Initiative determines the order of turns during combat.
Establishing initiative sets the order of everyone’s turn throughout the encounter. Each participant makes an ability check to determine their place in the initiative count, from the highest check total to the lowest. The initiative order remains the same from round to round.
This ability check is typically made with Dexterity, but The DM might determine that one or more participants should instead roll a different ability check, potentially even utilizing a relevant skill or tool. Some suggestions are listed below, in the Types of Initiative Table, though the list is by no means exhaustive.
| Types of Initiative | |
| Possible Scenario | Potential Ability Check |
| Spotting a hidden threat | Wisdom (Perception) |
| Climbing a cliff during a landslide | Strength (Athletics) |
| Acting unassuming before taking sudden action | Charisma (Deception) |
| Noticing when an unassuming character is about to take action | Wisdom (Insight) |
| Participating in a wagon race | Dexterity (Land Vehicles) |
In the event of a tie, the DM decides the order among tied DM-controled creatures, and players decide the order among their tied characters. The DM can decide the order if the tie is between a monster and a player character.
Some examples of how to adjudicate ties in Initiative include:
In most combat scenarios, it is advised that the DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same time, purely for the sake of simplicity. If more granularity is preferred, however, and the DM doesn't mind tracking each creature's initiative separately then each creature can make their own roll.