Damn, I already went through this so much in the
Preferred OSR initiative? thread, which is still active, I wouldn't even know where to start. Other than say...
Is Initiative Dumb?
YES!
Being frozen in place, waiting for your "turn" to come for you to finally act, was moronic decades ago when the idea was first conceived.
I prefer to just handle all actions (PCs and enemies) as happening roughly at the same time, with some adjustments made for proximity, combat readiness and positioning at the start of combat. Usually I tend to break it down into Fast Actions, Standard Actions and Delayed Actions. (Copy/Pasted from
Here).
- Fast Actions are anything that can immediately be attempted at the start of the round, such as melee already engaged in melee or ranged weapons already drawn and loaded.
- Standard Actions are anything that takes a minor degree of preparation before you can act, such as drawing weapons or moving into position. Ranged combatants who must move to get into range would act here.
- Delayed Actions are anything else that takes more preparation but can be attempted in the round, including loading a crossbow, full round actions, complex skill checks (pick locks, disarm traps) or casting a spell with lengthy incantations.
PCs and Enemies attack at the same time. Usually I tend to handle enemy actions as PCs engage them and the enemies counter attack. And combatants killing each other is a possibility if both manage to hit and cause enough damage in the same round, since people killing each other in duels or open battle is something that happens in real life, and the idea that you should be able to avoid getting killed cuz "initiative" is strictly a game assumption, IMO.
My take is that the only way to avoid getting killed is to avoid getting hit, not to "win" some imaginary "initiative". Even to the degree that it could be argued such a thing could happen in real life, that's usually if you manage to shot someone in the head or decapitate them first. Otherwise they're still gonna let a final shot or swing before they go down.