D&D 4E 4E combat illustrated

[Reaper Steve]

First: great job!

Second: constructive criticism: you ran it backwards.

The PCs are supposed to enter from the east side of the map, which is the half of the map not shown in the illustration (as clarified in the product FAQ.)

The PCs are supposed to advance two turns, but then it also states that the kobolds don't expose themselves until at least one PC is between the two easternmost boulders.
This is slightly contradictory... what if the PCs don't get there in two turns?
(My modification will be to have the PCs establish a generic marching order/spacing and then show them the map. If they don't make any changes, I will place their figs in that order with the lead PC in the first position between the boulders that causes the kobolds to act. If they do make changes, the same trigger will occur, but probably to the lone scout (!) Hope his buddies can catch up.)

When the kobolds do first act, only the 5 minions expose themselves first, with higher initiative kobolds delaying until they act.

The rest of the encounter tactics make much more sense when the PCs approach from the east.

 

[Hawke]

...It's not really any different now, just backwards. Now the player gets to roll his own attacks, instead of having to wait for the DM to roll all the saves (or, indeed, fudge them).

Why don't you like this mechanic, Warbringer?

If you're concerned it is slowing down the game too much you could always house rule that it's a single attack & damage roll. The downside is the variance is greater for good or bad - but if you're consistent throughout the campaign it'll hurt with bad rolls as much as it'll help with a 20 and hitting tons of guys as a result. A few poor rolls could nullify the effects so much that it could cause some balance issues and hurt your party. Instead of missing 4 guys 4 times in a row, you're more likely to hit some of them each round which may be better for the players in avoiding death.

I'd suggest you see how much it slows the game down before jumping to the house rule.