Just a simple idea that has been simmering in my head since D:OS EE.

Skills that affects the order of a character's turn during that phase.

Basically I would find very rewarding to be able to displace a character's turn in the phase with certain skills. It would be a great combination with Wits to try and make an enemy character move after your more fragile character. Ex : Skill that "staggers" and enemy and displace his moving order by 2 position later during the phase. It could add subtle strategic depth and give a small amount of team plays with a rogue player other than destroy before being destroyed.

This goes hand in hand with another thread that I think has some pretty good ideas on CC and how to make it better. link

Let me know what you think!

Would be an idea to make 'knock down' not just another kind of 'stun'?

Does Slow have impact on Initiative?

Well, dubuffs for Initiative could do the trick, they however most probably wont be as accurate as setting someones turn precisely 2 points "to the right", but I guess it should be easier to implement.

I like this idea a lot.

Yes it does, but it will only affect the next turn (if I'm not mistaken)



My point is to insert a new, instant mechanic, to add more strategic approach and variety to a turn phase.
Here are the benefits that I can see of this new mechanic.

1. It will allow witty characters to have a an edge on the battlefield for added benefits of moving first other than try and instant kill the weakest target.

2. It could add a new mechanic that can bypass the armor/magic armor system

Afaik, slow's only effect is to forcing the slowed character to spend more action points on movement. It is basically a debuff that severely hampers the character's speed rather than initiative.

I like the idea of being able to change turn positioning. It worth noting however, that in battles with lots of enemies, the turn list at the top becomes very full. For this to work properly the turn order sprites may need to be shrunk down so that more can fit (possibly make two rows of them instead of one?). You currently only have extremely basic information about turn order which could be a problem

This kind of reminds of Darkest Dungeon, where lots of skills modify party order, though that's a bit different.

Could also be skills to get an ally to move earlier, perhaps at some disadvantage. Something like, targeted character moves right after you, but has -2 AP. Or a kind of adrenaline skill, where a character moves up in the order for the next turn, but then late in the order after that.

And I agree with those CC changes. Death to hard CC that's all the same!

You know, I kind of like the idea of abilities that, as a cost, lower your place in the initiative by one or more slots... The more I think about it the more cool I think this could be if done right.

Initiative manipulation is one of the best gameplay mechanics enabled by an initiative system.

Not having it would be a tremendous waste, and the current "wait" option that puts you at the end of the queue is not enough.