Manuevering in melee

[Jupp]

I played another fantasy RPG (Midgard) quite a bit, and there they had rules similar to D&D3E+ since 20+ years. Not quite as detailed, but threatened areas, tactical movement, something akin to AoOs and stuff like that was (and still is) there, there is even a (slightly more clumsy) system similar to full actions and standard+move actions, and they also have minimal movement (1m per round) during a full action, kinda like the 5-ft. step.

But in D&D maneuvering was mostly descriptive, as it made sense for the situation, and had no real mechanical effect.

Bye
Thanee

Though Midgard 4 has more detailed options now than the older version when it comes to tactical movement in combat. We are running a Midgard game here and have updated to V4 but unfortunately our DM is going to Australia for the next 3-4 years

 

[ThirdWizard]

Run up and bash was pretty much the name of the game.

Then we got Combat and Tactics and started using minis and having more interesting combats. But, that was very close to the release of 3E, so through most of 2E's run it was run up and bash.

 

[diaglo]

I was a miniatures wargamer before I picked up D&D, so of course we used minis! Buying and painting those little lead figures was half the fun.

We used a variety of combat maneuvers - facing, flanking, shield-side v. sword-side, bull rushes, grappling, "attacks of opportunity." If the rules didn't provide what we needed, we made it up - the two of us who GM'd in our group had wargamed enough that we could come up with something on the fly pretty easily.

As such, our combats were rarely "stand still and swing your sword for eleven rounds." Our characters were in pretty much constant motion during combat.

ditto.

also move of ranks... pulling injured out of combat. replacing with others. using height. using cover. protecting the casters...

yeah, there has always been tactical movement in D&D. it comes from Chainmail.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I'd say that there were plenty of daring actions in my campaigns of past editions. Thieves trying to sneak around to backstab, clerics struggling to reach fallen and badly hurt allies, spellcasters trying to position themselves to maximize area effect spells, and front-liners doing all sorts of crazy attacks.

I still see that sort of thing in 3e and C&C. Most of my players have been imaginative sorts.

 

[Henry]

My experience was much like Merric's -- very little combat maneuvering that I can remember. Not that there weren't memorable moments, but most of them centered on amazingly lucky rolls, roleplaying moments, or memorable one-liners delivered in-character. It's only with 3E and the past five years have we truly focused on tactics and strategies.

 

[Ant]

In 1st and 2nd edition, very little whenever we used mini-figures. More so when we went without.

Our 2nd edition games were particularly guilty of this -- for the most part "Charge!" and then a standing fight were the order of the day (or night, if you had infravision). Players didn't care for the combat and tactics optional rules and I was a weaker DM in those days so that's how we played for years.

In the opening battle for our first 3rd edition campaign the player voted most likely to charge into battle did something he'd never done before ... a tactical withdrawal.

A gaming moment a shall never forget.

 

[Arnwyn]

Here's a question: when you played previous editions of D&D, how much manuevering did you actually see in melee?

Fairly often. But then, we always used a battlemat, even throughout the previous editions.

 

[francisca]

In both current 1e game I am running, and the other I am playing in, the combatants on both sides move around all over the place during combat.

 

[jmucchiello]

We had plenty of movement. In fact we had an even more complicated combat system than 3e does because we used segmented movement: Every segment if you wanted to move you did. Initiative only determined when your strike/spell/whatever was allowed. Made chasing after enemies and stuff far more interesting.

 

[The Shaman]

This thread is helping me understand why people think "tactical" combat in 3e/d20 is such a big deal.

I thought everybody played the way we did. :\