rabindranath72
Explorer
Hi all,
so I recently acquired a full set of 4e books, and I wanted to give it a(nother) try. I had already bought and DMed it back in 2008, and although I loved many aspects of it, I never warmed to the idea of minis and maps (both for the time it takes to play out encounters, and as a practical issue of not having enough space to play and store material). I have 30 years experience DMing, most of my gaming career has been spent on AD&D 2e and BECMI (and a little 3.0), so I never used/needed an exacting tactical system. Still, I love the 4e design of characters and (most importantly for me as DM) monsters and NPCs.
Fast forward to last year, I bought and enjoyed 13th Age immensely: interesting tactical options, and no grid/minis required? What's not to love? If only 5e had been built along these lines! So a few weeks ago my mind wandered back to 4e, and the chance to buy a pretty much complete collection of books at 80% discount; I couldn't miss it. So I went scouring the internet for attempts to replace the 4e combat/power framework with something similar to 13th Age, but apparently nobody worked really hard on it. So, I donned my designer's hat, and the following is what I produced. I have playtested it for a few sessions, and I haven't found any major problems; I have two players, one had played 4e and didn't like it in the least (again, doesn't like minis); the other is more or less a newbie to 4e (but we played a longish 5e campaign.) I didn't tell them we were playing 4e, as I didn't want to bias their perception. By the end of the first session, the big reveal: we had been playing 4e with a few house rules
They were enthusiastic, and now crave for more.
OK, long rant, herewith the framework I came up with; feel free to comment and (constructively) criticise.
Thanks in advance for any comments!
Antonio
[h=1]D&D 4e revised combat rules[/h]The purpose of this document is to describe an alternative framework to combat on the grid. Using some 13th Age-inspired mechanics, I rewrite the way powers work when they reference the grid, thus removing the need for counting squares either in relation to range, or to areas of effect. Please refer to the 13th Age SRD Combat rules chapter for details. Where halving of a number is required, always round down. In the following, X will denote the number of squares or the size of an effect in a 4e power description.
[h=2]Ranges[/h]- All ranges of 10 or less squares are considered Nearby. All ranges of 11 or more are considered Far Away.
- Missile or thrown weapons with long range of 10 or less can only be fired Nearby. Those with long range >10 can be fired Far Away at -2. Those with short range >10 can be fired Far Away at no penalty.
- Reach X weapons or effects allow an attack at non-engaged targets by succeeding at a saving throw, with a bonus equal to base Dex modifier+X. Creatures with the Threatening Reach trait can attack within their reach without need of a save.
[h=2]Movement[/h]
- A Move action allows a character to move everywhere Nearby. Characters with Speeds of 6 or more can move to Far Away range by spending two Move actions. Characters with Speeds of 5 or less (either naturally, or because they wear Heavy armor for example) must also succeed at a saving throw with Speed bonus; failure means the two Move actions are expended but the character is still Nearby (next round however a single Move action will allow moving Far away). In general, if spending two Move actions results in a total Speed >10, then movement to Far Away range is possible without a saving throw.
- A Run action (PHB p. 291) allows a character with Speed 4 or 5 to move Far away with two Move actions, and no save required.
- Movement in difficult terrain requires succeeding at a saving throw with Speed bonus as a Move action (Terrain Walk traits allow a creature to ignore the save.) Failure means the creature expends the Move action but doesn’t reach its objective this round.
- Effects that push, pull, or slide a target X squares are interpreted according to the relative positioning of attacker and target, and to the tactical effect they can achieve. The DM should pay attention to the environment, and adjudicate forced movement attempts based on the intent of the move (e.g. a character might want to push a monster off a cliff.) A successful saving throw at a penalty equal to X means the target is not forced to move. A failed save means the target is forced to move as a free action. Some notable cases:
o An effect that pushes a target adjacent to an attacker, results in the target Popping free.
o An effect that pushes an Engaged target, followed by a movement of the attacker, allows the latter to move as a free action and Engage the target again.
o A pull effect can force a target to Engage the attacker. As a free action, the target immediately moves toward the attacker, attempting to Engage it or get as close as possible to it.
o A slide effect can be interpreted as a push or a pull. Slide effects on adjacent allies can be used to grant Combat Advantage.
- A shift effect allows a character to Pop free from an enemy on a successful Disengage check (a saving throw). The bonus on the saving throw is equal to the number of squares. So, “shift 3” should be read as a +3 bonus. If the shift is part of another effect, the Disengage check is generally a free action.
[h=2]Areas of effect[/h]- Close Burst 1: all engaged or close targets.
- Close Burst X: all engaged or close targets, plus 1d4+X/2 Nearby targets.
- Area Burst X: 1d4+X/2 targets in a Group within the stated range (Nearby or Far Away).
- Close Blast X: 1d4+X/4 Nearby, engaged and close targets in a Group. The latter are counted off the total (as we don’t know the exact position of the targets around the attacker.)
so I recently acquired a full set of 4e books, and I wanted to give it a(nother) try. I had already bought and DMed it back in 2008, and although I loved many aspects of it, I never warmed to the idea of minis and maps (both for the time it takes to play out encounters, and as a practical issue of not having enough space to play and store material). I have 30 years experience DMing, most of my gaming career has been spent on AD&D 2e and BECMI (and a little 3.0), so I never used/needed an exacting tactical system. Still, I love the 4e design of characters and (most importantly for me as DM) monsters and NPCs.
Fast forward to last year, I bought and enjoyed 13th Age immensely: interesting tactical options, and no grid/minis required? What's not to love? If only 5e had been built along these lines! So a few weeks ago my mind wandered back to 4e, and the chance to buy a pretty much complete collection of books at 80% discount; I couldn't miss it. So I went scouring the internet for attempts to replace the 4e combat/power framework with something similar to 13th Age, but apparently nobody worked really hard on it. So, I donned my designer's hat, and the following is what I produced. I have playtested it for a few sessions, and I haven't found any major problems; I have two players, one had played 4e and didn't like it in the least (again, doesn't like minis); the other is more or less a newbie to 4e (but we played a longish 5e campaign.) I didn't tell them we were playing 4e, as I didn't want to bias their perception. By the end of the first session, the big reveal: we had been playing 4e with a few house rules
They were enthusiastic, and now crave for more. OK, long rant, herewith the framework I came up with; feel free to comment and (constructively) criticise.
Thanks in advance for any comments!
Antonio
[h=1]D&D 4e revised combat rules[/h]The purpose of this document is to describe an alternative framework to combat on the grid. Using some 13th Age-inspired mechanics, I rewrite the way powers work when they reference the grid, thus removing the need for counting squares either in relation to range, or to areas of effect. Please refer to the 13th Age SRD Combat rules chapter for details. Where halving of a number is required, always round down. In the following, X will denote the number of squares or the size of an effect in a 4e power description.
[h=2]Ranges[/h]- All ranges of 10 or less squares are considered Nearby. All ranges of 11 or more are considered Far Away.
- Missile or thrown weapons with long range of 10 or less can only be fired Nearby. Those with long range >10 can be fired Far Away at -2. Those with short range >10 can be fired Far Away at no penalty.
- Reach X weapons or effects allow an attack at non-engaged targets by succeeding at a saving throw, with a bonus equal to base Dex modifier+X. Creatures with the Threatening Reach trait can attack within their reach without need of a save.
[h=2]Movement[/h]
- A Move action allows a character to move everywhere Nearby. Characters with Speeds of 6 or more can move to Far Away range by spending two Move actions. Characters with Speeds of 5 or less (either naturally, or because they wear Heavy armor for example) must also succeed at a saving throw with Speed bonus; failure means the two Move actions are expended but the character is still Nearby (next round however a single Move action will allow moving Far away). In general, if spending two Move actions results in a total Speed >10, then movement to Far Away range is possible without a saving throw.
- A Run action (PHB p. 291) allows a character with Speed 4 or 5 to move Far away with two Move actions, and no save required.
- Movement in difficult terrain requires succeeding at a saving throw with Speed bonus as a Move action (Terrain Walk traits allow a creature to ignore the save.) Failure means the creature expends the Move action but doesn’t reach its objective this round.
- Effects that push, pull, or slide a target X squares are interpreted according to the relative positioning of attacker and target, and to the tactical effect they can achieve. The DM should pay attention to the environment, and adjudicate forced movement attempts based on the intent of the move (e.g. a character might want to push a monster off a cliff.) A successful saving throw at a penalty equal to X means the target is not forced to move. A failed save means the target is forced to move as a free action. Some notable cases:
o An effect that pushes a target adjacent to an attacker, results in the target Popping free.
o An effect that pushes an Engaged target, followed by a movement of the attacker, allows the latter to move as a free action and Engage the target again.
o A pull effect can force a target to Engage the attacker. As a free action, the target immediately moves toward the attacker, attempting to Engage it or get as close as possible to it.
o A slide effect can be interpreted as a push or a pull. Slide effects on adjacent allies can be used to grant Combat Advantage.
- A shift effect allows a character to Pop free from an enemy on a successful Disengage check (a saving throw). The bonus on the saving throw is equal to the number of squares. So, “shift 3” should be read as a +3 bonus. If the shift is part of another effect, the Disengage check is generally a free action.
[h=2]Areas of effect[/h]- Close Burst 1: all engaged or close targets.
- Close Burst X: all engaged or close targets, plus 1d4+X/2 Nearby targets.
- Area Burst X: 1d4+X/2 targets in a Group within the stated range (Nearby or Far Away).
- Close Blast X: 1d4+X/4 Nearby, engaged and close targets in a Group. The latter are counted off the total (as we don’t know the exact position of the targets around the attacker.)
