Dramatic Opening Moments and Cinematic Free Actions

[ForceUser]

Hi everybody!

While I generally hate adding house rules to my campaign, I'm getting a sense of inevitability here: I love 3E combat; It's chunky and smart! But it really bugs me that the combat is SO brutally swift and segmented that nobody can get a word in! Yeah yeah, I know that's how it is in real life, but this is fantasy - high fantasy! Where is the cool banter between heroes and villains? The heroic death? The villianous monologue? The awesome cinematic moments and great quips that make you glad you spent 8.50 to go to the movies that night? I'd like more roleplaying with my action, please!

So without further adieu:

[THE DRAMATIC OPENING MOMENT]

"I am Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"Strike me down with all your hatred, and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete!"

"Go back! You shall not pass!"

The Dramatic Opening Moment is the calm before the storm. Combat is inevitable - mere moments away! - yet there is something you must say to your foe before you send him to Hell. On the first round of combat, provided all sides of the conflict are aware of each other and nobody is surprised, you can make a short speech after initiative is rolled but before any actions are resolved. Each player character has an opportunity to say something dramatically appropriate to the scene, and so do their foes. Once all characters who wish to say something have done so, the action starts. You may use this moment to deliver tactical information, provided you say it in a dramatically appropriate way ("Woo! Look out, he's got a demon in his pocket!"), but you may not use the moment to attempt any action that requires a die roll to resolve, nor can you use it to activate a magic item or cast a spell. The Dramatic Opening Moment exists solely to pause the action long enough for you and your foe to trade insults or boast, just like in the movies. When you speak in the Dramatic Opening Moment, remember that you're about to fight! Talk agressively, be brazenly loud or deathly quiet. Ham it up! Pretend you're the action star in your own kung fu movie! Ask yourself: what would Jackie Chan or Tom Cruise say?


[THE CINEMATIC FREE ACTION]

"Shadow kick!"

"Impressive...most impressive."

"By the Power of Greyskull!"

The Cinematic Free Action is the funny quip or bit of tough-guy dialogue you spout off during a fight. Maybe you're trying to provoke your opponent or maybe you're just activating a magic item. Whatever the case, the Cinematic Free Action allows your character to say something cool during a fight without worrying about whether he could talk, run, swing a weapon, and cast a spell in the same round. Of course you can! This is an action movie! Every character gets one Cinematic Free Action per round in addition to whatever actions they normally get. You resolve the Cinematic Free Action on your turn, and you don't have to use it if you don't want to. Like the Dramatic Opening Moment, you can use your Cinematic Free Action to shout tactical information to your allies if you want ("Hien! Vinh needs healing or he will die!"), you can use it to harass your foes ("You call that a fireball? I will show you a fireball!"), or you can use it to activate a magic item in an appropriately dramatic way ("Lotus petals on water!" when activating Boots of Water Walking, perhaps). This ability exists to allow you more freedom to roleplay during a combat encounter - whether you take a Cinematic Free Action or not is usually up to you. In the interest of fun, however, it is not always up to you.

[Cinematic Free Actions to activate magic items] Some magic items you might find or have made during the course of the campaign might require a cinematic free action to activate - a dramatically appropriate phrase of power.

[Cinematic Free Actions for use-activated feats] Some use-activated feats (feats that the player designates he's using as opposed to feats that are always in effect) may require a Cinematic Free Action to initiate. You can choose when to say your accompanying phrase, either just before, during, or right after you use your feat. Also, you don't have to say it more than once per session unless you want to, but you must always say it the FIRST time you use your cool feat in a session. The following list of use-activated feats from the Player's Handbook will require a Cinematic Free Action to use:

Blind-fight
Expertise
Great Cleave
Improved Disarm
Improved Trip
Power Attack
Spring Attack
Stunning Fist
Sunder
Whirlwind Attack

So, for instance, when using a Whirlwind Attack, your character might cry out "Four winds seek the Void!" before proceeding to slice and dice her foes. Or a monk using Stunning Attack might strike his enemy and exclaim "Dragon fist!" If you have one of these feats, or similar feats from other books, feel free to come up with cool phrases to deliver when using them!

My only goal by inserting these house rules is to make combat more lively, entertaining, and dramatically cinematic, just like in kung fu movies and Hong Kong action flicks. I think it will be fun! Let me know what you think!

 

[Someone]

hehe. Nice.

But speaking (only if you don´t give out a lecture) is already a free action; don´t need to make it a rule. You only need to encourage players to do that, with experience rewards maybe (100 px per character level per session if they are not afraid of being silly )

What I have is the Cinematic But Rules Ineffectual Cool-Looking Move Rule, that says that, as long as the move don´t have any important rules translation (like bonuses to hit, surprise, etc) you can do whatever you want if it´s cool, appropiate, and don´t defies logic too much.

Example; a character is in a tavern, standing on top of some stairs 10 feet above the ground floor. The character makes his Tumble or Jump check to reduce the damage, so he takes none. Now, if he just ends more or less just down he was, why not let him, say, grab a courtain and descend while ripping it, instead of just jumping? or crashing through a window instead of entering there throught the door? or rolling 5 feet and strike with an Ascending Lightning Kick instead of just moving 5 feet and make a flurry of blows?

Of course, I have discovered nothing, it´s only adjusting the descriptions to the style of the campaing and allow the players some degree of creativity instead of being obsessed with the rules.

 

[trentonjoe]

My favorite line to open combat is:

Nice Boots, shame you'll have to die in them.

 

[The Serge]

I like this and agree with it wholeheartedly. That said, it also depends on the players as well.

IMC (and I'm laughing just thinking about it), I like to allow the villain and the heroes to say a few thing right before we roll initiative. My villains, although complex with regards to their attitudes and the reasons why they're villains, usually have done something terrible to the PCs or to someone important to the PCs, so this is often their last chance to pepper the wound. However, with my most recent group, my villains rarely get the chance to say anything.

DM: Ysgreni straightens from behind the altar, his blood red eyes aglow behind the fiendish headdress. He point at you with a flourish of his robed arm and says, "This is the last time you will --"

Mortex: "I shout, 'Shutup!' and charge."

Ibenez: "I don't want to hear his insults. I cast power word: stun with my quickened haste from my rod and follow up with a maximized fireball."

Korg: "I announce, 'You have been found guilty of crimes against existance. As a result, and as a holy knight dedicated to divine sovereignty of Moradin, you will be executed now.' I charge."

DM: Damn. So much for the speech... Roll initiative!

I find this funny. However, in some cases, my players were interested in banter back and forth, but these interruptions add an amusing element to some games.

Favorite pre-combat cinematic comments:

"The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you're not a Jedi YET!"

"You! Cannot!! PASS!!!!"

"You talkin to me?"