5e Group Initiative

[Melborne]

A Fantasy Grounds Unity extension for the 5E ruleset that changes initiative from individual turns into faction-based group turns.

Instead of every combatant acting one at a time, initiative is organized into four possible groups. Player, NPC Hostile, NPC Neutral, NPC Friendly.

Features

• Adds Group Initiative support to the 5E Combat Tracker.
• Adds host-only **Roll Init** and **Clear Init** buttons to the Combat Tracker.
• Adds Group Initiative options to the Combat Tracker radial menu.
• Requests initiative rolls from connected players using a popup roll request window.
• Sends unowned or offline character/NPC roll requests to the GM.
• Displays the character or NPC token in the Group Initiative request window.
• Calculates group initiative by averaging each group’s rolls.
• Compares group averages against a configurable Initiative DC.
• Assigns Combat Tracker initiative values as group slots: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Advances turns by group instead of by individual actor.
• Displays group turn messages such as `[TURN] Players` instead of `[TURN] Character Name`.
• Rings/pings all connected owners in the active player group.
• Supports hidden NPC roll secrecy when GM roll visibility is off.
• Includes options to reduce Group Initiative chat output.
• Includes an option to hide the standard Fantasy Grounds initiative radial menu.

Options

The extension adds new options under the Fantasy Grounds Combat options section.

Group Initiative DC
Sets the DC used to determine whether a group “beats” initiative. The default is `15`.
(Which has no value unless you need your players to beat a specific DC or else be surprised)

Group Initiative Chat
Controls how much Group Initiative text is shown in chat.

Hide Standard Initiative Menu (Requires Reload)
Hides the normal Fantasy Grounds initiative radial menu from the Combat Tracker menu. This requires a reload to fully apply.


https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/3079/view


I strongly suggest turning OFF the settings for "Combat: Auto NPC initiative", if enabled.

[Melborne]

Changelog
8/6/2026 Added a Set Initiative feature that sets the Average Roll not the exact initiative number, and rearranged the menu options for ease of use.
12/6/2026 Added compatibility support for special initiative helper actors and improved how nonstandard combat tracker entries are handled during group initiative ordering for the 5E Table Tools extension. By me, Melborne.

[ArcaneTheWoof]

Hey! I just picked this up and I'm so thankful to have it. I was wondering because I can't find it if the option is there: is there a way to manually set the party's initiative score? If I change them in the combat tracker, it breaks their grouping. We roll our dice physically rather than use FG's in-engine dice (honor system!) and have been manually averaging and inputting them so far. It's not a big deal to roll in FG if necessary, but every time we can use real dice is a win for us!

[Melborne]

Oh I like that! I can sure add that for you. I'll create a way to set everyone's initiative order manually. Thanks for the suggestion.

[ArcaneTheWoof]

Oh wow, thank you! I appreciate it! Keep on truckin dude~