Here's my current idea for playing gridless 4E combats. (Either to the exclusion of gridful combats, or with allowing a mix). The idea might allow for different play styles. (I played without minis back in the day, and some still prefer it.)
Stick with narratively/descriptively keeping track of space, and generally go along with the spirit of what a player is trying to accomplish with their movement, only blocking them if it's obviously infeasible. If a movement seems to slightly stretch their movement/range restrictions by a square or two, the DM should grant themselves a point of "Movement Advantage", which is spent soon afterwards to similarly stretch the DM's own movement and attacks.
(This does place some more work on the DM to adjucate on the fly, and requires more trust between the DM and players to simply roll with the adjucations rather than negotiating them during the action. IME, most groups can handle something this just fine.)
A more explicit version follows:
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(1) The DM should have a handle on the space of the encounter, either by sketching a rough map or keeping it in your head. (If you prefer, feel free to convert all mention of squares to increments of 5 feet.)
(2) When range is in question - for movement actions, forced movement or ranged attacks - the player should describe what the movement/range and what they're to accomplish. The DM can clarify/block the action if it's unfeasible, but should generally accept the player's suggestion.
If the movement is acceptable but *might* require another square or two of movement, the DM should give himself a point of Movement Advantage in his notes. The DM doesn't need to announce this, but instead should keep the action moving.
If a power or condition is part of a movement/range, the player should mention this. (If a power is used for positioning, the DM should tend towards accepting the player's suggestion.)
(3) When the DM is controlling creatures, the DM can spend points of Movement Advantage to stretch movement and range by another square or two when the exact range is questionable. The DM should aim to spend these soon after they're created (so that the number of Movement Advantage points generally stays around zero), and try to spend around the player who created the Advantage.
When in doubt: let the dramatically obvious and reasonable thing for the fight happen, and let the players (and monsters) see their intent happen. Movement sets up the use of the power and attacks that you want to see.
Bonus option: If Movement Advantage is piling up, the DM could spend this in new ways: 3 points for shifting an extra square, or 5 points for taking an extra move action. (Of course, such spending isn't exactly balanced, but it can keep things moving and open up new possibilites.)
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For excessive examples, see the bottom of my blogpost: FGJ Games » Blog Archive » D&D 4E Hack: Gridless Combat and Movement Advantage
Stick with narratively/descriptively keeping track of space, and generally go along with the spirit of what a player is trying to accomplish with their movement, only blocking them if it's obviously infeasible. If a movement seems to slightly stretch their movement/range restrictions by a square or two, the DM should grant themselves a point of "Movement Advantage", which is spent soon afterwards to similarly stretch the DM's own movement and attacks.
(This does place some more work on the DM to adjucate on the fly, and requires more trust between the DM and players to simply roll with the adjucations rather than negotiating them during the action. IME, most groups can handle something this just fine.)
A more explicit version follows:
...
(1) The DM should have a handle on the space of the encounter, either by sketching a rough map or keeping it in your head. (If you prefer, feel free to convert all mention of squares to increments of 5 feet.)
(2) When range is in question - for movement actions, forced movement or ranged attacks - the player should describe what the movement/range and what they're to accomplish. The DM can clarify/block the action if it's unfeasible, but should generally accept the player's suggestion.
If the movement is acceptable but *might* require another square or two of movement, the DM should give himself a point of Movement Advantage in his notes. The DM doesn't need to announce this, but instead should keep the action moving.
If a power or condition is part of a movement/range, the player should mention this. (If a power is used for positioning, the DM should tend towards accepting the player's suggestion.)
(3) When the DM is controlling creatures, the DM can spend points of Movement Advantage to stretch movement and range by another square or two when the exact range is questionable. The DM should aim to spend these soon after they're created (so that the number of Movement Advantage points generally stays around zero), and try to spend around the player who created the Advantage.
When in doubt: let the dramatically obvious and reasonable thing for the fight happen, and let the players (and monsters) see their intent happen. Movement sets up the use of the power and attacks that you want to see.
Bonus option: If Movement Advantage is piling up, the DM could spend this in new ways: 3 points for shifting an extra square, or 5 points for taking an extra move action. (Of course, such spending isn't exactly balanced, but it can keep things moving and open up new possibilites.)
...
For excessive examples, see the bottom of my blogpost: FGJ Games » Blog Archive » D&D 4E Hack: Gridless Combat and Movement Advantage
