Vaguer combat mapping

[Asmor]

So while attending an RPGA event tonight, I finally got my hands on a dreamscape starter. I failed my will save and bought two boosters, as well. Christ it's expensive.

That aside, I really like the combat map it uses. For those who don't have the game, the map is a grid of 25 squares, 5x5. Rather than meticulously document each mini's location, each exists in a particular square. Multiple creatures can exist in the same square, indeed, they have to in order to battle eachother. Movement is simple, figures move one space orthogonally.

Anyways, I've long wished for a way to take D&D off the battle mat, but doing so drastically alters the balance of the game (primarily due to attacks of opportunity). I don't like how it requires you to have minis of the correct scale, and I don't like how sensitive it is to things getting knocked around.

So what if, instead of 5 foot squares, the map consisted of 20 foot squares. Any number of creatures could fit in the 20 foot square (within reason), and those within the square would be considered engaged in melee combat with eachother. Doing anything that provoked attacks of opportunity would provoke attacks from everyone else in the square.

Movement would be something like 10 feet to the first adjacent square, and then 20 feet per square afterwards.

Flanking, I'm thinking, would probably be given to the side which had the most combatants in the square. All of those allies would get a +2 flanking bonus. In case of a tie, neither would.

Is there much interest in a system like this?

 

[reanjr]

I created something a bit like this. I split the combat into Combat Groups. Everyone in a Combat Group could attack everyone else in a Combat Group. You could move from one Combat Group to another by using a Move Action. Attacks of Opportunity were handled a bit differently so that someone didn't get hit by 10 of them at once. Bascially, the last target you performed an action against was considered Engaged and therefore Threatened.

I also broke Groups into Short Range groups (Move Action to enter, for ranged combat -2 penalty, thrown -4, outside of range for Precise Shot), Medium Range (Full Move to enter, ranged -6, can't throw), Long Range (Run action to enter, can't shoot). Then ranges also matched up with Spell Ranges. So Magic Missile could shoot into Long Range.

There was alot more to it than that, but thought I'd share, maybe spark some ideas. The system was absolutely beautiful in play. Sped things up greatly.

 

[airwalkrr]

Reminds me a little bit of 1e actually. 5 ft. distinctions are the most important in 3e, such as for being in melee, being threatened, etc. However, in 1e you had to be within 10 ft. of someone to be considered in melee with them. Of course there were no AoO rules then.

Using this kind of system could be interesting in that it might simplify combat. But you would have to re-consider things like area effects and reach. It wouldn't be difficult, but the sheer volume of things that might need adjustment would be considerable.