 2 giant centipedes and a water weird, you are only making three rolls instead of seven. It will be MUCH easier for you to track, especially if you run theater of the mind style. 

Here is one of my biggest time saver suggestions. Take some time during session prep to roll initiative for all the monsters and NPCs that may be involved in the battle. I will include Sidekicks, Retainers, and Henchmen if we are using them. Then when it comes time for the game, no one has to wait for me to roll for all these other characters.

I also use a spreadsheet with the character's names in one column. I plug in their initiative rolls in the column next to it. If I pre-rolled for the monsters, I'll add them in the same way, and then I'll sort the rolls highest to lowest. This is also a great way to track monster armor class, passive perception and hit points, so I have that key information at a glance.

Alternative Initiative

Still love saying "Roll for initiative" but hate all the book keeping and organizing? You can still have the players roll, but keep it simple. Have all of them roll a single 20 sided die, and the highest roll is what the group takes. Or they take turns throughout the session, and just keep track of who last rolled. This can lead to them planning a group what they want to do (don't give them too much time, they are under attack), and lead to some interesting cooperative combats.

Or use the dexterity score as the initiative score for the characters and monsters. This way the players know who is going in what order, and the only question is what the monsters will do. This allows for some planning by the party ahead of time. "We know the monk is going to move first, so let her get into position behind the orc and do some damage. Then the rogue goes next, attacking the same target and getting sweet Sneak Attack damage, oh and we are using flanking rules too, so the Rogue attacks at Advantage!" 

Conclusion

While I enjoy the variety that rolling initiative creates during combat, I'm coming around more and more to something faster and gets us into combat with minimum fiddling. My spreadsheet is super helpful in my online games, but I also like the simplicity of just letting the fastest character move first. It will be something to try out in a one-shot for sure.

What tricks do you use to speed up the initiative process, or do you have an alternate style you use that works great at your table?