Linux Startup Script

I have a small Linux server that does hardware control through a collection of about 20 scripts. Every time the machine is restarted, I need to log into the machine, start vnc4server, log into vnc, open up 20 terminal windows, and start each script. Some of these scripts just sit there and return nothing, some return information of something goes wrong, and others are always returning information. I want to automate this process, and also get away from VNC because I don't want to run X on this machine. I want a system where I can have the machine automatically start all the scripts if the machine is restarted. I would prefer to be able to type a few characters and see the programs running, one at a time. Ideally, I would like the ability to set the order of running the programs, and have a small delay between running each. I know I can do this with init.d scripts, but I was wanting something more of a console I could log into, and press keys to bring up various windows. If the answer is to use software 'X' fantastic, although I might need some assistance to configure it to my requirements as listed above. Just remember, I don't really want anything graphical... Thanks