At the beginning of the battle, the position of units on the Initiative Timeline (IT) scale is determined randomly, taking values in the range from 0 to 0.25. Then, the position of units on the IT scale changes in the usual way – depending on their initiative and applied effects. And the unit that reaches the 1 mark goes first.
This “initial scatter” system provides some randomness in the battle, forcing players to adapt their strategies to different situations. However, the “initial scatter” may not affect the turn order if the initiative difference is too large.
From the Game 5 Manual.