Phase 1. Initiative is rolled by all parties (PCs and NPCs). The GM takes the highest and the lowest and begins an initiative countdown.
Example: Say the highest initiative is a 26 and the lowest is a 7. The GM begins at 26, and counts down during the subsequent phases. When your initiative number is called, you respond with the action appropriate for that particular phase.
Reasoning: I liked when we used to roll initiative at the begining of every round, and I think it makes it more interesting. It also sucks less to have horrible initiative rolls. Because of this, a combat "initiative keeper" isn't entirely practical. I've used the initiative countdown in games before and it works very well.
Phase 2. The GM begins an initiative countdown. In initiative order, all parties involved in combat give a brief explanation of what they intend to do with their round. If you intend to say anything "in-character," this is the time to do so.
Example: Player 1 says "I attack this guy" then Player 2 says "I will cast this spell."
Reasoning: In combat situations, people don't get the benefit of waiting for their turn to contemplate their actions. Initiative doesn't mean that people stand in formation and hack on their designated 6-second interval. It just means that in that designated timeslot, Player 1 acts a split second before Player 2. If you have something like Cleave, and you're attacking a group, designate your secondary and tertiary (if applicable) targets in this phase. If it becomes your turn to announce your action and you require more time to think on it, you may hold your action until the end of the round. If you say you cast a spell and after Phase 2, you realize that you didn't want to cast it, or it was a bad idea, you may choose to allow the spell to fizzle harmlessly, but you still expend a spell slot. Combat does not allow you that much time for contemplation.
Phase 3: Everyone rolls out their action.
Example: If you decide to do a full round of attacking, roll out your attacks and damage. If you believe you may have scored a critical threat, roll to confirm, and record damage for both a successful critical, and an unsuccessful. All dice rolls should be made in the open. Record all of your dice rollings on a piece of paper (or something). Do all math now.
Reasoning: While combat is lots of fun, watching other people roll dice can sometimes not be. I realize that this phase leaves a lot of room for cheating. I'm pretty sure I can trust you all not to do so.
Phase 4: The GM begins another initiative countdown. In order, the Players tell the GMs their total die results and the GM determines whether they hit, the spell goes off, they succeed, etc. (Note: Each attack roll should have it's own specific damage. If your 1st attack with max damage missed, and your second attack with crap damage hit, still apply the crap damage) At this point, the GM compares the NPC's actions with the ACs (or relative numbers) of the players.
Example: Player 1 says "I got a 24, a 17, and a 20 to hit." DM says "That's a hit, miss, and a hit." Player 1 had rolled 8, 12, and 10 damage respectively. Player 1 says "That's 8 and 10 damage." Then it's the next person.
Reasoning: Obviously, if you want to defeat your opponent, you have to do damage, or something. Voila. (Note: If you were casting a damage spell with a full round casting time at a specific character, and that character is no longer alive, it is up to DM discretion to determine whether that spell can be redirected. Area spells would not be effected. And in the event of multiple adversarys, standard action spells could be redirected. However if you are actively casting a spell when the last adversary is gone, you may choose to complete the spell, or to let it fizzle out, still losing the spell slot for the day.)
Phase 5: The GM compiles the round's events into a sucinct, if gory (maybe), description.
Example: DM says "Player 1 thrust his sword into NPC's arm, just as said NPC drove his spear into Player 1's shoulder. Fortunately Player 2 was there just in time to finish off NPC with a swift kick to the stomach."
Reasoning: This phase is optional, I suppose. But I really like description. And compiling the combat like this really enables things to move along more smoothly.
