House Rule: Ambushes

One of the challenges with SWRPG is constantly trying to differ the system from 5e or any other D20 system. Simple things like the initiative order, combat, and even character building are just looked at differently. There are also a series of rules, some minor and some not, which the FFG system has either brushed over or casually mentioned. Ambushes and surprise rounds are part of that.

We homebrewed a rule which we actually haven't used that frequently since it's inception. I've had a player come to me and show me that the game rules do actually support an element of surprise rounds. It is tied directly to the "open initiative" system which we have recently started to use. During one of the premade adventures, the players are provided an opportunity to set an ambush for a group of unaware enemies. I have looked at that scenario further and seen the merits to the system, especially as manipulating the initiative order is a game mechanic which certain player's may have invested XP into with the intent of doing. Rather than restricting players' investment of XP by limiting their talents, I have decided to revert to the RAW for this; with the caveat that I will actually write out the rules rather than just having a scenario capture it.

AMBUSHES
Players will have the opportunity to set traps, build concealment, construction fortifications, and whatever else they would like given their time. The success/fail of this will provide boost or setback to their overall roll. To trigger a successful ambush, they will roll a GROUP STEALTH CHECK which will be opposed by the vigilance skill of the enemy forces. On a successful check, the initiative order will be preset to give players the "top end" of the initiative order (i.e. PC, PC, PC, NPC, NPC). This will provide the players the rewards of a successful ambush but also provide the NPCs an opportunity to repel the ambush if they are particularly vigilant. It also enables player abilities, such as Quick Shot to capitalize off this and potentially deliver a lethal blow to a particularly dangerous adversary before they even know what is going on.