Random thought on Holmes initiative.. DEX in D&D can be something of a dump stat, since the bonuses to missile attack and initiative aren't huge in earlier rules sets; if you use group initiative, it becomes even more of a dump stat if the players can use the PC with the highest initiative to roll.
The Holmes method of doing initiative in DEX score order makes DEX much more important - a 9 DEX guy has a substantially less chance of going before foes than even a 12 DEX guy. Similarly, items and spells which increase DEX would have a greater effect than when DEX just gives a bonus to initiative rolls; and on the flip side, items / spells / conditions that reduce DEX would have an outsized effect compared to versions where DEX just gives a bonus to init.
Has anyone who's run the Holmes rules as written noticed any changes in how players look at DEX when it is used directly for initiative rolls?
Noah Stevens I never really read Holmes in detail until the last couple of years, myself. I got it I think sometime in spring '80 after a buddy of mine who was a couple years older got a copy in Christmas '79.
ReplyDeleteAll of us being kids, we had a blast but played in all sorts of oddball ways as we figured out how the rules worked. Throw in adding AD&D and B/X to the mix, and it was a big rules mess we Frankensteined out of whatever we had available at the time.
Going back now and rereading the rolls, all sorts of interesting stuff has become apparent, which is why I really enjoy these forums : )
I never rolled Dex for monsters in those arly first session days before I bought the AD&D books to mix with Holmes - I always told the players they had first strike. This changed when I started using AD&D rules mixed; then it was a d6 per side for initiative.
ReplyDelete