Initiative determines the order in which characters take their turns in combat, the higher, the faster they can act. At the beginning of combat all combatants have to roll 1d20 and add their initiative value (if not otherwise modified this is DEX). If two characters have the same initiative number, they have to roll again against each other to determine who of them takes their turn before the other.

To Initiative there is one exception: Surprise Rounds. When out of combat a party surprises another party, e.g. through an ambush or an unexpected betrayal, every character of the attacking party can take a turn before the normal combat round starts. This is called a Surprise Round.

 

Optional: Player characters with the same initiative or that can act after one another can choose to take their turn at the same time, e.g. to do some interesting combination attacks.