I was reading the newest article from DungeonsMaster.com about different ways to handle initiative and with the article about a different format of initiative yesterday, I figured this topic continues to be relevant. In the article there are a few different methods to roll initiative to change the dynamic of the encounters a little bit. Of those options, 2 really stood out, one I have seen how it works from a podcast, and the other has an interesting theory behind it. The 2 options are the Side Initiative and the Wisdom, Not Dexterity methods.
Side Initiative
The side initiative method I have seen before and it works pretty well, but it does slant encounters a little towards the party rather than the monsters. Assuming the party is built to be well-rounded (usually variants of 1 fighter, 1 rogue, 1 cleric, 1 wizard) they have enough utility that they can sort their order out to create the best situation for themselves that often gives them a slight edge on encounters that aren't always as balanced or well-rounded. The issue does arise however when the party is faced with a large collection of enemies, this creates a situation very quickly that gets party members surrounded and really isolates each character from each other turning the tides of advantage to the monsters quite quickly. I would consider using this style of initiative where the number of combatants are relatively evenly distributed so the party can work together and gain a little advantage.
Wisdom, Not Dexterity
The Wis, Not Dex method is intriguing because it takes a look at another method of how someone would be prepared for an encounter. The more I put thought into this it really just makes me think how undervalued the wisdom stat is because the premise of this method on paper sounds good, but it already is factored into the game via spot, listen, and sense motive checks. The trifecta of checks are ones that any wary character would be doing if they feel any sort of threat to them which basically ensures they don't get a surprise round on them. Perhaps a character that has successfully done these checks can be allowed to add a WIS bonus to their initiative if they successfully prevent a surprise round, or perhaps allow players to be unaffected by a surprise round if their WIS check is higher than the initiative roll of the attacker. While at first I thought this was an potential good idea it really is a better candidate for a house rule to incentivize having a solid WIS score.