Move - Attack - Move

[Stormonu]

I hadn't seen a thread specifically about this, so thought I'd start one.

What do you think of the ability to move, take an action/attack anywhere during the move, then finish the move? How did it work out in the playtest?

While I really wasn't enthused with the idea, it didn't come up in my playtest.

 

[IronWolf]

I haven't actually been able to play or DM yet, but...

I am find with the move, action, move. I think that could be sort of fun. The lack of AoO allowing people to move with impunity is what bothers me.

 

[Connorsrpg]

Good Q. I haven't seen any discussion on this. I am wondering whether people have used it?

I am definitely willing to give it a try. Could make for cinematic fights. You can move, make your attack and back off. The foe might keep coming at you, meaning the site of battle may actually change. A good thing in my mind. All good fight scenes from the movies shift around. Rarely are the combatants locked in place.

 

[justinhalliday]

It's very powerful. 4th Edition let you either approach and attack, or attack and retreat (unless you had some other pounce ability).

Without Attacks of Opportunity (AoO) in the game, the Move/Attack/Move action is great for wizards to dart into the fight, attack (with their touch attack) and then retreat to safety. Of course monsters can also use this action set too, so expect a lot of darting in and out of cover, which could get silly!

Monsters could set up reactions to counter this technique, but that would rely on them dropping their initiative down to the level of the wizard.

It certainly frustrated our GM during the playtest and he's considering houseruling something to reduce its power.

 

[KesselZero]

I agree with justinhalliday-- it's powerful. It didn't come up much in our playtest; the fighter moved back to kill a hobgoblin that was bothering our casters then returned to where he started from, but that was about it. But I think once you start factoring in hiding, getting cover, going around corners, etc. it could get very powerful and very complex quickly. I don't necessarily want OAs back like so many folks; I really want a combat system that will work well without a grid. But something needs to be done to stop PCs and monsters alike from just flying around with impunity.

 

[justinhalliday]

I agree with justinhalliday-- it's powerful. It didn't come up much in our playtest; the fighter moved back to kill a hobgoblin that was bothering our casters then returned to where he started from, but that was about it. But I think once you start factoring in hiding, getting cover, going around corners, etc. it could get very powerful and very complex quickly. I don't necessarily want OAs back like so many folks; I really want a combat system that will work well without a grid. But something needs to be done to stop PCs and monsters alike from just flying around with impunity.

The thing is that the rules specifically allow the splitting of movement before and after other actions: "You can break up your movement to move both before and after your action". So this is something deliberate in the rules.

I personally think that movement should be before <i>or</i> after actions, not 'around' them.

 

[Abraxas]

I was the DM for our group and I didn't find it to be overly powerful - and it encouraged a more dynamic combat experience.

 

[Wiseblood]

I was surprised and pleased when I saw it. It makes a lot more sense than move/ attack/ stop or Attack/ move/ stop.

 

[Wiseblood]

It is powerful, but only in comparison to what we had for movement rules before. It is also available to everyone. I believe it will make a much more dynamic experience. Less of the lockdown effect many rules used to have. It also alleviates the need for special rules that allow such things, like spring attack and the fiddly bits and feat tax that can emerge.

 

[Tallifer]

I hadn't seen a thread specifically about this, so thought I'd start one.

What do you think of the ability to move, take an action/attack anywhere during the move, then finish the move? How did it work out in the playtest?

I like this innovation. Almost every players has felt frustrated at one time or another that he cannot move five feet, open a door and then step through. Truly segmented action systems like in Aces & Eights naturally allow this sort of split movement.