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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9571595" data-attributes="member: 7026594">Right.  It's a bit of a narrative mechanic, reflecting the conceit that heroes in action stories can't constantly spam their cool moves like MMO or Street Fighter characters.  But it's under the control of the player to pick the spot when the hero finds the opening to pull off that special maneuver. Which rubs some players the wrong way.  Still, it feels awesome in play to set your fellow party members up for combos and vice-versa. And of course, as Gary made perfectly clear and explicit in 1E, hit points are a heroic narrative mechanic too.  So IMO this is really a question of taste in terms of HOW MUCH rather than KIND of play.Didn't one of the successor games, 13th Age or one of those, randomize when you could use your cool abilities?  Similar to how the Tome of Battle: Book of 9 Swords Crusader class did?Inspired by James V. West's Black Pudding house rules, I also allow my players in old school games to perform a special maneuver (like bull rushing, disarming, called shots, etc.) whenever they roll a nat 20.</blockquote>