initiative

[sheldon_hild]

what's the use of initiative. is there an advantage of having it. you and your opponent are both going to get there licks in anyway. does it matter if you hit first? i have never met an opponent that i could knock out in the first punch.

if you throw punches with an opponent for 3 rounds before he doubles over, does it matter who hit first on round 1 and 2.

[Prince Cherico]

reasons why its good to have high intitive

head shots

critical hits

knock down effects

getting the first attack in

[Larsen]

I don't know about the other GMs but ive always used initiative as simply who hit first to stop PC vs PC arguments or to stop a PC from sayin that I was being unfair by letting the NPC go first. This only applies to what I call straight up fights where 2 or more people go to fight each other. theres always that quesiton of who reacted first?
Initiative answers that for you. This does not apply to sneak attacks, at least Ive played it that way. But after the first hit when the other guy recovers and they are squared off you need an initiative roll(that doesn't always happen as when the first hit knocks the other guy down and you just keep hitting him while hes down)
Also when you both have guns and it a draw type situation whoever shot first does matter. Another time when initiative matters is when your first move is to say pluck out your oppenents eyes with your thumbs. then who hit first matters then too. (yes i have done that as a character, it stops the fight right then if you succeed )

[Borast]

If you win initiative, you can also opt to FORCE the bad guys to act first, then wipe the floor with them before they can do anything...ie: force them out of position/into the open, and fry 'em.