D&D 5E Too Few Player Options During Combat?

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

It certainly wouldn't hurt if there were more alternate uses for the Attack action than Push and Grapple

 

[jmartkdr2]

Whether you like the system or not, would you say that it's a good/engaging system?

I've played Pathfinder 2nd Edition a couple of times: I like it, especially for it's crunch (good depth and customization) and for it's clarity: there really are rules in place for nearly anything you'd want to do so long as you stick to "fantasy adventure stuff." Not every rule is great (the crafting system is too detailed) but overall it's a good game.

Also, it's really tightly balanced, so there's no need to optimize to stay relevant. But you will need to change your thinking about how to play compared to 5e DnD: doing the same thing over and over is a very bad idea, even if you are really good at the thing you are doing. In other words: it doesn't just have more options, it highly incentivizes using them.

Based on some other posts, it sounds like it would be a great fit for your group. Here's a link to the rules website: Home - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Database

 

[Filthy Lucre]

WotC did say they were going to be releasing material at a faster pace - maybe that includes an add-on rules expansion like they talked about way back during the play test? One can only hope.

 

[ART!]

I'd like to have bonuses to offer players other than Advantage, but I'm not sure what that would be. I don't want to go back to +X for this and +Y for that. Maybe giving players the option to forego their next action and movement to do certain kinds of things not on their turn, like intercept an attack on another character. Offering an extra Reaction as a reward for certain kinds of awesomeness? That kind of thing.

 

[embee]

I'd like to have bonuses to offer players other than Advantage, but I'm not sure what that would be. I don't want to go back to +X for this and +Y for that. Maybe giving players the option to forego their next action and movement to do certain kinds of things not on their turn, like intercept an attack on another character. Offering an extra Reaction for certain kinds of awesomeness? That kind of thing.

Unfortunately, I have found that +X for this and +Y for that is often the best fix. It's a kludge, but then again, so is duck tape and duck tape works.

 

[Waller]

Somebody should do somehting about that!

www.levelup5e.com

 

[Stormonu]

It’s a yes and no answer. For some folks, adding extra options in combat is frivolous because they aren’t playing for the combat. For others, combat is king and options are a must.

Personally, I would like to see more options besides whack-a-bag-of-hit-points. I’d like to see a lot more battlemaster-like abilities and the ability to use those sort of damage + effect without having to be forced into subclasses or feats to use them. But there are some in my group right now who wouldn’t care or use it.

 

[el-remmen]

I think the implicit answer coming from the forum right now is that there isn't a core solution to my problem and I need to pray that 6th edition has more complex rules.

I was gonna suggest that 5E just might not be the game for your group. Go back to 3.5 or another system entirely if winging it or optional rules are not to your tastes.

That said, I have always found the combat environment has a lot more effect on options and cool fights than any specific rules.

 

[embee]

It’s a yes and no answer. For some folks, adding extra options in combat is frivolous because they aren’t playing for the combat. For others, combat is king and options are a must.

Personally, I would like to see more options besides whack-a-bag-of-hit-points. I’d like to see a lot more battlemaster-like abilities and the ability to use those sort of damage + effect without having to be forced into subclasses or feats to use them. But there are some in my group right now who wouldn’t care or use it.

Incentivize movement and positioning to get rid of Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots.

Flanking gives a nice reason to move around. Also, remember that people are cover and, as such, will provide bonuses and penalties. Dungeons & Dragons is not Double Dragon; dead bodies don't disappear. Make them difficult terrain.

Also, make your terrain dynamic. If you're in a castle, as we learned from Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, there will be tapestries. And flames. Make something catch fire.

Give your players a reason to move. Like defending the spellcaster. Anything more intelligent than a wild animal knows that the guy in the bathrobe has magic.

Keep diligent track of healing spells used and be stingy with resting. If the only way someone stands back up is to get beside them and pour a healing potion down their gullet, now players will move.

 

[Gadget]

I can see the problem, but 5e was designed as a more back to the basics type of game to avoid much (but certainly not all) of the system mastery and layering on of boni for this and that. Designing such a system that doesn't engender massive levels of 'build' planning while creating (intentionally or not) numerous 'trap' options for the unwary is quite a challenge. Not to mention meticulous book keeping and long involved combats.

I've heard that Pathfinder 2e does some good things along those lines, but Pathfinder 1e & D&D 3.x (as well as 4e) were a real mess in this area.