5E Group Initiative is 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:

1. Players
2. Friendly NPCs
3. Neutral NPCs
4. Hostile NPCs

Each group rolls initiative, the group average is compared against a configurable Initiative DC, and the Combat Tracker is assigned a simple group turn order.

Core Idea

This extension is designed for tables that prefer fast, collaborative turns.
Combat becomes:

1. Player group turn
2. Enemy or NPC group turn
3. Player group turn
4. Enemy or NPC group turn

When a group is active, players can act in any order within that group turn.

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`.

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.

How Rolling Works

When the GM clicks **Roll Init**, the extension requests initiative rolls for all combatants in the Combat Tracker.

Combatants are sorted into the different groups based on their faction or if they are a player. Each combatant rolls initiative. The extension averages the rolls for each group.

Groups that meet or beat the Initiative DC are ordered before groups that miss the DC. Within those categories, higher average goes first.