Dreams of 5th Edition - Initiative & Combat
Posted 22nd October 2009 at 01:01 AM by Herremann the Wise
Well with my first gaze into the crystal ball beyond the darkened veil, I can see a method of combat interaction that neatly draws from the previous three editions; evolving the mechanics of combat into something fresh, interactive and more representative of the to and fro of battle. The following presents the fundamentals of this new system. This will be followed up with the next entry being an in depth discussion of the issues that are being addressed and why these deliberate changes were made. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the future of D&D (as I would like to see it anyway).
INITIATIVE & COMBAT
Combat
Desperately swinging a sword to distract some hideous beast from your ally’s prone body, surveying the battlefield before unleashing an eldritch cascade of arcane power or reacting to a giant missing your head by somersaulting through his legs to strike at an unprotected enemy are some of the typical heroics and actions involved in combat.
Combat centres on the careful interplay of action and reaction amongst two or more combatants. The rules for what may be done are carefully structured to not only present an enjoyable gaming experience, but to also simulate the heroics, bravery, magic and treachery that is at the heart of fantasy.
Initiative Score
A combatant’s initiative score represents their core ability to act and react in combat. It is a measure of their reflexes and agility, capacity for action, and wisdom and experience in battle. The greater a combatant’s initiative score, the greater is their capacity to react to the actions of other combatants.
In terms of mechanics, a character’s initiative score is not modified by a d20 roll and will remain the same during combat. Occasionally, certain circumstances may provide a momentary increase or decrease to this initiative score such as bonuses when a combat begins and certain combatants explode into action or penalties when a combatant has their wits knocked out of them.
The Structure of a Combat Round
Combat is organised into a series of discrete rounds. A round represents approximately six seconds of time in the game world in which combatants have the opportunity to act and react, to gain advantage, curry success and avoid failure.
The quickest combatant (the one with highest initiative score) gets the drop on all the other combatants and gets to act first – be it blasting an enemy with a magical staff, striking an off-balance foe or desperately running for cover. Once the character has acted, they may freely perform reactions for the rest of the round. Reactions are additional actions that may be performed in reaction to something, such as parrying an incoming strike, shifting out of range when a threatening enemy has just been wounded or holding up a shield when the immediate vicinity is blanketed by fireballs.
That first combatant is followed in order of initiative score by all other combatants. Once a combatant has had their initiative turn, they are entitled to freely perform reactions during the rest of that round. This continues until all combatants have acted, at which point the current round is ended, any un-used actions are ignored and a new one begins with the quickest combatant acting first.
It should also be noted that most characters can perform immediate reactions, which may be performed in reaction to any action at any point in the round. However, doing so costs the character more dearly in resources to the point where such immediate reactions may not be viable or even possible.
Actions in Combat
Each combatant can act a number of times across a round of combat. Actions and reactions are classed into either primary actions or secondary actions. A primary action represents the major action that the combatant is focused on performing in a round such as charging into melee with a weapon, casting a spell, or even running at top speed. Secondary actions are minor efforts used to augment the primary action or to aid, or also to react to other actions or reactions. Secondary actions may include parrying an incoming blow, blessing an ally, upgrading a strike to a power attack, the drawing in of energy in readiness of casting a spell, making an opportunity or cleave attack, directing a summoned creature or tactically shifting a few steps of movement.
All characters and creatures can perform a single primary action as well as a number of secondary actions in a round. The greater a combatants skill level and experience, the more secondary actions they are able to perform in a round. For example, a wild animal such as a wolf may only have one secondary action to go with their primary action where as a master swordsman may have five or even more secondary actions as well as their primary action.
The Structure of a Combat Encounter
Combat is organised in a series of discrete rounds of action but to begin an encounter, there are several different options. First is the surprise round option where one side or another is waiting in ambush to initiate hostile action against any encountered would-be-combatants. Only aware combatants are allowed to act in this abbreviated round using only a single action (be it a primary or secondary action).
Second is the parley mode option where all characters and non-player characters are involved in some manner of discourse that will either end the encounter without hostility, or where the parley mode is used to gain advantage when hostile action begins. This allows certain tactical movement or readied action, bluffing, intimidation or diplomatic communication and is aimed at encouraging some manner of discourse and preparation before certain encounters to gain specific advantages rather than just a headlong rush into combat.
Third is the direct attack option. This is where everyone is aware of all other combatants and battle begins in a regular manner in a normal combat round where all combatants may act according to their initiative. This is usual when the player characters attack a beast with little interest in pre-battle antics or conversation.
Once combat begins, a combatant is considered flat-footed until they have acted. This means they cannot perform any immediate reactions until they have had their first initiative turn. Combat continues as previously mentioned, round after round until one side or the other is defeated.
A combat ends when either the player characters or all the foes they are facing are defeated. Defeat comes in several flavours such as escaping, surrender, being bloodied, maimed or knocked unconscious or in some cases, the ultimate defeat of being killed (and possibly eaten or disintegrated). This takes gameplay out of combat initiative mode and into a different mode of gameplay.
Next Time...
Catch the next installment, a follow-up discussion of the issues of initiative and combat structure that are being addressed and why I see these changes as the natural evolution of the game.
INITIATIVE & COMBAT
Combat
Desperately swinging a sword to distract some hideous beast from your ally’s prone body, surveying the battlefield before unleashing an eldritch cascade of arcane power or reacting to a giant missing your head by somersaulting through his legs to strike at an unprotected enemy are some of the typical heroics and actions involved in combat.
Combat centres on the careful interplay of action and reaction amongst two or more combatants. The rules for what may be done are carefully structured to not only present an enjoyable gaming experience, but to also simulate the heroics, bravery, magic and treachery that is at the heart of fantasy.
Initiative Score
A combatant’s initiative score represents their core ability to act and react in combat. It is a measure of their reflexes and agility, capacity for action, and wisdom and experience in battle. The greater a combatant’s initiative score, the greater is their capacity to react to the actions of other combatants.
In terms of mechanics, a character’s initiative score is not modified by a d20 roll and will remain the same during combat. Occasionally, certain circumstances may provide a momentary increase or decrease to this initiative score such as bonuses when a combat begins and certain combatants explode into action or penalties when a combatant has their wits knocked out of them.
The Structure of a Combat Round
Combat is organised into a series of discrete rounds. A round represents approximately six seconds of time in the game world in which combatants have the opportunity to act and react, to gain advantage, curry success and avoid failure.
The quickest combatant (the one with highest initiative score) gets the drop on all the other combatants and gets to act first – be it blasting an enemy with a magical staff, striking an off-balance foe or desperately running for cover. Once the character has acted, they may freely perform reactions for the rest of the round. Reactions are additional actions that may be performed in reaction to something, such as parrying an incoming strike, shifting out of range when a threatening enemy has just been wounded or holding up a shield when the immediate vicinity is blanketed by fireballs.
That first combatant is followed in order of initiative score by all other combatants. Once a combatant has had their initiative turn, they are entitled to freely perform reactions during the rest of that round. This continues until all combatants have acted, at which point the current round is ended, any un-used actions are ignored and a new one begins with the quickest combatant acting first.
It should also be noted that most characters can perform immediate reactions, which may be performed in reaction to any action at any point in the round. However, doing so costs the character more dearly in resources to the point where such immediate reactions may not be viable or even possible.
Actions in Combat
Each combatant can act a number of times across a round of combat. Actions and reactions are classed into either primary actions or secondary actions. A primary action represents the major action that the combatant is focused on performing in a round such as charging into melee with a weapon, casting a spell, or even running at top speed. Secondary actions are minor efforts used to augment the primary action or to aid, or also to react to other actions or reactions. Secondary actions may include parrying an incoming blow, blessing an ally, upgrading a strike to a power attack, the drawing in of energy in readiness of casting a spell, making an opportunity or cleave attack, directing a summoned creature or tactically shifting a few steps of movement.
All characters and creatures can perform a single primary action as well as a number of secondary actions in a round. The greater a combatants skill level and experience, the more secondary actions they are able to perform in a round. For example, a wild animal such as a wolf may only have one secondary action to go with their primary action where as a master swordsman may have five or even more secondary actions as well as their primary action.
The Structure of a Combat Encounter
Combat is organised in a series of discrete rounds of action but to begin an encounter, there are several different options. First is the surprise round option where one side or another is waiting in ambush to initiate hostile action against any encountered would-be-combatants. Only aware combatants are allowed to act in this abbreviated round using only a single action (be it a primary or secondary action).
Second is the parley mode option where all characters and non-player characters are involved in some manner of discourse that will either end the encounter without hostility, or where the parley mode is used to gain advantage when hostile action begins. This allows certain tactical movement or readied action, bluffing, intimidation or diplomatic communication and is aimed at encouraging some manner of discourse and preparation before certain encounters to gain specific advantages rather than just a headlong rush into combat.
Third is the direct attack option. This is where everyone is aware of all other combatants and battle begins in a regular manner in a normal combat round where all combatants may act according to their initiative. This is usual when the player characters attack a beast with little interest in pre-battle antics or conversation.
Once combat begins, a combatant is considered flat-footed until they have acted. This means they cannot perform any immediate reactions until they have had their first initiative turn. Combat continues as previously mentioned, round after round until one side or the other is defeated.
A combat ends when either the player characters or all the foes they are facing are defeated. Defeat comes in several flavours such as escaping, surrender, being bloodied, maimed or knocked unconscious or in some cases, the ultimate defeat of being killed (and possibly eaten or disintegrated). This takes gameplay out of combat initiative mode and into a different mode of gameplay.
Next Time...
Catch the next installment, a follow-up discussion of the issues of initiative and combat structure that are being addressed and why I see these changes as the natural evolution of the game.
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