#initiative

[thepersonalwords]

If you do not see light at the end of the tunnel, consider it an opportunity to create an opening yourself, wherever you want.

Ashok Kallarakkal

[retrokid616]

DID IMOGEN JUST SHOWED TIT TO SAVE FEARNE FROM BRAIUS!!!

[afriblaq]

[heartofmuse]

I don't care if you think I am the busiest person on the planet, message me, call me, search me out. I like people who message you not because they have a question to answer, not because they have a favor to ask, but people that reach out to you with no other purpose in mind but to answer the call of their heart that wants to touch you with warm affection and caring, because they want to sincerely know how you are doing, because they really care about you. And in that drawing close they tell you how valuable you are to their heart and how important is your presence to them because taking that first step, not only thinking about you or missing you, but the actual doing, taking all of that and transforming it into action, taking the first step forward and towards you, that initiative speaks of a beating heart, a living heart in motion. How can that not accelerate my heart too?

e.v.e.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Homebrew Mechanic: Earlybird Initiative

Because folks seemed to like my last write up for a combat systems, I figure I'd share one of my most enduring game mods.

I've tried SO MANY different initiative systems over the years, enough that I have pretty strong opinions on what makes a good one. My primary goal was to cut down on time that players spend waiting for their turns, as slow combat is one of the primary things that bleeds fun out of the sessions: Players who are bored waiting for their turn check out, which makes them slower and less decisive when the spotlight swings back around to them, this makes it longer for imitative to circle around and creates a feedback loop where player's attention becomes further and further taxed. I needed a system that did the opposite, kept everyone on their toes, engaged, and cooperative, as well as something that was exceptionally light weight.

Step 1: DM says "roll initiative", all players roll as normal, add their modifiers, but keep the number to themselves.

Step 2: The DM Calls out " twenty and above", and then every player who got 20 or above in imitative can take their turn in whatever order they wish, splitting up actions however they wish around each other in order to coordinate.

Step 3: Enemies who got 20 or above on their initiative go. Lair actions trigger.

Sep 4: DM says "Ten and Above", Repeat steps 2 and 3 with players followed by monsters, then again saying " Everyone else" for everyone who hasn't gone.

Step 5: If combat is still going DM says "Initiative resets" and everyone rolls their initiative shuffling combat positions , repeat until "how do you want to do this?" moment.

That's pretty much it. There's a bunch of little things you can do to speed things up (like only rolling initiative for important enemies while the rank and file have static initiative based on whether they're fast, medium, or slow) but largely this simplifies the logistics of having to keep up with combat to a few lighting fast beats. Everyone's engaged because they know their turn is only one or two steps away rather than forgetting where they sit in an ever shifting round-robin.

Literally every group I've introduced this to over the past three years has loved it to the point where they find combat run by other DMs painfully slow by comparison. I don't know what's a greater endorsement than that.

Art

[johndunwin]

free food

I wanted to capture the essence of community support and kindness through this artwork. The vibrant colors and the inviting imagery aim to create a sense of comfort and hope. By showcasing this fridge as a symbol of compassion, I hope to encourage others to think about the role we all play in helping those who are hungry.

[askmovieslate]

Mod Notes:

She rolled a 3.

Not very good.

It's OK, her luck is pretty high. She'll be OK.

[p3ld]

7 days of me drawing Errorcore

Day 4: Initiative

[bugbearsandbookends]

Celtic Warriors Didn’t Just Fight—They Performed. Here’s How to Steal That for Your RPG

Combat in RPGs usually starts the same way—roll initiative, then fight. But what if battles had more build-up, more tension, more drama? Historical and literary sources suggest that Celtic warfare followed a structured sequence of psychological and physical combat, beginning with taunts, then duels, and finally all-out battle. This wasn’t just fighting—it was psychological warfare, honor, and morale at play. And it’s a perfect model for a different kind of initiative system in RPGs.

The ancient Celts weren’t a single people and never saw themselves that way. They didn’t even call themselves Celts—the Greeks and Romans did. We think of them as a group today because their languages share common roots, and they had overlapping cultural traditions—among those, their way of war.

Celts were a tribal people whose lives revolved around the seasons. For most of the year, they raised livestock, mostly pigs, but cattle too. Cattle was as much a status symbol as a food source—maybe even more so. They were a prized commodity, and when the warmer months arrived, Celtic warriors targeted rival tribes and clans for cattle raids, which, in some cases, escalated into prolonged feuds. The most famous of these is the great Irish epic, Táin Bó Cúailnge, or The Cattle Raid of Cooley, which tells the story of Queen Medb of Connacht’s war to steal Ulster’s prized bull. With Ulster’s warriors cursed by a magical weakness, only Cú Chulainn—the greatest warrior of Irish myth—stands in her way. Gifted with superhuman combat skills and a terrifying battle frenzy, he holds off Medb’s army through a series of brutal duels, culminating in a tragic fight against his closest friend and rival, Ferdiad.

While obviously a work of fiction, The Táin paints a portrait of Celtic warfare very similar to that described by the Romans and Greeks. The popular imagination might depict the Celts as hordes of wild-eyed, painted warriors rushing their enemies with little thought to timing or tactics, but these fanciful portrayals have little to do with reality.

Battles were preceded by raucous blasts from the brass trumpets known as carnyces, rhythmic banging of weapons on shields, and curses hurled by druids, all aimed at rattling an enemy’s morale. Warriors sometimes fought in the nude, too, which served to intimidate opponents who depended on tough leather and chain mail to ward off blows.

Once the lines were drawn, the two forces exchanged taunts, insults, and, perhaps most importantly, boasts. The Celts were a very proud people and were quick to boast of their prowess in battle and the accomplishments of themselves and their forebears. Likewise, an accusation of cowardice or a slight aimed at one’s honor could not be left unaddressed.

Knowing this, the champions of a fighting force would call out their rivals and challenge them to single combat. These one-on-one duels would take place in front of both armies, with the winning fighter claiming the other’s head and lifting it up high for his allies to see. Sometimes, this would end the battle before it began, but not often. The Celts loved to fight, after all.

This structured approach to battle—taunts, duels, then full melee—offers a compelling alternative to the standard initiative roll. It works best in fights against intelligent foes who share a common language and a cultural sense of honor. There are plenty of ways to implement such a thing, but here’s one way:

A Structured Initiative System Inspired by Celtic Warfare

Taunt Phase:

Combat begins with an exchange of insults and boasts. Players can roleplay this or roll skill checks (Persuasion, Intimidation, or Performance). A successful taunt gives a +1 bonus to initiative in the next phase and may even demoralize weaker foes.

Challenge Phase:

A warrior may call out an enemy champion for single combat before the full battle begins. The winner boosts their side’s morale, granting a +1 bonus to attack rolls or another minor tactical advantage when the melee begins.

Combat Phase:

All players roll initiative, applying any bonuses gained in previous phases. Combat proceeds as normal, but those who dominated the pre-battle rituals enter the fight with momentum.

This is how I might do this. What about you?

[gothicseverance]

[Some Gothic heroines] take remedial action: they take the initiative to go out from, inevitably also out to, evil. They may “wrestle it to the ground” and return to a house whose gates remain open, symbolizing that “world” and “home” invariably interact. Or they may fall along the way.

—Burning down the house

[thepersonalwords]

Decide today to take a stand, make a plan, and get. No one ever said it was going to be easy and wouldn’t require effort. It will sometimes require that you go against the grain, face great challenge, conquer fear, overcome obstacles, and bounce back when knocked down. Choose to keep moving and don’t give up. And if your ship still doesn’t come in—swim out to it!

Susan C. Young, The Art of Action: 8 Ways to Initiate & Activate Forward Momentum for Positive Impact

[retrokid616]

Laudna and Imogen above table: “are you a good witch or a bad bitch”

[jamieannmason]

Is initiative without action really initiative?

Initiative without action is simply words with no intention or meaning.

But so often, initiative without action is merely a placeholder given to those who seek or desire something from another person.

If you want to spend time with me, plan it, and coordinate it, don't just talk about it. Make an effort. If you want to have sex me with, don't just ask, kiss me, touch me, entice me, and lead me.

Effort and initiative are so attractive and drawing. Everything else is just dead air and wasted intention.

[thewandererh]

Exhibit A: Procrastination, Gratification, and Initiative

and what it means regarding dopamining, and living life to the fullest.

i am not a professional! this is my interpretation of feelings i (and most likely many others) have experienced.

the meaning in life

is defined by what you do

and how you move through

- me. just now ✌️☺️🤳📸

think of a time you had things to do. everyone has a time like that. in that time, you know you have things to do—but you’re distracted by something. perhaps by doomscrolling, or planning something with friends to avoid homework, or needing to tell someone something vital. they are hard situations…but why?

your body evaluates that you’d feel better once you’ve completed the goal you have to do. whether it be by going outside, finishing that assignment, or talking to that someone. however, doing it would have you leave the established comfort you’re enveloped in now. you don’t want to change your situation because you’re comfortable, so you continue to recline. maybe you try to ignore the thought by busying yourself further, but it never works.

you are now conscious that you are wasting your time. everything becomes stressful. just one more video. just one more game. just one more minute. you’ve connected with your body, listened to its needs, but put them off. declining the offer for the sake of reclining with just one more video, game, or minute. the constant dopamine surge of your comfortable situation makes it hard to leave, and you try to reinforce that. you know you’ll be happier with the task done, but you try to make up for that ‘lost gratification’ in your current situation. you could be happier, but you don’t want to make a change that would alter your situation. so you bury yourself deeper with meaningless work all to try and find meaning.

this is procrastination.

it’s a spiral of meaningless longevity that can last for hours. and once one is conscious of it, it turns your moments of forced dopamine into a bad time filled with only regret and misery.

“you could be doing something more fulfulling.” says your body. your body knows your needs better than you do sometimes, so why not listen to it?

we humans fear change. we humans like when we know where we are in life, and knowing that it’s comfortable. knowing that it’s safe. who knows what could happen while you do that task? you’ll have to sit up, actually move again, and paramountly, actually stress about something. you’ve have to use energy you don’t think you have, or could reserve for something else. you can watch or play some more with that energy instead, so why not?

change has to happen. especially when it’s for the better.

your body is telling the truth when it says you’ll be happier after you finish that task.

while you try to finish that task, you’ll be doing something different. this is understandably scary! but you’re listening to yourself instead of suppressing your wishes and bottling your feelings.

this time-wasting activity you’re so caught up in is so addictive because it involves instant dopamine. your brain wants more, so you keep giving energy into an activity that, as a bonus, helps you forget the world and your problems alongside it.

the task you need to do is a transitional period to dopamine. it’s an effortful wait that feels unbearable at first glance because you’re so enveloped in the dopamine-generating-machine (dopamining??). but this dopamine is so much more fulfilling that anything you can gather while scrounging deeper into that activity you’re desperate to keep going.

this is gratification.

gratification comes as personal celebration after you’ve completed something. it comes with the dopamine generation, yes, but it’s so much powerful when you’ve worked for it (so it’ll be used as a term in that work-for-it sense). gratification is your body being relieved of pressure and burden because of the effort you’ve put in to better your situation. you feel safer now, less anxious, and more free. you have one less to-do on your list, and that deserves to be celebrated. more will always come, but why not stop for a moment?

this task has stressed you out to the point of desperately avoiding it with meaningless activities. but it’s done now. it’s completed, and it’s all thanks to you. the effort you put into this task could have been any level of difficult, but you did it. whether the task be big or small, you did it. if you had to do it in parts, that’s ok. taking a break between work lets you refocus your thoughts and reflect on what you’ve done, which also summons gratification. you’re working! you’re in the zone! maybe the confetti can wait until after it’s completley done, but you deserve a snack and a brain break (or so).

you feel so great doing something so much better for your stress levels. you’re living life fuller than you did before. before you were suffering by your own hand…but why?

it didn’t have to be like this.

procrastination is caused by being rewarded for not getting things done. dopamining at it’s peak. it’s self-induced, because only you control it. and you have the capacity for changing your situation. here’s how:

this is initiative.

taking initiative is being proactive about your situation. you take opportunities as they come to better your situation; you notice when you’re uncomfortable, reflect, and make a change. sometimes keeping in touch with your body is hard because of the face-paced nature of dopamining and procrastination, but your body will never stop reaching out. this is why when you take a break, you realize how hungry or etc you are. take a moment after a video, game match, or something of the like finishes. breathe. take a moment to remember and reevaluate yourself. how long has it been? what do you need to get done? why would you rather avoid it? and even, how can you make it easier?

taking initiative is listening to yourself when you start to feel uncomfortable. track the feeling, and understand where it’s coming from instead of pushing it away. assess your situation. what is easy, and what would make you happier? think twice—dopamining is a habit that’s hard to break.

taking initiative is taking a deep breath, getting up, and looking at your task. examining the difficulty and breaking it up into parts if necessary. maybe you need music/ambience if it’s monotonous, but try not to make that too distracting. get a snack and water (etc) if you feel fatigued or discomforted. examine the big picture in steps, and reward yourself when you’re finished.

breaking out of a dopamining session means a lot. you remember your body and ergo what you need. it might take some time to develop the habit of checking in on yourself, but it is possible. you are not lazy. you are not a time-waster. you can live life to the fullest when you chase the proper gratification.

when you break out of dopamining, even just a session of it, potential opens up. even before you finish your task, you recognize what you can do. you could go on a walk, draw, write, read, organize, explore some music, do some more chores if you’re in the zone, and so much more. and then when you finish that task that feels so daunting, the gratification feels earned. it feels different. it feels personal. you just did something that mattered more. and steps like that build persistence, self-awareness, and proactivity. steps like that make life fuller.

_…-~^*^~-…_ _…-~^*^~-…_ _…-~^*^~-…_

helpful articles that make points i don’t + stand strong at the possibility i make a mistake in this post!

[fantasteli]