History Main / ActionInitiative

* The first two ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games as well as ''Fallout Tactics'' have the Sequence derived stat for this purpose; characters with higher Sequence go first. It's primarily determined by the player's Agility stat but there are three ways to improve it: doing anything that improves Agility, taking the Earlier Sequence perk or, during character generation, taking the Kamikaze trait which trades in the character's innate Armor Class for a permanent Sequence boost (in gameplay terms, it means that [[TheBerserker the character moves first but has a significant penalty at dodging attacks]]; [[GlassCannon without equipped armor, the character cannot even dodge]]).

** There's also the basic 'speeds' of the game. Sorcery and permanent spells can only be cast on one's own turn, during one of the two main phases, while instant spells can be cast and abilities activated at any time, including in response to other spells and abilities--in which case, the last to be played resolves first (resolutions are determined by a zone called the Stack). There are also two special exceptions that exist for purposes of gameplay: lands can be played at sorcery speed, but the land will enter the battlefield before anyone has a chance to respond to this action, and activating mana abilities can be done at any time. Neither of these special actions use the Stack. Finally, there is a special ability called Split Second which means that although they do use the stack, no activated abilities can be activated or spells cast while they are there (triggered abilities still trigger, though).

* ''TabletopGame/Exalted'': Unlike the CombatantCooldownSystem in Second Edition, Third Edition has a more standard initiative system, with a twist. Each combatant's initiative changes as they attack and are attacked, with successful hits with withering attacks (representing glancing blows, feints, attacks that force the defender to misstep, etc.) increasing the attacker's initiative and reducing the defender's. Total initiative can then be used for decisive attacks (which directly damage the enemy's health) or for gambits (which are often actions that reduce the enemy's ability to fight without wounding them, such as disarming, or grappling). Having higher initiative also gives a combatant more leeway to react to the actions of others, such as using a [[DeathOrGloryAttack clash attack]] to respond to an attacker, which ignores defense and directly opposes their attack roll. Even if one's initiative is lowered during a turn, however, each character only gets one combat action per turn, barring magic that lets them act again.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has an abundance of moves related to one of the '''thirteen''' priority tiers, such as Quick Attack, Aqua Jet and Mach Punch, in addition to items and abilities. See [[http://serebii.net/games/speedpriority.shtml this guide for the mechanics.]]

** ''TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsFirstEdition'' had a Weapon Speed Factor, which determined which combatant would hit first when they tied for initiative.

* Turn order in ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'' is based on the characters' speed stat.
* The ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' series has several Djinn that work this way - any damage-lowering Djinn such as Flash will be the turn's first action, as well as others such as Breath who are coded to "go before anyone else can act". Using two in one turn results in the characters' Agility being used as the tiebreaker. Notably, there are very few enemy moves that have this effect, while at least seven Djinn so far work this way.
* ''[[VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures Penny Arcade: On The Rain-Slick Precipice Of Darkness]]'' has a roll for initiative before each fight, giving a random number between 1 and 20. A natural 20 starts that character off with a full action bar.
* ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', like most fighting games, has a system of priority--some attacks are low priority, some are medium, some are high, etc--and is notable for having one attack in the #1 slot, the Emperor's Thunder Crest, which is a rune on the floor that, if the opponent gets close enough to, will drag them in, holding them still and inflicting damage, and there ain't nothing no one can do about it. Stay away from the runes.

* The first two ''{{VideoGame/Fallout}}'' games as well as ''Fallout Tactics'' have the Sequence derived stat for this purpose; characters with higher Sequence go first. It's primarily determined by the player's Agility stat but there are three ways to improve it: doing anything that improves Agility, taking the Earlier Sequence perk or, during character generation, taking the Kamikaze trait which trades in the character's innate Armor Class for a permanent Sequence boost (in gameplay terms, it means that [[TheBerserker the character moves first but has a significant penalty at dodging attacks]]; [[GlassCannon without equipped armor, the character cannot even dodge]]).
* In ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'', a unit's speed stat determines the order in which they act on each turn, with faster units moving first. Several player units and bosses learn skills that greatly increase their speed, allowing them to act earlier. The sequel replaces this system with the player and AI taking normal turns.
* In ''Monster Girl Quest! Paradox RPG'', the Agility stat normally determines turn order but other things affect it as well. Some skills (e.g. Dancing, Singing) have a speed boost which means they'll usually go first, but this can still be overridden by high Agility. There are abilities which can give priority to certain sets of skills, ensuring these go first regardless of Agility. And then there's Giant's Tyranny, a Giant-specific ability which makes its user always go ''last'' but in exchange [[MightyGlacier massively boosts offence and defence]].

* TabletopGame/{{Poker}}:
** In Hold'em and its derivatives such as Omaha and Crazy Pineapple, in the first round of betting the person to the left of the big blind goes first, and play then proceeds clockwise around the table until reaching the big blind. In subsequent rounds, the person closest to the small blind position goes first. The dealer position or "button" is thus the most desirable spot, because that player gets to observe what every other player does before committing to an action, and much of the big-picture strategy of the game comes from taking advantage of this position.
** In Stud variants, the player with the most powerful hand showing goes first, allowing players with (presumably) less-powerful hands wait to see if the presumed hand leader is going to bet before deciding on their own actions.

* TabletopGame/{{Poker}}:
** In Hold'em and its derivatives such as Omaha and Crazy Pineapple, in the first round of betting the person to the left of the big blind goes first, and play then proceeds clockwise around the table until reaching the big blind. In subsequent rounds, the person closest to the small blind position goes first. The dealer position or "button" is thus the most desirable spot, because that player gets to observe what every other player does before committing to an action, and much of the big-picture strategy of the game comes from taking advantage of this position.
** In Stud variants, the player with the most powerful hand showing goes first, allowing players with (presumably) less-powerful hands wait to see if the presumed hand leader is going to bet before deciding on their own actions.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' follows a similar scheme to the two above, being their contemporary and one of the main rival series. Here, the defender may strike first if it has the "Counter" ability or a passive skill that triggers it (for example, some units gain an effect identical to it at low health, and some units are considered to always have it if they choose a specific retailation move). Since most battles are resolved by one or two well-aimed hits and devolve into a war of attrition either between MightyGlacier types or FragileSpeedster types, being the first to strike often means being the one who survives.

* 1st Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' had a Weapon Speed Factor, which determined which combatant would hit first when they tied for initiative.
** And later editions still have it to determine turn order. As you might imagine, acting quickly is important.
** 5th (current) edition has the Initiative stat, which is the same as Dexterity but can be increased by some factors. At the beginning of combat, all combatants roll a 20-sided die and add their initiative to determine turn order.

** The "[Weapon]-breaker" skills allow the user to make a followup attack and prevent the opponent from doing the same depending on the latter's weapon type, ignoring the normal Speed rules.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'': this is what determines a lot of tier rankings as well. One of the reasons why [[VideoGame/FZero Captain Falcon]] is severely {{nerf}}ed in ''Brawl'' compared to his previous incarnations is because the priority for many of his attacks was lowered so much.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': there is an abundance of moves related to one of the '''thirteen''' priority tiers, such as Quick Attack, Aqua Jet and Mach Punch, in addition to items and abilities. See [[http://serebii.net/games/speedpriority.shtml this guide for the mechanics.]]

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has an initiative stat for all close-combat capable units, as well as various PsychicPowers and electric shocks that influence it, weapons that are unwieldy enough to reduce their wielder's initiative, etc.