Rolling initiative in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition determines the order of the combat round. Players and the Dungeon Master (DM) roll Dexterity Ability checks to assess the combat order in which they’ll take turns. Players roll these DEX checks for their characters, and the DM rolls DEX checks for their monsters.
The highest roll gets to play first, followed by the next until the round of combat ends. –When the round restarts, the order follows the same format (unless abilities or spells affect it) until combat ceases. Every new round of combat means everyone must “Roll Initiative!”
Here’s what the Player’s Handbook (PHB) says about initiative:
Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order.”
-pg. 190, Player’s Handbook (PHB)
Also, remember that when creatures are surprised at the start of combat, it doesn’t matter what their initiative roll ends up being. –That creature must wait until the next turn to move or commit an action. Fun tip: Stealth, which determines moments of surprise, relies on the DEX modifier too.
What Happens When Initiative Is Tied?
Player Character Ties:
There are many ways to decide the initiative roll. My method for player vs. player ties is to look at the individual Dexterity (DEX) Modifier on their character sheets. If there is a difference in DEX modifiers (Like +3 vs. +2), the higher modifier will go first (+3).
If the modifiers are also tied (+1 vs. +1), have them roll a d20 until there is a winner for that slot in the combat round.
Now, the above ruling is more to my liking. However, the more official rule set in the PHB is straightforward:
“If a tie occurs, the DM decides the order among tied DM-controlled creatures, and the players decide the order among their tied characters. The DM can decide the order if a tie is between a monster and a player character. Optionally, the DM can have the tied characters and monsters each roll a d20 to determine the order, highest roll goes first.”
-Pg. 190, PHB
Allowing players to decide amongst themselves can work. Still, sometimes gridlock can occur, so I like to use the character DEX modifiers to settle initiative.
I’m curious if there are other DMs out there with different ways to figure out ties? Please comment below if so!
Player vs. Monster Ties:
In the case of player vs. monster, I usually let the player win the tie so the game can continue. After all, the players are generally the main characters in this collaborative story setting. That said, if they are fighting against a formidable enemy, like a BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy), it should be treated like a player vs. player tie. Don’t overcomplicate matters, though, especially if it’s holding up the game!
Alternatively, The PHB lets the DM decide who wins a tie regarding player vs. monster initiative rolls, which I find interesting. I can’t entirely agree with this, but it might align with DMs wanting more authority in their games.
When Multiple Enemies Are Involved In Combat
One mistake I consistently made as a starting DM would be to roll each similar monster individually, which would sometimes halt combat. I vividly remember sweating, trying to roll for each Redbrand Ruffian enemy in my Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign – as my players patiently waited. We slogged through it, but my lesson was to make one initiative roll for large groups of the same enemy.
That way, when there are inevitably too many enemies on screen, your players aren’t forced to watch you roll initiative for every. Single. One. The PHB touches on this specifically:
“The DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same time.”
-Pg. 190, PHB
Try This! Tying Charisma With Initiative For Roleplay Purposes
You know what grinds my gears? Determining who gets to go first at the start of sessions. In my games, instead of asking the heavy-leaded question of: “So, uh…who wants to go first?” –and waiting for the players to hem and haw and oh my Gods 5 minutes just passed by, I have them roll a new kind of initiative:
“Roll for Roleplay Initiative!”
-Me, Ryan
My idea is that roleplay initiative is a Charisma (CHA) check that lets players determine who goes first in an imaginary “combat round.” It’s an ice-breaker round meant to get the story going.
I use CHA instead of DEX due to the circumstances of roleplay often attached to beginning a session (Unless that session starts during a combat round). It also gives roleplay-focused characters a chance to shine and act out their characters during quiet scenes.
Remember when I mentioned the imaginary combat round? In my games, once the ice is broken, players will begin to intercede and interact organically. –Which is just what you want in the first place as the DM. I drop the roleplay initiative round entirely to run the game as usual.
The rules for Roleplay Initiative generally follow standard combat initiative rules. I wanted to add this here for DMs struggling to start their games or prod players to act mid game. While I haven’t done this midgame before, enacting a roleplay initiative can be an excellent idea for revving a “dead” table, where players may just be standing around. If anyone does this, please let me know the results! I imagine it depends on the players you have. I certainly feel lucky that I don’t need to do this.
Now You Know How Rolling Initiative Works In DND 5e!
Saying “Roll Initiative” is probably one of the best moments for me as a DM. Setting up the scene before saying it is excellent. Still, it’s even better when initiative starts due to a player’s inopportune action.
What are some of your favorite moments when you had to roll initiative? Is there anything that I missed or should expand upon? Please let me know!
The Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (5e) is a pillar resource for DMs looking to create their own world with players willing to tell their stories in it. The focus of the DMG is primarily on world-building. It consists of three main sections which are meant to guide the DM throughout their game:
How to build the places your players will inhabit.
How to build the adventures and NPCs for players to do quests.
The adjudication of rules for specific player scenarios.
Let me start by saying this whole article is a matter of opinion. Whether you choose to read going forward is up to you. My main aim is to get fellow DMs thinking about what it really means to run a game. While this focuses on the DMG for 5e, this should translate well enough for Game Masters adjudicating other TTRPGs. The DMG is a vital resource, so why shouldn’t DMs and players take it literally? We’ll answer that question and then dive into those three sections of the DMG I mentioned above to talk about how I think people should interpret them.
The Role of The DM In The Dungeon Master’s Guide:
What makes a Dungeon Master stems from the introduction of the DMG (Pg4). In the intro, it explains the many roles of the DM:
Campaign Architect
Inventor
Storyteller
Writer
Actor
Referee
Essentially, the Dungeon Master is the one to take charge of their games. After all, they created the world the players participate in. It can be a heavy burden for certain people, especially when implementing the game’s rules. That said…
The DMG Helps You Improvise Your Games
Without rules, you don’t have a reliable game. Yet the DMG states it isn’t some law book for DMs to clutch to. –It turns out that breaking the rules of the Players Hand Book (PHB), modifying the creatures in The Monster Manual, and rebelling against ideas in the DMG for your own is encouraged. The DMs at Wizards of the Coast understand that various people will have different playstyles and worlds. No DM will play the same as the other, and that’s okay.
Here, I’ll summarize some of the critical points in the DMG’s three sections that allow the DM to change rules as they see fit:
Part 1: Master Of Worlds
To quote the very first sentence:
“Every DM is the creator of his or her own campaign world. Whether you invent a world, adapt a world from a favorite movie or novel, or use a published setting for the D&D game, you make that world your own over the course of a campaign.”
(DMG, Pg.4)
From the beginning, it tells us that you can adapt D&D to whatever you want to build your world upon. The DMG also introduces the idea that D&D is a multiverse where many planes and worlds coincidentally occur. It’s a fancy way of saying to DMs: “Do what you want!”
While this is a freeing thought, the guide also makes a point to say that consistency is a massive part of world-building.
“Consistency is a key to a believable fictional world. When the adventurers go back into town for supplies, they should encounter the same nonplayer characters (NPCs) they met before…Once you have achieved this degree of consistency, you can provide an occasional change…one that has nothing to do with the adventures directly, but one that they’ll notice –makes the players feel as though their characters are part of a living world that changes and grows along with them.”
(DMG, Pg.4)
Further, the DMG suggests that by using the PHB in conjunction with your world-building plans, you can merge them to serve your campaign’s needs.
Part 2: Master of Adventures
Part 2: Master of Adventures merely suggests that you’ll need to prepare beyond the hours you spend at the table with your players in a session.
That said, Part 2’s introduction states plainly how it will help you craft your own NPCs, including any motives and ambitions. This includes how to make up clever encounters in your story. It also says how you’ll create treasure, magic items, and special rewards so your players stay invested in your world.
The above are excellent hallmarks of consistent planning and improvisation on the DM’s part.
Part 3: Master Of Rules:
It is crucial to remember that the DMG states how important it is to have a referee who guarantees that everyone at the table plays by the rules. That said, eventually, a player’s actions would stump the most studious DM wanting to run their games Rules As Written (RAW) Style.
The DMG encourages DMs to faithfully determine what their player’s action requires or if it is even possible. Such scenarios include:
Mentally determining the Difficulty Check (DC) for an action the player may want to take.
Whether a unique action (Like throwing hot coals in an enemy’s face) imposes extra penalties or advantages for players.
Referencing the rules of the PHB to determine success or failure for player actions (Like how far a player can move to a target).
While the DMG mentions the above scenarios, there are no rules for these scenarios. –Just the suggestion that you, as a DM, must make that call yourself.
Interestingly, the DMG makes a hypocritical statement implying that you should know the rules to appropriately make the calls you need to make in the game while also saying that you don’t need to know everything. However, It closes that loophole with this beautiful quote:
“You don’t have to memorize this book or the Player’s Handbook, but you should have a clear idea of their contents so that, when a situation requires a ruling, you know where to find the proper reference.”
DMG (Pg. 5)
As long as you know where the rules reside in the PHB and the DMG, you will be doing okay as the DM. I believe this statement gives certain DMs leeway to bend the rules, but do so at your own risk and make sure that you are communicating with your players should you choose to do so. Or, like the dragon inside this article, they will eat you alive.
Taking Your Players Into Account
Believe it or not, the success of your world does not depend on how well you craft the environment, the people in it, the adventures, or the encounters.
It depends on if the players enjoy the experience you’re giving them.
“The success of a D&D game hinges on your ability to entertain the other players at the game table. Whereas their role is to create characters (the protagonists of the campaign), breathe life into them, and help steer the campaign through their characters’ actions, your role is to keep the players (and yourself) interested and immersed in the world you’ve created, and to let their characters do awesome things.” (DMG, Pg. 6)
(DMG, Pg.6)
The beauty of D&D is that it is a collaborative storytelling game. Suppose you plan to implement a novel complete with fully fleshed NPCs into your D&D game, complete with detailed revelations just waiting for your players to discover. In that case, you may encounter some serious issues.
Your NPCs are not the protagonists of the D&D world. Your players are.
The nuance of story writing for novels and short stories vastly differs from the writing required for D&D.
The arc of your story world will be trampled on and changed by the players in your D&D campaign based on the choices they are free to make.
I’ve moderated communities invested in storytelling and novels, and the one thing that stands out to me when reading for aspiring writers? They dump lore, backgrounds, and settings into their story without respecting the reader. Paragraph after paragraph of…just get to the action already! Similarly, for D&D, your players want to play the game and get to the action. I’m not saying you shouldn’t design a detailed world. But you have to go about it with the idea that D&D is more a game than a story. Leaving loopholes open and questions unanswered for your players to latch onto is the best thing you can do to introduce your custom-made world to the game.
Moving away from that tangent, I want to highlight some of the things the DMG recommends for DMs to consider when it comes to their players:
Acting: Similar to the requirement of DMs, players can act out their character. Let them!
Exploring: Understand how much your players enjoy exploring in the game. Providing them with something to uncover the mystery of your world is as easy as giving them monsters or scenes with peculiar details to start investigating.
Instigating: Instigators should be allowed to start trouble in your world. It’s up to you to give them the appropriate consequences for getting into encounters that are fun for everybody. Don’t be afraid to let the instigator’s actions change the world around them.
Fighting: Similarly, players who like to fight should have you focused on how combat proceeds, thanks to their actions, with vivid detail if at all possible.
Optimizing: Players who like to optimize their characters should be rewarded with new abilities and items. It’s wise to give these players encounters that let them shine.
Problem-Solving: Problem solvers would likely love encounters that reward planning and tactics and challenging them with NPCs that have complex motives.
Storytelling: Players who love to tell stories are at home when they know they can participate in the DM’s overarching plot. –Using their character background, ensuring encounters advance the story, and making their actions known in future events is recommended.
Implementing a portion of these suggestions from the DMG will help you craft a world that collaborates and compromises with the player’s needs and the DM’s. Having a Session 0 will help you determine your player’s needs as the story progresses. You need to ask them what they want out of the game.
An Argument for RAW (Rules As Written):
My article describes many snippets that I’ve found that support the idea of flexibility when it comes down to the rules of D&D. After all, it is a free-form game where game decisions, consequences, and player reactions will always put the DM to task when it comes down to wayward rulings. It makes sense when it comes down to consistency and reliance when playing D&D RAW style.
You will always have the PHB, the DMG, and the other supporting books behind you when you make your rulings at the table.
Players will be at ease knowing they will be treated equally at the table. Favoritism is a hard accusation to point at a DM who plays their games RAW.
Again, consistency is key for playing D&D regularly. Following the rules by the book is guaranteed to allow everybody to have fun at your sessions.
However, when it comes to making calls on the fly, RAW-style gameplay falters when:
You can’t find the specific rule in an official manual.
There is no particular rule in the official manual.
I say you shouldn’t overthink it. Sometimes, when a ruling needs to be made, it’s time to let go of RAW Style when it doesn’t work and exercise the most potent D&D rule. Just make sure not to abuse it:
Whatever you say goes. –Or the Rule of Cool.
If a really extraordinary circumstance pops up, and you are unsure if it’s allowed in the rules…why not let it happen?
If there is an action that makes sense to play, but there’s no official rule for conducting it faithfully, why not make something up and move along?
I am not the best DM in the world, but some of my best moments in the game were when I bent the rules to allow the player to do something unique. –And it ensured everyone had a blast, too.
After all, you are the Dungeon Master.
I hope that this article helps anyone thinking about running their own game, or currently doing so think about the impacts of how they choose to implement rulings for their players.
When I first started playing D&D a few years ago, I was enthralled with the idea of seeing how my friends would react to situations I would come up with on the fly. I remember that after a game of D&D, my friends and roommates would sit around, just talking. Seemingly, we still wanted to play, but the DM wasn’t around anymore. So we played pretend instead. –I wasn’t even really DMing with the rules of D&D…we were just rolling a d20 and having a blast through a scenario involving breaking into a castle.
Fun times.
My point is that the soul of D&D is in the mutual storytelling itself. The make-believe encounters we put ourselves in so we can socialize, laugh, and talk through together. No rules are required for that. Just willing sacrifices. Err, players.
There are several reasons to need to cancel a game. After more than a year of playing a few dedicated games of D&D every week, I listed my main reasons for cancellations in my games. Remember that these reasons are based on my experiences with online play only.
Major bummer. But it happens! When multiple players cancel, you must determine how many players you have.
3-4 players: You should cancel. Half of the party canceling the game will lead to the DM playing with themselves. Alternatively, you could do individual one-on-one games with your active players instead. Soon I will have an article up detailing my best practices for a one-on-one game.
5-6 players: I recommend communicating with everyone to determine if they want to continue playing the game or wait for the others. If no one answers, cancel the game. If there is interest from the other players, keep it going.
*7 + players: You should continue playing, you mad lad!
Players are late or unresponsive, and they haven’t communicated:
This is a very worrying event. Your players could have had a terrible thing happen to them, or hopefully, it’s something as simple as not looking at the time. After all, they each have their own lives to lead. Try contacting them directly and determine if you can reach them. If only one person does this, by all means, continue the game without them. If multiple people do this, I recommend canceling to work on the game internally. DMs ultimately need to make their own determination when this event occurs. Suppose this happens with a particular player for multiple sessions. In that case, you may want to evaluate whether they belong in your game. Thankfully, I’ve never had to do this, and I hope you don’t either!
You, The DM, Are Called Into Work or Family Matter:
Nothing you can do when life calls you back to tend to critical matters. Remember that playing dedicated D&D means you’ve made the conscious decision to dedicate a few hours of your life to playing D&D. Of course, when you need to pay the bills or care for a sick parent, you cannot control everything perfectly. Work is a leading reason why I must cancel my games. –But let me state that I very rarely let it happen.
At my current job, I iterate to them just how vital my set days are to me. As a DM, it’s ultimately your responsibility to communicate with your job’s supervisor about your scheduling needs. I firmly believe nobody should work a job that doesn’t let them work on a consistent schedule. If this isn’t addressed, I think it will be tough for a DM to consistently play their game long-term. Similarly, you must ensure your family understands your boundaries and hobbies. Good luck!
* I’ve had moments where my job started calling me to work almost weekly! Eventually, I told them I wouldn’t come in that day, and they stopped. I am fortunate to have a very understanding employer with an excellent boss. I feel it’s a respectful relationship. If you have to have any reason, all you need to tell them is that you have an appointment scheduled that day. –Because you literally do. Your appointment is to play some D&D with your friends!
You, The DM, are feeling sick (And Playing At A Table):
You should call the session off. While I’m sure it would be fun to raise the dead in a game of Dungeons & Dragons, it’s not fun to make others feel like the rising dead because you had the flu. This goes for players too. If you are unwell, stay home!
*Alternatively, you could switch your D&D game to online play for that session. I will write an article soon detailing how to get an online game started quickly and for free so you can focus on playing instead of infecting your friends!
A Group Emergency Happened.
Many types of emergencies would affect the dynamics of your D&D group. Sometimes someone has a death in the family and needs to leave for a while. Maybe someone was injured in the group. Whatever that group emergency is, the prevailing feeling from everyone is that play would feel forced and not enjoyable. I recommend canceling the session, at least for that week, and openly communicating with everyone affected.
Internal Changes In The Game Occurred Or Will Occur.
Did you come up with an entirely epic storyline that needs further development? Are players pining you for something new & tasty for their D&D games in the future? What if you found a significant glitch in the game that may destroy what you’ve worked to cultivate?
Cancel, cancel, cancel the session! –And use that time to develop what you need to update. You will thank yourself for doing it; I’m sure your players will too. Sometimes it makes sense to pause a project, like a dedicated game, so you can view it from all sides and make the necessary changes.
A Major Disruption Happened In Game.
There are a variety of disruptions, but the worst ones will be the ones that cannot be worked around or ignored. These types of troubles include:
An outburst from a player or multiple players affected everyone’s enjoyment of the game.
Power Outages.
An act of God (Like an electric fire or a tree falling on your roof).
These disruptions are the ones that are entirely out of your control as a DM. Sometimes people aren’t in the best mood, or a lightning storm happens, and you must cancel the game. Whatever the reason, always communicate to your players why you need to cancel. I’m sure they’ll understand.
In particular, whenever an outburst from a player or players occurs, it should be treated promptly and seriously, as it could affect the future of your game moving forward. Later, I will write an article detailing how to set up your games for success by having a strict but fair set of rules. It will be linked here.
What Would Make You Cancel A D&D Game?
Of course, there are several other reasons why you would cancel a D&D game. Every dungeon master has their own issues, obstacles, and pool of players with different needs and wants. There’s gotta be a random hodge-podge of specific reasons to cancel your game. The list I provided was merely a general summary of some of my most common issues.
So what would make you cancel your game? Leave a comment below.
I hope you enjoyed the read.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy.
