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I couldn´t try it, but we have 10 cards for 5 players ( the gm doesn´t count), so why not add another 2 cards for each additional player to the initiative deck? For examble 6 players, and you take all cards from the same color from 1 to queen from a standard card game. The jack and the queen count as 11 and 12. Thats should solve the issue with "Veteran" ability.

If you need a couple more cards in some rare instances, why not just use an adventure card, a treasure card etc and say that those represent 11, 12 and so on. Use the alphabet/starting letter on the back (Adventure, Improvised weapon, Treasure etc) to remember which goes first if needed. If the cards are shuffled (under the table) and dealt quickly, backs wouldn’t be an issue.

I downloaded and printed these. They got to 27, look good, and have large numbers:

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/pro ... cards-1-27

I would just let a monster act twice on one of the init cards.

An alternative is to use a suit from a normal deck of cards, then you have 13 init cards.

A standard deck can be up to 54 - 2 jokers and 4 suits of 1-13.

In Hoyle (the standard reference ruleset for casual players¹ of a majority of American games), suit ordering has a standard: Jokers ★ > Spades ♠ > Hearts ♥ > Diamonds ♦ > Clubs ♣.. Excepting the jokers, this is a standard for Bridge.

For a few RPGs, most notably Savage Worlds and Deadlands, that suit order is followed within a given rank. So K♠, Q♠, 4♦ K♦ would order as K♠,K♦ Q♠, 4♦.

To be honest, I've found myself routinely needing 11 or 12, but seldom more, in T2K and Alien, So I broke out the drawing program, made a 12 card 2.5" (~63.5mm) square cards (4×3 grid), printing them on 110# (200gsm) card, laminating with clear shelf-liner, then cutting them out.. One could also use business card stock, but I don't recommend it with laser printers for cards to play with - Laser printer toner does not deeply saturate, but ink jet does. Since my printers are all lasers, lamination assures the survival of the print during shuffling, but does alter the way they shuffle. Clear package sealing tape is also a viable option, if one gets it wide enough, and usually thinner than lamination sheet or clear shelf liner.

¹ it's worth noting that many competitive/tournament games in Hoyle have official rulesets that are slightly different from Hoyle's presentation, so it's seldom used in formal tournament play. Especially Bridge and Cribbage.

Slip in a joker card (or two), whoever pulls that card can go when they want, like a wild card.

I just use the Savage Worlds initiative system. I dislike small decks as they get difficult to effectively shuffle.

I just use the Savage Worlds initiative system. I dislike small decks as they get difficult to effectively shuffle.

You can do a pile shuffling very quickly with a small deck.