D&D 5E New Action Type for more cooperative battles

So I have a gripe about 5e. For all of the great things about it, combat is rather static. There is little ability to work cooperatively in combat or tactically. I like the idea of us developing tactics and finding ways to work together in combat. That's one of the big problems I find in 5e, but I don't really know how to fix it. Each player is kind of a self contained battle, kinda like how toddlers play. They are playing, and they happen to be playing in the vicinity of each other, but they aren't really playing together. Perhaps I've been watching too much anime (Seven Deadly Sins and Yu Yu Hakusho specifically, with a sprinkling of Great Teacher Onizuka). But finding ways to combine attacks/actions for effects that are different (not necessarily more powerful, but different) than if they were done separately.

I think part of that is the initiative system, since it makes each turn a self contained act that does not really easily allow for input or participation from other players.

So I began discussing this with some of my friends that I game with, and one of them reminded me of Immediate Actions in the later stages of 3.5. And I gotta say, the thought made me really start thinking in ways that could be not only tactical uses in combat, but also allow players to be continuously engaged in combat when it is not their turn. And so, I am considering bringing a new action type into the action economy. Currently, everyone gets a standard action, bonus action, move action, and a reaction. But in the system I am presenting, everyone would also get a Battlefield Action (BFA) as well. There would be some general BFAs that any character could do, but also some class specific BFAs. These allow greater options during combat, as well as new ways to use current resources. Please let me know your thoughts. This is just the beginning, and I'm working to expand this a bit more. Any feedback would be welcome.

Battlefield Actions

A battlefield action is a special kind of action that cannot be taken on your turn, but is taken on someone else's turn. If this is taken on the turn of an ally, it can be taken before, during, or after your ally's action. If taken on an enemy's turn, it can only be taken directly after the enemy's action. You can only take one battlefield action per round.

Types of Battlefield Actions

Battlefield Mobility: You can move up to your speed. If you have any leftover movement from your turn, you can also use it during this battlefield action. This movement may draw attacks of opportunity as normal.

Running Interference: You can position yourself to assist your ally to help them get out of combat. You can move up to your speed and make an opposed Athletics or Acrobatics check against an enemy within 5'. The enemy gets to choose if they will use Athletics or Acrobatics. If you succeed, that enemy cannot make attacks of opportunity until the start of your next turn.

Alternatively, you can move with an ally that is within 5' of you. Moving with the ally in this way allows you to take any attacks of opportunity that would normally be directed at your ally. If you move more than your base speed during this action, you take one level of exhaustion for every multiple of your base movement speed you cover in total distance (i.e. 1 level of exhaustion if you move more than your base speed, 2 levels of exhaustion if you move more than twice your base speed, ect).

Spell Enhancement: When an ally casts a spell who is within 60' of you, you can use one of your spell slots to make your ally's spell more difficult to resist. Divide the level of the spell slot you sacrificed by two (round up). You add this value to the Spell DC or Spell Attack Bonus of your ally's spell.

Energy Conduit: When an ally casts a spell who is within 60' of you, you can use one of your spell slots to make your ally's spell more deadly. For each level of spell slot you sacrificed, your ally can add one additional die of damage of the same damage type to the spell's damage.

Class Specific Battlefield Actions

Cleric

Tactical Healer: You can move up to your speed and cast spells to heal your allies. You can only cast spells from the following list using this BFA: Spare the Dying, Cure Wounds, Sanctuary, Aid, Lesser Restoration, Revivify, Greater Restoration, Heal, Resurrection, and True Resurrection.

Fighter

Tactical Action Surge: You can use on of your action surge uses to provide assistance to your allies in battle. When you use Action Surge in this way, you can move up to your speed. Once you have moved, you can then give an ally within 5' an additional action, as if they used Action Surge.

Alternatively, you can use your Tactical Action Surge to give advantage to all attacks made against one enemy within 5' until the start of your next turn.

Tactical Indomitable: You can sacrifice one of your uses of Indomitable to grant an ally the ability to reroll a saving throw. When using this ability, you can move up to your speed. Once you have moved, you can grant an ally within 5' the ability to reroll their saving throw.

Rogue

Tactical Sneak Attack: You can use your sneak attack to make an enemy easier to hit for your allies. During your BFA (Battlefield Action), you can move up to you speed and make an attack on an enemy. If the attack is successful, they take no damage, but are crippled in a way that makes them easier to hit. The next attack made against the target gains a bonus equal to half your sneak attack dice (rounded up).

Sorcerer

Tactical Metamagic: When an ally casts a spell within 60' of you, you can use your sorcery points to alter your ally's spell with metamagic. You can spend the sorcery point cost and apply a metamagic effect you know on your ally's spell.

Hawk Diesel said:

I think part of that is the initiative system, since it makes each turn a self contained act that does not really easily allow for input or participation from other players.

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What you've started on is neat, and could evolve into a really cool tactical ruleset. Props for that.

But my group does something I think you ought to consider, too. I quoted what I did because that's exactly what we changed.

We use a sort of Group Initiative that works like so:
All the players act together as one turn, in whichever order they want, changing it up each round depending on whatever they think is best for whatever reason. For example, when the wizard wants to cast hold person, he'll likely go first so the rest of the party can benefit from it immediately. While in another round the wizard may be on "mop up duty" holding off until everyone acts so that he can target his magic missile at the foes the melee bashers have grievously injured but not dropped. The tactics generally do change from round to round, enough to get the feel of an evolving strategy

Then all the monsters act together as one turn. Etc.


Initiative is rolled as normal. The PCs who beat the monsters' initiative get to act as above, the monsters go, and then the whole party acts again (with those who won initiative getting to go again before those who lost if they choose).

We have each player take his turn individually - once one player starts his turn everyone else shuts up - but you could even have everyone acting simultaneously: For example the fighter moves, the wizard casts a spell the fighter attacks, the rogue moves up beside the fighter and sneak attacks, the fighter moves to another foe and attacks again. Although that could get messy.

[MENTION=6801204]Satyrn[/MENTION] I really like this idea, and I have tried to implement it before. I've tried to do a lot of different types of initiative set ups. But the main problem is that no matter how I handle initiative, my players don't ever talk in terms of working together or strategy. They are focused on hitting the enemies, and that's it. I think that a certain type of player may benefit from this kind of initiative, but I think the problem at the core is that the various types of actions and abilities in D&D are about what your character does, rather than how you can help or assist other characters.

Yes, things like the Help action exist, and certain classes have things like Bardic Inspiration. But let's be honest, how often is a player willing to sacrifice their action in combat to use the Help action if they are not a Mastermind Rogue? I recon it doesn't come up very often, as I have seen it used exactly ZERO times during combat in all my years of gaming.

That's why with the Battlefield tactics, I'm being very intentional about how they are constructed. They provide extra movement (always nice), and empower other character's abilities. None of them allow extra attacks or the ability to use their own abilities on other people's turns. These abilities are purposely supportive, so that if used on another player's turn, the player using the BFA isn't taking the spotlight away from that player. I think this is important to ensure that these BFA's remain balanced and fun, without slowing down combat and making it more exciting.

Ok, One caster throw HEX on Dex, the next caster throws a Dex save spell.
One tank gets next to a monster, how many other pcs types get advantage or special bonus etc now?
We blew our dms mind one day when we asked for time for our casters together and decide on what spells we were going to take that day. Players need to talk tactics with each other during the coffee breaks or while the dm is setting up the map.

[MENTION=277]jasper[/MENTION] Hex only affects ability checks. Does nothing against Saving Throws.

And yes, I agree that players can talk tactics and should. But if you have new players or ones that don't really know how to do that, the mechanics don't really support a team work dynamic. There are roles, and people stick within their roles. This is a way to mechanically support working together.

As for the Tactical Action Surge (I believe that is the one you were asking clarification about with the tank), everyone would get advantage until the Fighter's start of their turn. Action Surge is a powerful ability. If a fighter is willing to forgo their normal benefit to use it, I believe the new benefit should be equal to the sacrifice, since a fighter gets a max of 2 action surges per short rest by level 20.

That's a good thought. My only concern is the level of play 'friction' the complexity of this system will impose as people try to remember who was doing what and how they intended to assist, etc. Especially for the poor DM.

Hawk Diesel said:

Yes, things like the Help action exist, and certain classes have things like Bardic Inspiration. But let's be honest, how often is a player willing to sacrifice their action in combat to use the Help action if they are not a Mastermind Rogue? I recon it doesn't come up very often, as I have seen it used exactly ZERO times during combat in all my years of gaming.

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Heh, yeah. The Help action doesn't ever seem to come up for us, either.

As I said, I do like the start you made. And your design of making these specialized help actions is cool.

I like that tactical metamagic. I can totally picture the sorcerer weaving his magic into his ally's power. A really cool visual.

Warmaster Horus said:

That's a good thought. My only concern is the level of play 'friction' the complexity of this system will impose as people try to remember who was doing what and how they intended to assist, etc. Especially for the poor DM.

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Yea, this will definitely increase complexity and tracking. But I think with some work this can be addressed.

I like that you consider the resource use for each of the BFAs. I feel each BFA should cost the character something and thus give the player a way to value the BFA. It is also an additional resource for the player to manage. Management of the BFA resource should be simple, and I believe you have done that.

The challenge with a BFA is that it prompts interruption and rewind of the communication flow between the active player and the DM. If the DM is talented enough to receive input from a second player while the first active player is communicating then I feel the BFA would work well. If the DM has a hard time hearing or seeing the second player because of environmental noise (other convention tables, kids in the other room playing, dogs barking at ghosts, etc.) then the BFA may be troublesome. There are table tools (flags raised, hands raised, BFA action figures) that can be used to increase the ease of communication; however, moving the BFA to the active player which then benefits a following character may still achieve your goal and not cause potential communication problems. For example, a sorcerer player states they are using the BFA Tactical Metamagic and setting out 2 SP for use. On the following turns, an ally can state they are using the two SP for their spell. The ally may have talked with the first active player during their turn and setup a plan with out interrupting the flow of communication or spot light.

How would a group of NPCs use these abilities? Would an army of hobgoblins be able to use these? Would a couple ogres or giants be able to use these as well? If so, what easy way is there for the DM to keep track of which NPC is using which BFA and how it affects the PCs?

cooperjer said:

How would a group of NPCs use these abilities? Would an army of hobgoblins be able to use these? Would a couple ogres or giants be able to use these as well? If so, what easy way is there for the DM to keep track of which NPC is using which BFA and how it affects the PCs?

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I am of the mindset that whatever the players can do, the DM can do. So it would be up to the DM. If they want a more challenging encounter, they could utilize this style of cooperation with an army of hobgoblins (for example). This is a similar mechanic to legendary actions, so I would say that DMs already have a precedent to use these kinds of actions.

Personally though, as a DM most of my enemies are rough sketches with hit points and maybe a few interesting abilities. A DM has the ability to easily create new actions on the fly and adjudicate the mechanical effect to the players. This gives the players a structured way to understand how they can help and support their own teammates.