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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clavis" data-source="post: 2656572" data-attributes="member: 31898">IMHO, the battlemat makes combat LESS realistic.In a real combat, nobody has the benefit of an overhead view and several minutes to decide upon moves. Real combat is messy and chaotic, with constant, often unintended movement. The problem with the battlemat is the tactical approach to combat that it engenders. In a real fight you don't get the chance to decide upon tactics, or even where you will move next. You just start swinging and hope the enemy dies before you do.  No neat 6-second rounds where you can decide where you want to end up for the next round. Nor do you automatically know whats happening on teh other side of a dark room with other figures blocking your line of site.That's why ditching the Attack of Opportunity makes the game MORE realistic. In reality, very few people have the kind of wits that it would take to take advantage of openings in somebody else's defense. For those that do have such wits , an adaquate mechanic to representy them already existed in 1st Ed., and continues to exist - multiple attacks per round.How do I adjudicate combat tactics without the mat? If you do something that gives you an advantage, like attacking the opponant's side (on the initial round), or fighting from a higher elevation, you get a +2 circumstance bonus. If you do something that gives you a great advantage, like attacking from behind, you get a +4 circumstance bonus. Simple. I don't keep track of exact positions, because in a real combat the fighters would rarely be able to control their own positions with precision. Not even trained martial artists can (just ask an honest one.)Now without the AoO, the major reason for using a battlemat disappears. Of course, I'm not saying that nobody should use battlemats; certainly some people have more fun playing the game with battlemats, and the ONLy reason to play the game is to have fun. I am simply proposing to those who have not yet considered it that the AoO, and the therefore the battlemat and miniatures that it requires, is not as necessary as WOTC would have you believe.</blockquote>

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