New Combat Reactions

Hrothgar Rannúlfr · Jan 14, 2011

Have any of you added new combat reactions to your Trailblazer game?

Ravellion · Jan 14, 2011

Nah, and I probably wouldn't want to. The options are already quite diverse, enough so that my fighter player pretty much needs a bookmark on the page.

Ragnar_Deerslayer · Jan 15, 2011

A few things:

* I allow Barbarian Rage to be activated by a Combat Reaction (for purposes of duration, it counts as having been activated on the player's previous turn).

* I allow characters to take free actions on a Combat Reaction (including talking or dropping prone).

* I allow a player to spend a Combat Reaction to take a 5' step, but ONLY during or in response to another creature's move. (Otherwise, it would make spells like Lightning Bolt impossible to set up.) The 5' step is subtracted from your next turn's move. This nerfs casters, since they can't take a 5' step away from melee and then cast - but they have casting defensively, so it's not too much of a nerf, and a fighter would need two Combat Reactions to be able to step and then take an AoO (meaning +6 BAB or Combat Reflexes feat), so I don't consider it unbalanced.

Wulf Ratbane · Jan 15, 2011

Ragnar_Deerslayer said:
A few things:

* I allow Barbarian Rage to be activated by a Combat Reaction (for purposes of duration, it counts as having been activated on the player's previous turn).

* I allow characters to take free actions on a Combat Reaction (including talking or dropping prone).

* I allow a player to spend a Combat Reaction to take a 5' step, but ONLY during or in response to another creature's move. (Otherwise, it would make spells like Lightning Bolt impossible to set up.) The 5' step is subtracted from your next turn's move. This nerfs casters, since they can't take a 5' step away from melee and then cast - but they have casting defensively, so it's not too much of a nerf, and a fighter would need two Combat Reactions to be able to step and then take an AoO (meaning +6 BAB or Combat Reflexes feat), so I don't consider it unbalanced.

All great suggestions, Ragnar.

I especially like the one allowing Free Actions.

GlassJaw · Jan 18, 2011

Ragnar_Deerslayer said:
* I allow Barbarian Rage to be activated by a Combat Reaction (for purposes of duration, it counts as having been activated on the player's previous turn).

* I allow characters to take free actions on a Combat Reaction (including talking or dropping prone).

* I allow a player to spend a Combat Reaction to take a 5' step, but ONLY during or in response to another creature's move. (Otherwise, it would make spells like Lightning Bolt impossible to set up.) The 5' step is subtracted from your next turn's move. This nerfs casters, since they can't take a 5' step away from melee and then cast - but they have casting defensively, so it's not too much of a nerf, and a fighter would need two Combat Reactions to be able to step and then take an AoO (meaning +6 BAB or Combat Reflexes feat), so I don't consider it unbalanced.

Good stuff. Just to note, you can already speak out of turn as a free action. That's the only one though.

I'd have to see the 5' Combat Reaction in play but it sounds ok. I do remember Wulf and I discussing something along those lines but we didn't include it since we felt it needed more playtesting.

Ragnar_Deerslayer · Jan 29, 2011

GlassJaw said:
Good stuff. Just to note, you can already speak out of turn as a free action. That's the only one though.

That's right; I only mentioned it because I had a player whose previous DM had houseruled that way.

GlassJaw said:
I'd have to see the 5' Combat Reaction in play but it sounds ok. I do remember Wulf and I discussing something along those lines but we didn't include it since we felt it needed more playtesting.

The only sticky situation we've encountered so far is how to adjudicate charges. I simplified it by saying you could only take a 5' step if you weren't the target of a charge; another player could step into the line of a charge, but it's likely the charger would choose to attack them instead.

Ragnar

Bihor · Feb 15, 2011

You are able to make a ranged attack with -2 on the att.
Pushing a door to Close or open it.
Set for charge but you get attack opp. from adjacent enemies.

I'm not sure about this one but I really like to see more counter spell in my game.
If you didn't move on your round (time for the spellcraft check) counter spell but not with dispel magic.

I really like the combat reactions, and ask my players to think of things to do when it's not there turn.
The set for charge and the counter spell are action that I have never seen in my games because players don't want to loose action for something that may or may not happen.

ValhallaGH · Feb 16, 2011

I had a thought on Counterspelling as a Combat Reaction:

Require a caster level check. They have to use the same spell (no dispel magic), and they need to win a caster level check (DC 10 + enemy caster, rather than opposed).

The idea is that proper preparation allows for true and certain counterspelling (readied action), but as a reaction a caster has a chance to mess up the opposition's spells, if it matters enough (and he rolls well enough).

This has not been playtested at all, yet.
Thoughts?