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<blockquote data-quote="Rocksome" data-source="post: 7112428" data-attributes="member: 6779629">Personally, I love non-standard actions in combat. This is where the narrative is and what sets role-playing games apart from nearly any other form of gaming. Every movie you've ever seen where someone outwits a more powerful opponent is due to non-standard actions. It's how the T-100 defeated the T-1000, it's how Luke Skywalker beat the Emperor (convincing Darth Vader to help).That being said, I can also understand your concern. Non-standard actions require a strong social contract. They need a good DM who you trust to be fair (because both underpowered and overpowered non-standard actions are a drain) and they require an understanding of the way the game works and how the rules fit together. So, non-standard actions are a challenge, but they get better with experience.Creativity should be rewarded and I often let non-standard actions do more damage than a typical attack (if warranted), as I think clever solutions to tough enemies is a great way to increase the cinematic nature of the game. However, some players feel like they are owed an automatic kill or are entitled to perform amazing feats without any kind of check within the rules to determine their success simply for thinking of a clever idea. Again, this comes back to trusting your DM to be fair and knowing your DM has the skills to accurately model the situation and it's difficulty.I think if you ever reach this point where your DM and your players have this strong social contract, you'll find that non-standard actions are the best thing about this game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rocksome, post: 7112428, member: 6779629"] Personally, I love non-standard actions in combat. This is where the narrative is and what sets role-playing games apart from nearly any other form of gaming. Every movie you've ever seen where someone outwits a more powerful opponent is due to non-standard actions. It's how the T-100 defeated the T-1000, it's how Luke Skywalker beat the Emperor (convincing Darth Vader to help). That being said, I can also understand your concern. Non-standard actions require a strong social contract. They need a good DM who you trust to be fair (because both underpowered and overpowered non-standard actions are a drain) and they require an understanding of the way the game works and how the rules fit together. So, non-standard actions are a challenge, but they get better with experience. Creativity should be rewarded and I often let non-standard actions do more damage than a typical attack (if warranted), as I think clever solutions to tough enemies is a great way to increase the cinematic nature of the game. However, some players feel like they are owed an automatic kill or are entitled to perform amazing feats without any kind of check within the rules to determine their success simply for thinking of a clever idea. Again, this comes back to trusting your DM to be fair and knowing your DM has the skills to accurately model the situation and it's difficulty. I think if you ever reach this point where your DM and your players have this strong social contract, you'll find that non-standard actions are the best thing about this game. [/QUOTE]

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