Important Notices

[Mezlo]

bump.

This Saturday, it's on! (i could be a tad bit late because of a fantasy football draft i have a 10am, but i should be there on time.)

[cidbahamut]

When are we starting exactly?

[Mezlo]

12pm / 3 pm / idk wtf time for the Brits I presume

[Yygdrasil]

So far it looks like it'll be a later start. Likely around 4:00pm EST methinks. I'll post more tomorrow when I know for sure.

[Yygdrasil]

IMPORTANT MUTHA-FUGGIN ANNOUNCMENT!!!

This Saturday I'll be test-running a new rule for combat. At first you might think it's unfair... but my hope is that it will make the battles a lot faster and a lot more exciting.

Here's how we're going to do that:

- At the start of combat, initiative will be rolled and we'll record the order on whiteboard for reference. Next, the party will have exactly 1 minute of real time to communicate with one another about strategy before combat will officially begin... whether you are finished planning or not.

- On each player's initiative you will have 30 seconds to decide on an action and communicate it. Should you take longer than 30 seconds to decide, your turn will pass to the next initiative and your character will be considered as "Hesitating". While hesitating you will receive a -1 to your AC as well as suffer a -1 on all saving throws until your next turn. While hesitating, you will still be capable of making AoO against opponents who threaten your square but such attacks suffer a -2 penalty to hit.

- On your initiative you may choose to delay your action until a future point in the initiative rotation. Choosing to do so does not cause "Hesitation". When it is your turn, simply announce that you're delaying your action and the turn will move to whoever is next. How long you intend to delay your action does not need to be announced when doing so. When you feel you are ready to take your action, simply announce that you intend to go next and move your name to that spot in the rotation. From this action onward, that is your new slot in the initiative rotation.

- Monsters under my control will suffer the same 30 second penalty to their actions as well as the "Hesitation" condition should I falter in their action/decisions.

- Certain special circumstances can override the 30 second limit. These include if a PC or NPC halts a fight in some fashion by the use of a spell/power-word/intervention or there ends up being a break in the action (for something like a monologue from the villain... etc). Such situations will be weighed and measured and judged as they occur in real time.





Hopefully a 30 second limit to your decisions will keep combat moving quickly. The way I see it, putting a strict time constraint on turns forces you to make decisions with your gut and not over-think. Imagine if you were in a real fight for a second. You wouldn't have the luxury of spending 10 minutes negotiating tactics with your comrades... you'd have a couple of seconds... if that to make your next move before your enemy takes advantage of your hesitation.

Here's hoping this brings a little more depth... a little more realism... and a lot less time to our combat encounters.

[Armando]

Sounds good. All the more reason to have your macros ready in Traipse, too.

EDIT: I do hope you'll pause the timer if we're doing perception rolls to examine the environment, of course?

[Yygdrasil]

We can spend 20 minutes at the start of Saturday's session to get everyone's dice macros ready to go and tested properly. No stress.

I also couldn't get the hang of properly using the mapping function on traipse and as such, do not have a more detailed map ready than what we have been using. I'll set aside time to work with Armando some time in the following week or 2 to try and get a handle on how to make it work. In the meantime... prep for more of the same in that department.

[Mezlo]

Armando already has his grappling chart laid out so we should be good. One thing I think should be taken into consideration, if Armando needs to correct you on any grappling checks or AoO, the enemy should suffer a -1 AC penalty.

[Yygdrasil]

EDIT: I do hope you'll pause the timer if we're doing perception rolls to examine the environment, of course?

You're planning on making perception checks in the middle of combat? I mean hey sure. Whatever floats your boat. The timer will resume at the end of your perception check's result.

Example:

Yyg: Armando *Clicks the timer*
30...
29...
28...
27...
26...
25...

Armando: Perception Check! (as a minor action)
*pause*
Armando: *Rolls a 17*
Yyg: *describes in appropriate detail*
*unpause*

24...
23...
22...
21...
20...

Armando: I attack the darkness!!!

(here is where I would normally say "Roll for it". I'm not going to be doing that anymore unless for some reason it comes out reflexively. From here on out, if you're attacking... roll as you say it to speed things up. I'll tell you if it connects or misses. If it connects, roll for the damage immediately)

*Turn Ends*

Yyg: Cid's turn *clicks the timer*
30...
29...
28...
27...
26...
25...
...etc

- - - Updated - - -

Armando already has his grappling chart laid out so we should be good. One thing I think should be taken into consideration, if Armando needs to correct you on any grappling checks or AoO, the enemy should suffer a -1 AC penalty.

I would agree to this if I didn't think it would encourage people to find fault in my words instead of paying attention to their own actions. It would be a fair rule... and I'm not entirely throwing the idea out the window just yet. I may yet rise to that challenge.

[Armando]

You're planning on making perception checks in the middle of combat? I mean hey sure. Whatever floats your boat. The timer will resume at the end of your perception check's result.

It could come up. We could chase a fleeing enemy into another room, like we did with The Hand. Or we could fall through a trap door or teleport into a new room full of enemies. Or in the first room of the dungeon where there were those trap braziers, a Rogue might've examined them for traps mid-fight.

[Firewind]

I'm fairly sure we're other thinking that and that Yyg would be fine with those special circumstances necessitating a pause in combat.

[Yygdrasil]

They will be weighed, measured and judged on a case by case basis. However, there will not be any lengthy pause in combat for an unjustified reason. Unless otherwise stated by me, the timer will continue to tick down until an action is decided upon and announced. Failure to do so in the allotted 30 second time limit will result in a forfeit of your turn and the "Hesitation" status.

- - - Updated - - -

Movement to the next turn will be fluid. Following a Missed attack or a connected attack's damage roll, the next player or monster's turn will immediately commence. There will be no downtime between initiative turns or rounds.

It will be critically important to remember where you are in the rotation and be prepared to make your action promptly. Pay close attention to who is before you in initiative and anticipate that their turn could end after a lot less than 30 seconds.

- - - Updated - - -

In a perfect world, the 6 of you are standing off against 6 enemies. 12 battle participants, 12 30 second timers. That beaks down to 6 minutes for a full initiative rotation. Let's add a minute just for rolls in case someone takes all 30 seconds to decide and THEN rolls for their attack. 7 Minutes. Our battles usually last between 3-4 full rounds. Even in the worst case scenario that makes for a 28 minute battle. To me that's worth it... considering some of our fights have lasted in excess of an hour to an hour and a half to complete in the past.

[Firewind]

What are you rulings with regards to delaying turns and readying actions?

[Yygdrasil]

^^

[lyulf]

Readied actions in combat would be the same as delaying your turn until a specific moment. And he said there are no consequences to delaying your turn.