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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5956053" data-attributes="member: 54877">The closest I've seen a game get to making something like this work is the MRQ II/Legends system with its "combat actions" system.  The very first thing they do is treat the actions as "things you can do over a whole round," not on your turn.  The second thing they do is mostly strip out movement from the CAs.  (After your fairly generous movement allowance is used up, you can burn CAs for modest movement, at GM discretion. This part of MRQ II is rather vague.)   Everyone still gets only one attack on their "turn," but the CAs determine how well they defend, and potentially riposte, as others attack them during their turn.  Finally, no doubt derived from the earlier RQ "rank" initiative system, a round lasts until everyone is out of CAs.  So you keep going through the initiative order, using one CA each time you get a chance on your turn, and then others to react to attacks against you.  If you are pressed by three opponents, you'll run out quickly, and need someone to interfere with your opponents. Something like this might have a place in a Next tactical module (either the main tactical module or an alternate).  I'd see these necessary characteristics to make it work in D&D:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You actions are used to defend as well as attack, encouraging you to save some.  In D&D terms, maybe everyone gets Dex bonus to AC all the time, but only by spending an action, which represents highly defensive movement. Heavy armor is now valuable as an "action saver". Ditto choosing to get the bonus from a shield (which means that magic shields can now easily go past +2 to AC as before).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There has to be some kind of multiple pass through the initiative order in a round, with each pass only allowing one "proactive" choice.  This is critical for both handling speed, but also if you are going to have such a "tactical" module mean something, allowing response.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make weapon speed choices based on some kind of realistic appreciation for weapons, not previous editions inflated encumbrance rules.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Movement must largely be parallel to attack and defense. It can be segmented and rationed (similar to MRQ II), allowed to be freely split across the round within that ration (ala Next so far), but whatever else it does, it occurs in tandem with actions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Powerful spells must take multiple actions to get off, from start to finish, whether you charge some kind of "overhead" cost for preparing them, or simply make the casting take that long.  Alternately, allow them to happen in one "action," but put a limit of one spell per the larger round (until all actions are used), with some kind of flavor text that there is a brief amount of time required to "recover" from casting before one can cast again.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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