I have recently become disenchanted by the use of initiative in combat, especially the need for "turns". I have been looking round online and found a few suggestions as to what to do instead. For example, one such alternative I found that intrigued me a fair bit was to adopt more of a phase like system, almost like Warhammer 40k. This worked as follows:
Movement
Missiles/Ranged
Magic
Melee
Any Other Business
All PCs would roll and act together along with the creatures they were fighting and then the outcome would resolve according to the Dex mod of each individual.
This sounds like quite an interesting idea. It sounds like it could get quite chaotic and would most likely only work with smaller groups, but I think the chaos would add to it, after all, battle isn't done by taking turns and waiting quietly for your go, it is chaotic and stressful...
Definitely seems interesting, though I would probably put magic lower than melee. Much more reactive, which can definitely be great if that's what you're going for. I love when my players come up with strange ideas and ways to use the environment, so I like them getting to surprise me with everything at once, and giving them the round to prepare their idea... But what you present here is definitely one of the more interesting and likely effective combat changes I've seen.
The old system in which spells (and perhaps other things) had casting time made things a bit more realistic, perhaps. Spells sometimes took X number of segments of the round to cast (or longer), so the mages were more likely to get interrupted while casting. So that's my suggestion: look at the combat sequence rules in 1st or 2nd edition AD&D and also those of straight combat simulations games. You might be able to hammer something together from those that you like a little better than the current system. It's always going to be a compromise between expediency and realistic simulation, of course. Good luck.
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Recently returned to D&D after 20+ years.
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Afternoon all
I have recently become disenchanted by the use of initiative in combat, especially the need for "turns". I have been looking round online and found a few suggestions as to what to do instead. For example, one such alternative I found that intrigued me a fair bit was to adopt more of a phase like system, almost like Warhammer 40k. This worked as follows:
All PCs would roll and act together along with the creatures they were fighting and then the outcome would resolve according to the Dex mod of each individual.
This sounds like quite an interesting idea. It sounds like it could get quite chaotic and would most likely only work with smaller groups, but I think the chaos would add to it, after all, battle isn't done by taking turns and waiting quietly for your go, it is chaotic and stressful...
Any thoughts?
Definitely seems interesting, though I would probably put magic lower than melee. Much more reactive, which can definitely be great if that's what you're going for. I love when my players come up with strange ideas and ways to use the environment, so I like them getting to surprise me with everything at once, and giving them the round to prepare their idea... But what you present here is definitely one of the more interesting and likely effective combat changes I've seen.
The old system in which spells (and perhaps other things) had casting time made things a bit more realistic, perhaps. Spells sometimes took X number of segments of the round to cast (or longer), so the mages were more likely to get interrupted while casting. So that's my suggestion: look at the combat sequence rules in 1st or 2nd edition AD&D and also those of straight combat simulations games. You might be able to hammer something together from those that you like a little better than the current system. It's always going to be a compromise between expediency and realistic simulation, of course. Good luck.
Recently returned to D&D after 20+ years.
Unapologetic.