Gantros
Explorer
In general, I like the original idea. I think it's an improvement over the standard iterative attack rules in terms of speed and simplicity. On the other hand, it still has the downsides of reducing the number of attacks a high-level fighter can make, and it still requires 4 rolls (2 attacks + 2 damage) per full attack with all of their attendant modifiers.
Here's an alternative suggestion I came up with. Basically you can choose from two ways to use iterative attacks - against a single opponent, or against multiple opponents.
Single opponent
Make a standard attack. If it misses, no further attacks are possible against that opponent this round. If it hits, roll damage and apply any modifiers or critical effects.
At 6th level or higher, if the attack beats the target AC by 5 or more, total damage is doubled.
At 11th level or higher, if the attack beats the target AC by 10 or more, total damage is tripled.
At 16th level or higher, if the attack beats the target AC by 15 or more, total damage is quadrupled.
Multiple opponents
Make separate attack and damage rolls for each opponent.
At 6th level, you can attack up to two opponents, each at -2 to hit.
At 11th level, you can attack up to three opponents, each at -4 to hit.
At 16th level, you can attack up to four opponents, each at -6 to hit.
Why do it this way? In my experience, iterative attacks are most commonly used to beat on a single opponent, and in this case it seems unnecessary to require multiple rolls with different modifiers. This method lets you get away with one attack roll and one damage roll in all such cases, at the cost of a little bit of extra math. It also gives you the option of hitting multiple opponents as before, which still requires multiple rolls and bonus calculations, but it's simplified by having a single modifier for all attacks. The modifiers were selected to make the 3rd and 4th attacks more meaningful, while keeping the average probabilities of scoring hits relatively unchanged.
You could potentially even combine the single + multiple attack options if desired (e.g. a 16th level fighter attacks two opponents at -2 each, with 2x damage if he beats either AC by 5 or more).
Here's an alternative suggestion I came up with. Basically you can choose from two ways to use iterative attacks - against a single opponent, or against multiple opponents.
Single opponent
Make a standard attack. If it misses, no further attacks are possible against that opponent this round. If it hits, roll damage and apply any modifiers or critical effects.
At 6th level or higher, if the attack beats the target AC by 5 or more, total damage is doubled.
At 11th level or higher, if the attack beats the target AC by 10 or more, total damage is tripled.
At 16th level or higher, if the attack beats the target AC by 15 or more, total damage is quadrupled.
Multiple opponents
Make separate attack and damage rolls for each opponent.
At 6th level, you can attack up to two opponents, each at -2 to hit.
At 11th level, you can attack up to three opponents, each at -4 to hit.
At 16th level, you can attack up to four opponents, each at -6 to hit.
Why do it this way? In my experience, iterative attacks are most commonly used to beat on a single opponent, and in this case it seems unnecessary to require multiple rolls with different modifiers. This method lets you get away with one attack roll and one damage roll in all such cases, at the cost of a little bit of extra math. It also gives you the option of hitting multiple opponents as before, which still requires multiple rolls and bonus calculations, but it's simplified by having a single modifier for all attacks. The modifiers were selected to make the 3rd and 4th attacks more meaningful, while keeping the average probabilities of scoring hits relatively unchanged.
You could potentially even combine the single + multiple attack options if desired (e.g. a 16th level fighter attacks two opponents at -2 each, with 2x damage if he beats either AC by 5 or more).