And Initiative is exactly why I never skilled PER on any of my chars beyond 9. If anything it is beneficial to not move first for the melee chars (sadly it seems the game is hardcoded to always have you move first when you start combat, unless enemy initiates combat) so even less point to skill PER
But when I boosted PER on my char that had highest PER by default he ended up moving first and that was exactly what I didn't want. I want my mages to move first so that they can teleport melee guys into combat, and they can then attack without all the enemies having a go at them first, and mages in this game end up with very low PER thanks to the books.... so you end up having to manage initiative through the PER points you spend...
Initiative is actually not a positive point of PER... Initiative is literally why I hate PER ;P
If you don't want your melee to go first, you can bank ap or delay his/her turn. You have the ultimate control over your strategy, including character movement order.
Besides, if your melee can go first and you do want to use up your AP why not inspire/encourage/any other buff/summon?
