Removing AoOs and 5'steps

[SoldierBlue]

Experienced DMs,
I want my 3.5 to go faster and I want to move from a tactical miniatures game to something faster and more narrative. I DM'd this way early on when Ifirst bought 3.0 because I couldn't be bothered to understand the AoO and 5' step rules. But now the players all know the rules, and I'm not sure you can put the genie back in the bottle.

I'm tempted to play without either AoOs or 5' steps. However, before I make this brave and terrifying step into the Void, I'd like to know if any of you out there have attempted this, and what was your success/failure...

Most appreciated...

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I think you'll get more responses on the General forum. There have been a number of debates there on this very topic. While your question as written could be considered a house rule, you could re-write your title as: Speeding up 3.5 Combat (and drop the
Skills reference). Otherwise the text of your message would pass for General.

Oh, and welcome to ENworld!

 

[SoldierBlue]

Thanks

Thanks for this. Not sure why I called it "Skills"...

Curious if someone could thread to where else this debate has occurred. No need to start it again.

 

[GlassJaw]

Check out True 20.

 

[SoldierBlue]

I will check out True 20. I'm curious as to how it plays out. I purchased C+C a couple of years ago; lots of fun, and exactly what I would use if I was introducing new players to the game. However, not usable with more experienced players - too many inconsistencies and the SIEGE mechanic is not smooth.

I'm going to try MERP again over the Holidays; I had some success using it to play a more narrative, flowing style using that system in the early '90s. And I've purchased HARP, which essentially modernizes that system.

However, 3.5 remains our default system, and so I'd like to find a solution internal to it.

Removing the 5' step might remove some of the flexibility in combat, but perhaps it will do something towards speeding up what can be a slow combat system. AoO should be intuitive, but after all these years, I've got tonnes of players who need it explained to them every time. And these are educated people. On a Saturday night, they don't always have the mental energy to determine when they incur or are allowed an AoO.

There must be a better way!

 

[jdrakeh]

Removing AoOs and 5' steps is easy and doesn't really effect the rest of the game much. I did this for my short WotA (Warlords of the Accordlands) campaign. Just ignore all references to these two things and "squares" in the rules. You'll be good to go.

The only possibly negative thing that this will do is decrease the utility of certain feats but, otherwise, it has no effects on gameplay that could be considered negative (unless you consider not stopping combat midstream in order to count squares a negative).

If you want a professional product that goes this route and cleaves closer to standard d20 than True20 (which is really not recognizeable as d20 in many different ways) check out Spycraft.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I'm a fan of the Spycraft method of AoOa. Simply put, they don't exist. However when a character takes an action that would normally result in an AoO they gain a condition (usually flat-footed) until the start of their next action.

 

[kensanata]

A possible house rule would be to just disallow anything that would incur an attack of opportunity. That still requires you to know when you'll incur them. To simplify further, you could say that any standard action that is not a melee attack or a retreat in a threatened square is forbidden.

You'll have to consider the decreased value of the Tumbling skill and Combat Reflexes feat and warn your players about it.

 

[Nadaka]

One thing I have considered is folding the 5ft step and AoO into swift and immediate actions. Not exactly getting rid of them, but making them more rigidly defined.

 

[SoldierBlue]

Thanks to all of you; I probably won't remove either AoO or 5 ' steps. It would screw anybody who took Feats that related to either of those (Combat Reflexes et al). I'm curious to see how 4th Edition plays it out...

Also, always scary when your DM shows up to answer your thread...