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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rkanodia" data-source="post: 1740201" data-attributes="member: 11681">Hi guys, I'm going to be starting an Eberron campaign soon, and I'm looking for a way to make combat more exciting, with pulp/swashbuckling feel.  Action points help, but I'd really like to have a system that emphasizes flashy moves, improvised weapons, usage of the environment, and talking.  I've looked at the wuxia combat rules, but those don't fit the flavor of Eberron well in my opinion.  Here are some ideas I've come up with, along with my reasoning behind each.  If you have criticism, suggestions, or questions, please feel free to say so!Attack bonus for flavorReasoning: Saying "I attack.  I attack." isn't very exciting.Effect: If you describe your attack in a colorful way, you get a +1 bonus on your attack roll.  Typical ways to do this would be to provide a vivid illustration of the specific attack, to describe your usage of another character or object in your attack, or to say something clever in-character as you swing.  You may only use a particular maneuver once per combat in this way.Brawling is goodReasoning: Plenty of pulp characters fight barehanded, even those without specific training.  Even characters who typically fight with weapons will sometimes throw a punch in a crowded melee or dramatic duel.Effect: All characters are treated as having Improved Unarmed Strike.  Also, improvised weapons don't draw attacks of opportunity.  I might consider doing even more than this, but I would have to be careful not to either overpower monks or make them feel useless.  The idea of 'everyone gets a secondary slam attack' has occurred to me - but I think that then, it would just be another boring, ordinary thing ("I attack with my sword.  I punch him....  I attack with my sword.  I punch him.")Pithy dialogue can affect combatReasoning: Delivering clever and/or heroic (or villainous!) lines during a fight is a classic pulp manuver, seeming to bolster a combatant's resolve and sometimes giving them a second wind.Effect: Pithy Dialogue is meant to replace the Total Defense action.  As a standard action, you taunt, challenge, debate, inveigh, malign, or otherwise engage an opponent in dialogue, while defending yourself from attack.  You must either play this out in character ("Is that all you've got, you pathetic excuse for a Shifter?  I've heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing, but never a sheep in wolf's body!") or at least describe your comments vividly ("I inform the Silver Sickle that he has no chance to succeed while simultaneously implying he has sex with dire boars.") You get a +4 dodge bonus to armor class until the start of your next turn.  You gain a temporary action point that must be used by the end of your next turn.  Side note - I'm considering allowing a 'second wind' use for action points: you get 1d8+level temporary hitpoints, which expire at the end of combat.  You may not use this ability unless you are below 50% of your maximum hitpoints, and no more than once per combat.It's fine to talk before you shootReasoning: Pulp and noir stories have lots of talking with villains, but the current surprise mechanic gives players (and villains!) a strong incentive to shoot first and ask questions later.Effect: When a hostile encounter occurs, the DM decides who (if anyone) is surprised.  Regardless of any non-combat activity that may happen before a fight starts, those people are treated as surprised when the fight starts.  The DM may adjudicate that certain deliberate actions negate this effect - for instance, deciding to sheathe your sword, turn away from the opponent you have surprised, and sit down as a gesture of goodwill would definitely remove the surprise from your opponent.Teamwork and 'combo attacks' are usefulReasoning: Let's face it - Aid Another really, really sucks.  Pulp action definitely has a place for collaborative attacks.Effect: Aid Another is worth a +4 bonus, instead of +2, if the action is described well.  Also, use of objects (ropes, vines, drapes, rugs, etc) or communication ("Wait for it, wait for it... now!") can extend the range of Aid Another.Any other ideas floating out there?  Ways to improve or simplify what I've already got?  Let's hear em!</blockquote>

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