Initiative Round

Whenever two or more characters wish to perform an action simultaneously or in close timing with each other, an initiative round takes place. Each initiative round represents the 3 to 5 seconds during which characters rapidly perform actions to try to outperform each other or to achieve their own goals.

Each character who wants to perform an action this initiative round plays a card face-down on the table. This is his initiative card. Initiative cards are played either from their hand or the top of the deck. A card played as an initiative card does not trigger effects such as Playing with Ambience or Proficiency.

All cards are then revealed simultaneously and each character adds his Initiative to the value of his card. This determines the initiative order for the characters, from highest to lowest added total. Each player discards his initiative card at the beginning of his turn. Characters will take turns performing a single action each following the initiative order.

If two characters have the same initiative, the player characters always act first. If two or more NPCs have the same initiative it is up to the GM to choose which one goes first. If two or more players have the same initiative they can choose who goes first, and if they do not come to an agreement they must each tell the action they wish to perform to the GM and she will determine who gets to act first.

During an initiative round a character might be able to perform more than one action, especially when he is affected by the actions of several characters. Regardless of how many actions a character ends up performing, the total number of cards he can play for actions associated to the same Attribute can never exceed that Attribute unless specified otherwise by another effect.

Reacting

Whenever a character is affected by an action, he can confront it following the rules for confrontations between characters. If this happens before his turn in the initiative order, he loses his turn for that round. A character can confront more than one action each round and that will not cause him to lose any additional turns.

Waiting

A character can always choose to wait until the next character with the highest result in the initiative order has taken his action before taking his own action; he can do this several times letting any number of characters go first. If all characters choose to wait, they keep their cards for the next initiative round. The only consequence is the passing of time.

Maintenance Phase

After all characters have taken their turns and all actions have been resolved there is a maintenance phase. During the maintenance phase, effects such as damage recovery are resolved.

If there are no initiative rounds taking place the maintenance phase is performed as often as the GM determines, keeping in mind that an initiative round usually takes place in around 3 to 5 seconds.

If there is still conflict between the characters, or new characters join the struggle, a new initiative round begins.

Resolving an Initiative Round

To resolve an initiative round, players must always follow the same steps.

1. All players play one card face down in front of them, either from their hand or the top of their deck.
2. If there are any number of NPCs involved, the GM plays one card face down from either her hand or the top of her deck.
3. Everyone turns their cards face up, and each player character adds his Initiative to the value of his card. NPCs add their Initiative to the value of the GM’s card.
4. The initiative order is established from highest to lowest added total. In case of a tie, player characters will always go first, followed by the NPCs in the order of the GM’s choosing. In case of a tie between player characters, they must come to an agreement or tell their actions in secret to the GM, who will determine who goes first.
5. The first character of the initiative order has his turn. He declares his action and discards his initiative card. Characters affected by that action may confront him as normal. If they do so, they lose their turn if they had not acted yet. Any confrontations that may arise are resolved as usual.
6. The next character in the initiative order that has not had his turn yet takes his turn. Any confrontations that arise are resolved as usual. Repeat this step until there are no more characters left in the initiative order.
7. The maintenance phase takes place and all relevant effects are resolved.
8. If there are still two or more characters who wish to perform actions simultaneously or in close timing with each other, a new initiative round begins.