D&D 5E Homebrew Rules for Interesting Temporal Combat

[Inanity]

Hi All, I am curious about creating interesting and memorable combat that involves creatures that can (maybe very easily) manipulate or 'move' through time.Has anyone thought about (or wants to think about) rules concerning such creatures.

I wanted in my campaign creatures that could move through time (i guess they can augment the rate at which they moved through time or maybe time shift to a different temporal location outright, similar to telport). This brings with it worries concerning how combat against such creatures would go... I didnt want combat to devolve into the time creatures always winning because, well, they can move through time, a spellcaster with such 'innate' abilities would be fierce... What to do? Well somehow make temporal abilities interesting (i.e. not merely giving them a +X to AC due to their hasten state, etc.); dont get me wrong I love the haste spell) but not so powerful so as to essentially bar any interesting combat with such creatures...

I came up with the idea of splitting combat into different temporal sections (every round is individuated by a temporal index, T1... Tn, and combat can span different spatial regions, maybe represented by a map with 1 inch squares, etc., AND ALSO temporal regions... To make combat accessible one can say that the CURRENT round is at time T0 and that certtain creatures have effects that can happen on T0-1 or T0+1, so we stretch combat out two temporal sections to mka e it manageable and each creature is possibly AT each time location but some can have effects or can move about time sections in interesting ways, mayb they can disappear from T0 and goto T0+1 thereby giving them immunity to affects that ahppen at T0 (where t0 maybe spans a rounds amount of tie)... It is hard to desribe with words but I have ran combat lke this and it worked much better than I imagined it woud and that I can desribe here (i.e. combat where some creatures xcanm move about tie sections; when I implemented theses rules for the first and only time thmey sort of organically grew and worked smoother than imagined)...

Anyway hope that makes sense and any thoughts/questions?

 

[jaelis]

Anyway hope that makes sense

Not for me I'm afraid. But I thought I'd point to the phane, a 3.5e epic critter that used temporal abilities

Abomination :: d20srd.org

 

[dave2008]

Not for me I'm afraid. But I thought I'd point to the phane, a 3.5e epic critter that used temporal abilities

Abomination :: d20srd.org

There is also a 5e conversion on DM's Guild: The Phane

 

[Fenris-77]

A mechanic where they could step out of time, and essentially just hang in a pocket dimension and then return could be fine. As could haste as an innate ability, maybe tied to an exhaustion mechanic.

 

[Inanity]

Not for me I'm afraid.

Firstly, thanks for the link to the discussion concerning the phane (the Chronotyrn is also an intersting creature to consider)...

Concerning whether I was making sense
Combat is broken up into ROUNDS, R1, R2... RX...
Rounds are 6 second intervals...
We can temporally index each round Rx... EX: All rounds are such that Rx occurs at Ty (where Ty is some unique 6 second interval in some temporal plenum, at least figuratively; this kind of individuation is assumed in the background anyways.

Now, akin to 3D chess, we can 'stretch' combat out and play taking into account more than one temporal section at a time and construct powers/abilities/spells/moves that interact with and exploit this way of looking at combat rounds (the analogy to 3D chess is there...).

hope this helps make snese of what I was talking about and thanks for the reply!)

 

[Inanity]

A mechanic where they could step out of time, and essentially just hang in a pocket dimension and then return could be fine. As could haste as an innate ability, maybe tied to an exhaustion mechanic.

Yeah I had time elementals that could move though time BUT NOT SPACE... their spatial dimensions are hard to describe but one can imagine that for ANY AND ALL POSSIBLY SPATIAL regions there IS A TIME elemental that occupies that region and cannot move from that region (they are sentinels or better yet impartial observers and archivists of time they are functionaly ethereal yet evn more inscrutable than an ethereal creature but when they can interact with and fight others... they are very much so like monads in their pervasiveness... Anyway they had this ability you talk about they could disappear and attack you in later rounds you had to anticipate and cast ready actions (also implementing a retroactive ready action is a mechanic that can work for this kind of combat)

 

[Sadras]

Firsty really cool idea @Inanity, here's my 2 cents (not tested)

A) There might be an easier way and you would have to use colourful description to reflect the time distortion. Give the Temporal combatants the Diviner, Portents ability (perhaps even bonus Portents).

B) Generally everyone has 1 reaction. Temporal combatants may perform more than 1 reaction but it costs them x HD, failing which they run into levels of exhaustion. Imagine a Temporal combatant has 3 reactions (1 normal and 2 others paid for by HD).

Reactions could include (they do not necessarily have to be of that class):
Interact with an object around you (PHB 190) - Free
Cast a Bonus Action Spell - 1 HD Cost
Dash - 1 HD
Disengage - 1 HD
Dodge - 1 HD (against one attack only)
Help - 1 HD
Fighter - Fighting Style, Protection - 1 HD Cost
Fighter, 1 Extra Melee Attack - 2 HD Cost (not an entire attack action)
Rogue, Uncanny Dodge - 1 HD (for every 10 hit points negated this way)
Rogue, Evasion - 2 HD Cost
Cast a Spell - 2 HD Cost (not a ritual)

You could even allow combination of the above on one Temporal reaction for an additional Tax cost of 1HD (or not). i.e Temporal combatant spends 4 Hit Dice
= Disengage (1) and to Cast a Spell (2) + Tax (1) = 4HD spend

C) Combine A + B. This is my favourite as it adds the Diviner Mechanic (colour) with the ability to manipulate Time via reactions.

 

[Inanity]

B) Generally everyone has 1 reaction. Temporal combatants may perform more than 1 reaction but it costs them x HD, failing which they run into levels of exhaustion. Imagine a Temporal combatant has 3 reactions (1 normal and 2 others paid for by HD).

Reactions could include:
Interact with an object around you (PHB 190) - Free
Cast a Bonus Action Spell - 1 HD Cost
Dash - 1 HD
Disengage - 1 HD
Dodge - 1 HD (against one attack only)
Help - 1 HD
Fighter - Fighting Style, Protection - 1 HD Cost
Fighter, 1 Extra Melee Attack - 2 HD Cost (not an entire attack action)
Rogue, Uncanny Dodge - 1 HD (for every 10 hit points negated this way)
Rogue, Evasion - 2 HD Cost
Cast a Spell - 2 HD Cost (not a ritual)

You could even allow combination of the above on one Temporal reaction for an additional Tax cost of 1HD (or not). i.e Temporal combatant spends 4 Hit Dice
= Disengage (1) and to Cast a Spell (2) + Tax (1) = 4HD spend

Thanks for the response I am really drawn to this idea of augmenting the action economy (specifically reactions) to simulate temporal combat... Maybe one could constuct more robust ready action mechanics in addition to this (allowing the use of actions or bonus actions, etc; EDIT: but I suppose this is what you had in mind partially)... Also, I imagine the 'cost' would maybe need to be tweaked but I like the thought of using your HD (which gives another use for them mechanically aside from healing and may more or less be appropriately scaled, high level play would get potentially radical though)... anyways thanks for the thoughful response!

 

[Weiley31]

You could always base it off how the Echo Knight's later Echo abilities or off the Echos, while also using the Duman temporal spells.

You can refluff a Parry reaction into the monster "flickering" briefly out of temporal existence to avoid the fighter's sword swipe. Or even treat a legendary resistance as something similar.