Matt Mercer’s Initiative System Would Be Perfect for Perception Checks
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- čas přidán 25. 03. 2024
- Maybe Matt Mercer's initiative system would be better for other checks besides initiative?
Folk Round Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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It may be slower but I find it to be funnier when I go down the range of numbers and no one says anything until we reach 10 and below. It always gets a laugh
This. Super funny when 4 people all have 5 initiative.
I like to just ask "highest of the party?" and write them down from there. I enjoy when they all get low enough that they assume someone else will be speaking up first, small moment of silence before someone says "seven?" and no one claims a higher result
I use his number range system for initiative, it works great for large tables who don’t know each other, since I run a lot of games for people who have never met before they’ve sat down at my table. It also lets me establish ground rules that make it easy for everyone to know how things are done at my table, when they might have all done it slightly differently before. For my group that knows each other though, I just have them write their character’s name and initiative onto my initiative tracker tiles that go on my GM screen. Both systems work great for their respective situations.
Agreed! I used to run in a comic shop where each session would be a new oneshot to see who wanted to join my perma group (same shop different day) and for introducing people to the game.
I’d always call out range for initiative, checks, etc as there’s be at least 10 people at the table.
For more intimate groups I know or my perma groups I’ll just ask everyone their initiative
I love the idea of making the sort of "tiers" of perception very clear and obvious, always makes it feel like there's something you might not be seeing!
I personally really like the bands of 5 system, because it lets me process the numbers easily, and launch into combat in less than a minute normally.
I am one person, so having the numbers presented at least roughly in order, is really useful.
I've found when I try to do it around the table, it takes me two to three minutes to sort out initiative, while doing it in the bands method gets combat rolling in under a minute normally.
With a larger amount of players the range lets you put them in order down a line
It may not be faster for initiative, but what it does do is have players gauge & line up whose in front of them in turn order more directly... & You get the Ohhhhhh moments when everyone rolls badly!
If you're writing down the initiatives on a notebook or a whiteboard (like I do) it's helpful to get the numbers in descending order. But the perception check idea is also great
I did this in my first game as DM with knowledge checks! I put a table in my notes with what the characters would know about the creature at different DCs.
I think that you must have the most organized party ever, with no absolute chaos Gremlins that you have to train into paying attention to what's happening at the game table.😂😂😂 I DM for 6-7 person party. And every time it's time for initiative rolls. Everyone just shout their number out at the same time and nothing I can do we'll get them to wait their turn. So the number range thing works very well for that. Also, if they're not paying attention and miss their turn, then that's too bad for them.
lol I’ve got a pretty firm hand when it comes to calling for initiative, when people shout out numbers I just say, “I’m not listening to all of you at once, I’m going around the table.” They learn eventually lol
I like his system for it when you have more then 6 players, especially over discord. It just helps keep it organize without me having to ask each person number by number
My group has 6 players in it. If I don’t do the 5 down system, then I am for sure skipping someone.
May I ask how exactly? Surely with a pre written list of numbers you can just go around the table asking each player in turn what they rolled. Whereas calling out number ranges runs the risk of someone not hearing properly or missing their number
@@dancook6114 simple, everyone at my table is loud and tries to talk over each other, when you play with a lot of people asking for initiative is like asking them to all hodgepodge together. Plus we do a lot on paper, so asking for initiative top down allows me to add in the enemies as well since I also roll for them individually
Excited to try it out at some point
I prefer asking one at a time when getting intiative. Usually what happens when I have used Matt's style is that I ask 20-25? No one replies, the 15-20, suddenly 4 people speak at once then I have to sort out who said what. Then after going down the intervals, there is one person left that didn't answer because they got a 27 lol
I get really overwhelmed by too many people talking at once. Ive tried both ways of doing initiative and Matts is a lot easier for me. Everyone sbould just do what works best for them!
Brennen Lee Mulligan uses this for perception checks sometimes and it makes perfect sense
I always treat perception in tiers or limited understanding based on a success criteria
I'm a big fan of the number ranges for skill checks. Works great for the knowledge-based skills like Arcana, History, Religion, etc.
I think your method is a great idea, though it might have helped others if you had shown the layout of the pre-numbered list. Really simplifies initiative in my opinion.
I actually showed off my list in this video, along with a downloadable link ☺️ czcams.com/video/w61REoLlSgo/video.htmlsi=LOlZXQuv-WEc5k-8
I will defend Matt’s system purely on the fact that it can be REALLY funny when no one has 20-25, or gods help them 15-20 🤣
Laura Bailey: *applauds* We’re Losers!
That's basically how I do it, it's always worked well.
I think that's a great idea for perception checks. Definitely gonna try this out with my players.
Actually, I already do it, and it's really helpful because makes every player engaged with the story and valued within the narration.
I don't have good short term memory, so having everyone say theirs and then having to remember all those numbers as I'm writing them is impossible for me.
In sessions however, I get around this by using a digital initiative tracker. I can ask each player one at a time to say theirs aloud and punch ut into a program that does the ordering for me. It also helps with statblocks and monster health.
I have already been doing something similar, and for fails I try to narrate a reason why they didn't see anything. My players really like it.
i am about to dm my first game. i feel like this might be a bit much. i am going to roll for my enemies and they roll for their perception. if it's a bunch of enemies, i'll roll for groups. idk if this is the best method. i like your roll play aspect of it. but i just want to get though my first campaign. i may adapt this eventually. but as a first timer dming. it seems like to much flavor.....we're all new to the game so i'm just playing with first timers while also first timing dming. i think i got it tho. i just cried thinking about an orc mother trying to protect her kid against the heros. i know... deep.anyways good luck on your videos im giving you a big thumbs up
Imo, best to either use dexterity or perception for initiative (hello pathfinder) without a roll (goodbye pathfinder), or just... do a "player acts, enemy acts, repeat"
I think i might give this strategy a try when I'm having all the PCs roll perception. I would call out number ranges going up though, like "who got a 10 or lower? Ok, ok, now who got a 15 or lower?" And I would add details to the base description for the higher rolls. Example: "15 or lower? Ok you see a man wearing a cloak following your group. 20 or lower? Ok druid, you see this man covered in blue cloth under the cloak and is carrying a dagger in his hand."
Another one for the purpose of conveying important information to the players is to make them roll not to see _if_ they spot it, but _who_ _spots_ _it_ _first_ .
But (from the video) this idea of breaking down information into partitions of increasing success is implemented really well in old Shadowrun adventures, where each 'run' has an information gathering phase, and different skills can find out different information, and the better your rolls are the more pieces of the puzzle you can put together before things (inevitably) go sideways.
I like having everyone do everything at once because thats more realistic. People that are close enough that win initiative, attack and stike (if attack is successful) or miss simultaneously. This goes for hand to hand and ranged attacks including spells. Its just faster for me.
That sounds like a great idea!
“Eyes locked on the base of the Warlock’s spine.”
What he lookin at o.o
Make an Insight check.
@@SupergeekMike ... I got a 4 D:
Eh, it’s probably fine. He probably isn’t going to drive that dagger into the base of the Warlock’s spine.
Hey, that's a really good spin on it! Kudos to you 🎉
My DM does something like that! Since we’re on Roll20, he can already see the scores and then he lists the characters per group. Since we aren’t professional players or even have any connection to theatre, it actually only matters that one of us rolled well and then we all use that result in all technicality XD
I already use that method for perception checks! But I'm not smart enough to realize I'm doing the same thing that Matt does with initiative.
To be fair, Matt and co were playing Pathfinder first, were perception is your initiative.
I honestly really like this idea for group checks, will be using it next time i dm. Because yeah its not a great system for initiative when you have to write down the players rolls and hope you left gaps in the right places for the monster's rolls. Just super messy and i will be using the method of a pre written list of numbers going forward
I mean…the ‘time savings’ is pretty damn minor, y’know?
Getting the order works better to write on a list. It's also llfunny when I go... "and under ten.... No one?"
"Who got a 15 or higher..." *Explains The cloaked figure*
"Okay now who got a 5 or lower"
"You notice a strange marking on one of your companions wrists and as you look closer you realize you're not with your adventuring party but instead accidentally followed some other group entirely"
Thank you! People always talk about this and i think its the worst way to do initiative. Absolutely awful. But i really like this idea for other checks.
I am 100% going to use this!
I use his system so I can keep track to write them down better. If I were better with google sheets of excel, I'd love to have something that I could put in numbers next to a name and it auto-shuffles them to the right order, including placeholders for enemies. Anyone aware of anything like that? Even on a website?
I like it. That sounds useful and could be great for saving time with a group of new players. Like it would save time with any group, but I am getting the feeling we may all have ADHD or some adjacent issues. LOL. Thanks, I'm gonna try this once we finally beat the schedule mini game.
This is so smart I'm stealing it
It would be great if there were more campaigns in a historical and geographical correct setting, so young children could learn from it.
The elementary school of my kids (2nd and 3rd grade) started using d&d as a teaching tool. Translation from English to Dutch, D&D scenario writing etc. etc.
This would be great..
NASA recently put out what they claim is a system neutral adventure but it's very clearly written for D&D, which I hear is educational (though not for history or geography)
@@Stephen-Fox That's great. I've just looked at the NASA website, but I couldn't find a download.
But this is exactly what I'm thinking of. The reason I was thinking of history and geography, is because, history has great stories and a lot of people love looking at d&d maps, but don't like topo.
It's a way to let children act and live in the real world, while they're to young to go out and do it themselves.
Think about going to an old war museum and finally seeing something that you already played with/in.
I'd say great teaching tool.
@@user-tz4fu3jj8t If you go onto their home page and then add - mission - hubble - multimedia - online-activities - the-lost-universe, replacing the - between text strings with / and removing the spaces, it should get you to the page that has download links (Shame we can't post links in youtube comments, heh)
Initiative have always been a tough thing to deal with. VTTs have made a lot of folks realise just how inefficient models are. The 5 band method is... Fine. It's not amazing and not awful. It's just a method that will work for some tables.
Still better than Mike Mearls horrific variant initiative.
I am glad someone has finally pointed this out. I totally agree that it takes way longer and often misses someone and then they just have to adjust. Why not have a folded index card for each player and sort them as each player calls out their number? You could put them on top of the dm screen from left to right so all the players and the DM could always see the order.
Tell me you only ever DM for 2 or 3 people without telling me you only DM for 2 or 3 people
Most of my groups are 5 players
Just don't think this works, even normally in DND I miss a perception but a guy in the group does and the Dm tells them in an open setting so now I know. Without the person having a choice if they wanted to share the information
Love it!
Both are good
Wait, you guys still use initiative?
I agree!
Who cares let people play how they want
Plosives on your mic
🤯 omg this is so smart
that sounds awful i’m not going to lie to you
No
Stealing this. Many thanks
Love it!
Gonna give this a try next chance I get. Especially for the adventure I am running for beginners, this will empower them and create a uniting experiance while also making the best roles shine without taking up much time. Win-win-win situation