Proposed Initiative Revision

Change #1
New Skill: Reflexes (Reaction) This reflects the concept of Reflexes being a trainable thing, you can learn to react faster to a deadly situation.
This test determines when you will act and how many tasks you can accomplish when you act.
Normal Karma and defaulting rules apply.
Ties are resolved by examining compatible/applicable Speed boosts, then reflex skill, finally reaction.
Test is made against a TN of 4, modified by wounds as any other normal test.
There are a number of Phases equal to the highest number of successes,
You get to take your action(s) each phase you qualify for. If you only receive 1 simple action for the phase, you may save it for the next phase to accomplish a complex action.
Yes, this means those that pump up their Reflex skill will be more dangerous. Yes this means that someone with a high rated speed enhancer and a high Reflex skill is very dangerous.

Change #2
Speed boosting enhancements no longer grant Reaction bonuses. See bleow
Enhanced Articulation remains unchanged.

Change #3
Order of action is based on results of Reflex test. Example below.
Starting at highest number of successes, each person with that many successes takes their alloted actions. To "purchase" a complex action requires 2 simple actions. You can purchase 2 additional free actions by expending a simple action.

The number of simple actions per success is as follows:
1 simple action per phase per person base. (in addition to your 1 base free action)

1 simple action per 2 successes in the Reflexes test.

1 additional action per phase per level of compatible speed enhancements, Wired Reflexes 3 provides 3 additional actions per phase.

The Edge, Adrenaline Boost, will provide 1D3 actions for up to half Body in rounds (minimum 1 round) or end of immidiate combat whichever is first, with a penalty of +2 to all tests after the end of the boost for 1 hour base reduceable with a body test (TN 4, modified by the +2 and any wound modifiers) when player chooses to envoke the edge. May only envoke the edge Body/2 times per day, minimum once and cannot envoke a second boost until the first is recovered from.
(I feel the penalty will balance the uber troll adrenaline capability and it's silly that adrenaline would hurt your functioning while you are boosted)

Example
Player #1 has Reflexes at 3 and no speed enhancements
Player #2 has Reflexes at 5 and Wired reflexes 1.
Player #3 has no Reflex points and a Reaction of 3 (has a Body of 4)
NPC has Reflexes at 6 and Adrenaline Boost
No one has any would modifiers yet.

Player #1 rolls a 5 5 1 on his Reflex test, Granting 2 successes
Player #2 rolls a 4 3 2 1 1, granting 1 Success
Player #3 rolls a 9 5 5 (lucky for him), granting 1 success due to defaulting rules.

GM decides to envoke a surge and rolls 8 3 2 1 1 1 for the NPC, granting 1 success and a 2 on the 1d3.

Round 1
Order of action:
Player #1
Player #2 wins the tie, due to his Wired Reflexes
NPC, as he has a speed enhancer
Player #3

Actions:

With 2 Successes being the highest amount of successes, there are 2 phases in this combat round.
Phase #1
Player #1 gets 2 simple actions, deciding to shoot twice at the NPC
Phase #2
Player #1 gets 2 more simple actions, deciding to continue to shoot at the NPC
Player #2 gets 2 simple actions (1 base +1 for Speed enhancer), shooting at the NPC twice
NPC gets 3 simple actions, 1 base, +2 from Adrenaline surge . He decides to spend one simple action doding behind cover and purchases 1 complex action to open up with Auto-fire at the trio.
Player #3 gets 1 simple action (and is considering learning how to react faster), decides to drop prone and "save" his action for the next go around so he can summon a spirit.

Though, chances are the NPC is deader than Dunklezahn at this point, we'll continue the excercise as though he only recevied a moderate wound. Player #1 received a light and the others received no wounds.

Round 2
Order:
Player #1 rolls 9 3 2 (TN is 5 with wound) getting 1 success
Player #2 rolls 8 4 3 3 2 for 2 successes
Player #3 rolls 4 2 1 for no successes, going last be default.
GM rolls 4 4 3 3 2 2 for no successes though adrenaline is still active (final Round for it though)

Actions:
Phase #1:
Player #2 has a total of 3 simple actions, deciding to move to teh side, spreading out the targets for the NPC and open up with a FULL auto of his own.

Phase #2:
Player #2 repeats the previous actions.
Player #1 gets 1 simple action, decides to fire once at the NPC
NPC with 3 simple actions (1 base +2 from boost) decides to throw 3 grenades as he's likely dead this round anyway.
Player #3 uses his one precious simple action combined withthe saved one and summons a spirit to protect him from the grenade (working from memory and can't remember what actions require complex and simple let alone what a spirit can and cannot do)


Had the NPC survived the encounter, he would have rolled 5 3 1 1 on his body test to reduce the length of his exhaustion from the boost, meaning he was at the full hour.

This method would give more fluid combat, mages have the chance to go first, but those that are boosted will be able to lay down death 9 ways to Sunday when they do get to go.


*Edited to fix an errata I found*

What, no comments, suggestions, rants?

In 14 minutes?

Yes, darnit. it's the internet and I'm an American. i want it fast, cheap, accurate and now dammit

Dude, its allready done. It has to have 5000 copies prited and bound and at GenCon in 6 months.

sad

I think I'm spoiled by MMORPG's.
They announce they are beginning to work on something, the players then can post their half-brained, crack-pot ideas and at least pretend to have had influence in the design.

In this situation, we were told, "Hey, this is comming" and not told directly that it's already done, and even if Dunklezahn himself appeared and handed them a good idea, they couldn't put it tin the book 'cause it's already printed.

Yes but we know the developers listen to these boards (and occasionaly contribute). They have been listening to us bicker about the rules, tearing them apart, offering house varients, and generally being nerds for literally years. I am confident that enough of our ideas have been at least taken into account. Wether they were used is another matter.

So are you proposing this Initiative change for SR3? If so, you're in the wrong set of forums.

No, I was proposing a change for SR4, it's a bit late to fix SR3

I purpose using SR3's initiative system for SR4...why not, whats wrong with it...

Also probably late for SR4.

The only thing I really liked about your new initiative system is the idea that it was a skill. While I don't think it should be a "skill" but an attribute or special attribute that represents the amount of experience a character has in combat.

This attribute could then be raised by karma. I'll leave it up to others to suggest how the attribute should be used along with the combat system. But, tieing initiative to experience has been a common thread in several RPG's in the past, Twilight 2000 comes to mind.

Gear, eg. cyberware, bioware, ect... can certainly continue to help in these kinds of situations.

Skills like small unit tactics could also play a pivotal role, unlike now, allowing a strong leader to guide his troops more effectively.

Since we have no idea what the base mechanic for the new system is, yet alone what kind of an initiative system they've created to use with it, any and all "suggestions" on how to create or improve one is all but moot.

It's not going to be what you know. Stop trying to assume the changes will be minor. There's a whole new system coming, not a patchwork upgrade of a previous edition. Wait to see what appears, then spam Dumpshock with house rules as per standard operating procedures.

I seriously, seriously hope they keep SR3's bsics of initiative in SR4. The idea of experience giving you better initiative, or of making it more like in SR2, are interesting and maybe good ideas. But if init. is resolved as a test vs. a TN, or I don't see initiative listed as something like "REA + (x)D6," I will be pretty dissapointed.