[Irk rather than Rant]: "Cinematic"

[Gez]

In Mixed Myth, cinematic -- err, I mean, "Cynamatik" -- is the force underlying magic. It is harnessed through strange contraptions called "plot devices". It is also the reason why elves are so foppish -- it helps them acquiring cynamatik.

 

[LostSoul]

your fighter/rogue can, in the same world, slide across a table, scissor-kick a waiting orc's spear out of its hands, kick the orc in the forehead, catch the spear in midair, and catch the stumbling orc through the heart with it before he falls while rolling off the table and back into the fray.

(Which you can do according to the rules with a charge attack, assisted by a Jump check to handle the table, and if the Jump succeeds by 5 or more, you rule that the move is so fast and surprising that the orc loses his attack of opportunity for the unarmed attack and you give the fighter/rogue guy a +2 bonus to damage, and maybe even allow sneak-attack damage, in addition to his charging bonus to the attack. The disarm-and-spear bit is either flavor-text, or it's handled next round.)

This is hard to do with the D&D combat system. I've been kinda kicking around something that lets you attempt action after action in one round, but you have to keep taking penalties to do so.

That action above would be a move (with a Jump check), a disarm roll, an unarmed attack, and an armed attack. I'm not sure what the penalties should be... I'm thinking something like -5 for each action (except for a free move each round and one free "other" action). So that Jump check is at your normal check, and so is the Disarm roll; then the unarmed attack is -5, and the final armed attack is -10.

I've never really been satisfied with combat in D&D; too rigid for my tastes.