Initiative and Rounds¶
Icewind Dale follows the AD&D rule system closely but not exactly. The main difference lies in real-time adaptations to personal initiative rounds. The computer takes care of the underlying rules, leaving you free to focus on tactics.
Personal initiative rounds¶
To allow real-time combat and movement, each character and monster is on an independent personal initiative round, which is six seconds long.
Within that round, all AD&D rules still apply, including Speed Factors for weapons and casting times for spells. For higher-level characters who attack more than once per round with a given weapon, the weapon's Speed Factor determines when in the six-second round the attacks occur.
Speed Factor¶
Speed Factors are numbers between 1 and 10, indicating from one-tenth (the fastest) to ten-tenths (the slowest) of a round for a character attacking once per round with that weapon.
- Lower Speed Factor → faster strike.
- A character's Dexterity Reaction Adjustment modifies the effective Speed Factor of any wielded weapon (see Ability Scores → Dexterity).
- Fighting-style and weapon-specialization tiers also modify Speed Factor.
Casting time¶
Casting times for priests and wizards are exactly analogous to weapon Speed Factors. They range from 1 to 9, representing how quickly a spell is released. Lower is faster.
Initiative¶
Initiative is determined by a combination of ability, situation, and chance. In Icewind Dale, initiative is a random variation that adjusts the casting time or Speed Factor of a spell or weapon slightly — never by much, just enough that the same action doesn't always happen at exactly the same point in the round.
Source: iwdee/original_manuals/IWDEE - Mastering Melee & Magic.pdf — "Personal Initiative Rounds", "Speed Factor", "Casting Time", "Initiative".