Uni-the-Unicorn!
Hero
I like the idea, but I feel there needs to be something with training to unlock these. Either downtime or a teamwork feat or something.
Any rule that helps make downtime a bigger deal gets a thumbs up from me.I like the idea, but I feel there needs to be something with training to unlock these. Either downtime or a teamwork feat or something.
Learning Combat Synergies
While combat synergies don’t, or shouldn’t, drastically increase the overall power of the party in combat situations, they can still be a fairly daunting system change for most tables. To keep things from being too overwhelming, a given character can only know a number of synergies equal to their proficiency bonus. And those synergies can only be learned alongside at least one other party member choosing at least one of the same synergies during downtime.
In effect, no one can learn a synergy alone, and must share a synergy with at least one ally. This both gives the characters a downtime activity to do together, and provides them with a special trick they can do together on the battlefield to show off their bond and how well they work together in particular.
Treat this as a new ‘training’ downtime activity option. Learning a synergy takes one week of practice with your partner or partners, but removing a known synergy for a new one takes two weeks of practice. In either case, each person training in a new combat synergy must expend 5gp per level per week during the training period.
Boons may also be granted to either provide an extra combat synergy, beyond the limit of proficiency bonus, or allow for instant training or retraining of a combat synergy.
Maybe a "Risk it for the Biscuit" function which either makes it harder or opens you up for harsher attacks, depending on the specific synergy?How about giving the participants an option to "power through" with additional spell slots/points (for casters) or exertion points (for martials)?
This would allow them to "test" potential combos before having to commit to training them in downtime.
That's thematic, but even more overhead if there's specific repercussions of each technique in an already additional system. I worry you're going to pretty quickly overwhelm players with too many choices.Maybe a "Risk it for the Biscuit" function which either makes it harder or opens you up for harsher attacks, depending on the specific synergy?
Like... throwing someone up a brick wall imposing disadvantage on their climb check to grab hold if they haven't practiced it with you, but you can still -try-?
Oh, yeah. I was thinking of genericing it.That's thematic, but even more overhead if there's specific repercussions of each technique in an already additional system. I worry you're going to pretty quickly overwhelm players with too many choices.
Though maybe I'm overblowing the concern, given we're already talking about players opting into extra complexity. My instinct is to make these selectable kind of like spells, with the timescale moved from long rests to downtime, and as a party, instead of as an individual caster.
Maybe add in a sidebar for Narrators to just use the system as a loose guide for adjudicating some player ideas. 'Cause, really, that's all Combat Synergies are. Adjudicating the goliath flinging the gnome to stab the dragon or whatever.