pulp action rules for Eberron - lend me a hand!

[rkanodia]

Hi guys, I'm going to be starting an Eberron campaign soon, and I'm looking for a way to make combat more exciting, with pulp/swashbuckling feel. Action points help, but I'd really like to have a system that emphasizes flashy moves, improvised weapons, usage of the environment, and talking. I've looked at the wuxia combat rules, but those don't fit the flavor of Eberron well in my opinion. Here are some ideas I've come up with, along with my reasoning behind each. If you have criticism, suggestions, or questions, please feel free to say so!

Attack bonus for flavor
Reasoning: Saying "I attack. I attack." isn't very exciting.
Effect: If you describe your attack in a colorful way, you get a +1 bonus on your attack roll. Typical ways to do this would be to provide a vivid illustration of the specific attack, to describe your usage of another character or object in your attack, or to say something clever in-character as you swing. You may only use a particular maneuver once per combat in this way.

Brawling is good
Reasoning: Plenty of pulp characters fight barehanded, even those without specific training. Even characters who typically fight with weapons will sometimes throw a punch in a crowded melee or dramatic duel.
Effect: All characters are treated as having Improved Unarmed Strike. Also, improvised weapons don't draw attacks of opportunity. I might consider doing even more than this, but I would have to be careful not to either overpower monks or make them feel useless. The idea of 'everyone gets a secondary slam attack' has occurred to me - but I think that then, it would just be another boring, ordinary thing ("I attack with my sword. I punch him.... I attack with my sword. I punch him.")

Pithy dialogue can affect combat
Reasoning: Delivering clever and/or heroic (or villainous!) lines during a fight is a classic pulp manuver, seeming to bolster a combatant's resolve and sometimes giving them a second wind.
Effect: Pithy Dialogue is meant to replace the Total Defense action. As a standard action, you taunt, challenge, debate, inveigh, malign, or otherwise engage an opponent in dialogue, while defending yourself from attack. You must either play this out in character ("Is that all you've got, you pathetic excuse for a Shifter? I've heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing, but never a sheep in wolf's body!") or at least describe your comments vividly ("I inform the Silver Sickle that he has no chance to succeed while simultaneously implying he has sex with dire boars.") You get a +4 dodge bonus to armor class until the start of your next turn. You gain a temporary action point that must be used by the end of your next turn. Side note - I'm considering allowing a 'second wind' use for action points: you get 1d8+level temporary hitpoints, which expire at the end of combat. You may not use this ability unless you are below 50% of your maximum hitpoints, and no more than once per combat.

It's fine to talk before you shoot
Reasoning: Pulp and noir stories have lots of talking with villains, but the current surprise mechanic gives players (and villains!) a strong incentive to shoot first and ask questions later.
Effect: When a hostile encounter occurs, the DM decides who (if anyone) is surprised. Regardless of any non-combat activity that may happen before a fight starts, those people are treated as surprised when the fight starts. The DM may adjudicate that certain deliberate actions negate this effect - for instance, deciding to sheathe your sword, turn away from the opponent you have surprised, and sit down as a gesture of goodwill would definitely remove the surprise from your opponent.

Teamwork and 'combo attacks' are useful
Reasoning: Let's face it - Aid Another really, really sucks. Pulp action definitely has a place for collaborative attacks.
Effect: Aid Another is worth a +4 bonus, instead of +2, if the action is described well. Also, use of objects (ropes, vines, drapes, rugs, etc) or communication ("Wait for it, wait for it... now!") can extend the range of Aid Another.

Any other ideas floating out there? Ways to improve or simplify what I've already got? Let's hear em!

 

[DreamChaser]

Attack bonus for flavor
Reasoning: Saying "I attack. I attack." isn't very exciting.
Effect: If you describe your attack in a colorful way, you get a +1 bonus on your attack roll. Typical ways to do this would be to provide a vivid illustration of the specific attack, to describe your usage of another character or object in your attack, or to say something clever in-character as you swing. You may only use a particular maneuver once per combat in this way.

I like this one. I use this one anyway and it is far from game breaking.

Brawling is good
Reasoning: Plenty of pulp characters fight barehanded, even those without specific training. Even characters who typically fight with weapons will sometimes throw a punch in a crowded melee or dramatic duel.
Effect: All characters are treated as having Improved Unarmed Strike. Also, improvised weapons don't draw attacks of opportunity. I might consider doing even more than this, but I would have to be careful not to either overpower monks or make them feel useless. The idea of 'everyone gets a secondary slam attack' has occurred to me - but I think that then, it would just be another boring, ordinary thing ("I attack with my sword. I punch him.... I attack with my sword. I punch him.")

I'm not sure on this one. It seems like this steps on the toes of the monk. I like the idea just not sure on the application.

Pithy dialogue can affect combat
Reasoning: Delivering clever and/or heroic (or villainous!) lines during a fight is a classic pulp manuver, seeming to bolster a combatant's resolve and sometimes giving them a second wind.
Effect: Pithy Dialogue is meant to replace the Total Defense action. As a standard action, you taunt, challenge, debate, inveigh, malign, or otherwise engage an opponent in dialogue, while defending yourself from attack. You must either play this out in character ("Is that all you've got, you pathetic excuse for a Shifter? I've heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing, but never a sheep in wolf's body!") or at least describe your comments vividly ("I inform the Silver Sickle that he has no chance to succeed while simultaneously implying he has sex with dire boars.") You get a +4 dodge bonus to armor class until the start of your next turn. You gain a temporary action point that must be used by the end of your next turn.

Yeah...I love this one. Much more interesting than cowering.

Side note - I'm considering allowing a 'second wind' use for action points: you get 1d8+level temporary hitpoints, which expire at the end of combat. You may not use this ability unless you are below 50% of your maximum hitpoints, and no more than once per combat.

I think that this ability would work great with the quip "I'm not left handed either."

It's fine to talk before you shoot
Reasoning: Pulp and noir stories have lots of talking with villains, but the current surprise mechanic gives players (and villains!) a strong incentive to shoot first and ask questions later.
Effect: When a hostile encounter occurs, the DM decides who (if anyone) is surprised. Regardless of any non-combat activity that may happen before a fight starts, those people are treated as surprised when the fight starts. The DM may adjudicate that certain deliberate actions negate this effect - for instance, deciding to sheathe your sword, turn away from the opponent you have surprised, and sit down as a gesture of goodwill would definitely remove the surprise from your opponent.

I love this one. It drives me crazy when the PCs interrupt my BBEG's posturing just so they can try to get the drop on him. I might take it even further to say that if the PCs interrupt the drama of a BBEG confrontation then they suffer some sort of penalty...i'm not sure what kind of penalty but it should be something appropriate.

Teamwork and 'combo attacks' are useful
Reasoning: Let's face it - Aid Another really, really sucks. Pulp action definitely has a place for collaborative attacks.
Effect: Aid Another is worth a +4 bonus, instead of +2, if the action is described well. Also, use of objects (ropes, vines, drapes, rugs, etc) or communication ("Wait for it, wait for it... now!") can extend the range of Aid Another.

I would go further to say that there should be a sliding scale for Aid Another. DC/AC 10 = +2, 25 = +4, 40 = +8. In adiditon if 3 or more characters create an interesting tactic, they each gain a temporary action point to help them make sure it goes off effectively.

I love this kind of thing.

Don't work harder than you need to/play fair.
Reasoning: A player will often always pull out the biggest gun when a smaller one will do just fine. A pulp hero shows how great he/she is by using little effort to do little tasks.
Effect: Gain +4 to an action that is less effective than you are capable of. This can offset the penalty to deal nonlethal damage (no reason to kill the kid in the tavern just cause he hasn't learned respect yet) or off-hand penalty ("I'm not left handed"). If there are no relevant die rolls to modify, the situation should be interpreted as openly as possible, and in favor of the character as much as possible.

I once had a player use prestidigitation to create the smell of cheese on a switch in a room filled with rats. The rats all clambored over to the switch trying to get to the cheese and together they weighed enough to activate it. She could have fireballed them, but this was so much more elegant. I don't know what the RAW would have said about it, but I was good to go.

DC

 

[DanMcS]

Attack bonus for flavor
Reasoning: Saying "I attack. I attack." isn't very exciting.
Effect: If you describe your attack in a colorful way, you get a +1 bonus on your attack roll. Typical ways to do this would be to provide a vivid illustration of the specific attack, to describe your usage of another character or object in your attack, or to say something clever in-character as you swing. You may only use a particular maneuver once per combat in this way.

Just do it as a bonus action point, that they can spend immediately or save to use sometime within the same combat.

 

[rkanodia]

DreamChaser, I admitted in my original post that I was concerned about overstepping the monk's toes with the improved brawling. Is IUS really too much? Maybe I am missing something; I just don't see it as being very powerful at all for anyone but a monk, who of course gets it for free. Also I just realized that the current penalty for improvised weapons is -4 attack roll, not an attack of opportunity, so forget that.

I also agree that hopefully not every round of every fight should involve bringing out the biggest guns possible, and fights should encourage players to be creative. Reducing penalties is one way to do it. I'm also considering a 'fight analytically' option which would reduce your attack rolls, but grant an insight bonus to attack on subsequent rounds.

DanMcS, I would action points for truly spectacular descriptions involving multiple techniques and/or objects, but I think an action point is too good for something that is generally what the player wants to do anyway.