I would like to see better mechanics for Critical Hits; as they have it now it's weaksauce; it only does Max damage, which you can get (or very close to) without a critical hit. At the very least, add an additional damage die.
Going to say this is in there already under Critical Fumble and Hit tables.
Like the Sneak Attack bonus every level as a player, worry it's too powerful as a DM; it may need toned down a little for balance.
Going to say this is in there already under the balenced combat rules section.
It may have already been said but want Attack of Opportunities and Flanking.
This is in the grid-based combat section (operating under the assumption that core doesn't want to use grid since they are touting gridless play).
We haven't seen the Ranger Class yet but I feel that they should get a bonus to hit chosen enemie AND a bigger bonus on damage. Back in the days of AD&D, a Ranger used to get +1 Dmg per Level vs 'Giant Class Creatures'. There was a very big list of baddies that you got this bonus on, later further expanded in the original Unearthed Arcana.
Going to mostly reserve judgement on this as the ranger class doesn't yet exist. I am going to add non-core classes and split prestige class section though.
The auto-hit Magic Missile for the Wizard while nifty, arguably makes a lower level Wizard a more reliable damage dealer than any other character class... at least at low levels. You can't miss; though the fighter ability of Reaper (under Slayer Theme) let you add your strength bonus on damage, even if you miss. Unlikely that it will be more than 3-4 hit points, not bad, but also not ranged.
I kind of like the flatter progression of combat ability but would like to see more information about it.
Again going to count this in the balenced play option. Honestly I imagine several modules addressing 'balence' differently.
Armor needs to be fixed; lighter armors with a Dex bounus out-class the heavier armors, might need to be lowered. Plate Mail needs to give at least an 18 AC. And maybe don't eliminate Dex bonus for heavier armors. Medium armors grant only 1/2 of you Dex bonus to AC; that being the case, why would you ever bother paying more coin for an armor that's less protective than its cheaper counterpart?? Ringmail, Scale are the exact same AC value as Studded & Chain shirt respectively... except Ring and Scale give only 1/2 your Dex. Unless there's some other benefit for the heaviers vs certain damage types (hints of more rules on that to come) then go with the lighter armor & fix the Medium armor.
This is new. I will give an alternate armor class section.
I plan to create my own module that is very similar to the aspect system in FATE. Background and theme are already similar to aspects. I can see giving advantage to a player as long as they can justify an action as being related to their background/theme.
This module would also include a player/npc/monster's ability to impose an aspect on their opponent. These aspects would grant advantage or disadvantage as appropriate.
example #1 - The rogue throws a chair into the legs of a charging bugbear (nonattack action, dex check, does not inflict damage). Succeeding in this action gives the bugbear the aspect of "all tangled up." The fighter can then take advantage of the aspect to attack the bugbear with advantage, or the bugbears next action might have disadvantage.
example #2 - The bard lights off some flash powder in front of an enemy's face. (dex check, stage magic, no damage). The enemy has, "it's burning my retinas," as an aspect. This aspect can be used to give the enemy disadvantage or the bard advantage as appropriate.
example #3- The wizard is researching some esoteric fact and has a background akin to "cloistered academic." He can make a contacts/research check or something similar to reflect his discovery of a particular book covering the topic. He might temporarily have the aspect of "Horak's Treatise on the Mating Habits of Elder Wyrms." This aspect would grant him advantage when finally doing his research check. I like this because it reflects how the character can have a better chance of finding info if he does the footwork of tracking down the right book or source.
example #4- Seeing that his is outnumbered, the orc kicks the party's fighter in the balls. (dex or str, nonattack, no damage) This inflicts the aspect "wracked with pain," upon success. The orc can use advantage to run away, or make the fighter suffer disadvantage when he tries to attack.
example #5- The party is competing with a mercenary group for a contract to guard a caravan. The bard spins a wild tale to the caravan master about the misdeeds of the mercenary group (perform, cha). If successful he inflicts the aspect, "disgraced in their eyes," on the mercenary group.
These aspects would only be invokable once, which is to say you can only gain the benefit of them or your enemy suffer the penalty one time. I am also thinking that whoever inflicts the aspect gets to decide how it is used, whether it is a disadvantage or advantage.
I understand that this may make such things as the Rogue getting combat advantage easier. That can be addressed. In my mind this module isn't meant for players that are going to try and wring every minute tactical advantage out of every situation. This module is meant to encourage descriptive play and nonattack actions that are effective in combat.
Help make Combat Mastery happen: If you like the idea of Combat Mastery, as outlined below, for fighters copy it onto your signature and add interesting combat maneuvers to the list. Two new examples could be throat punch or spit in eye.
Combat Mastery: When a Fighter performs combat maneuvers such as bull rush, disarm, sunder, trip, hip toss, eye poke, ball kick, hair drag, blind with sand, slide down banister, swing on chandalier, walk on barrel, use enemy as shield, interpose self in front of arrow trying to kill wizard, intimidate, pick up kobold by the neck, etc, the minimum die result is 10.
Fighter Combat Maneuvers: On a given round the fighter can bull rush, disarm, sunder, trip, hip toss, eye poke, ball kick, hair drag, blind with sand, slide down banister, swing on chandalier, walk on barrel, use enemy as shield, interpose self in front of arrow trying to kill wizard, intimidate, etc, in place of his/her move action. This is a nonattack action that might cause the fighter's opponent to be rendered prone, unarmed, blind for a round, etc, or otherwise grant the fighter advantage or his/her opponent disadvantage as the Fighter sees fit.
I am trying to figure out how to include this in the list. It seems very much like a limited version of the powers presented by 4e. The background stuff had been throw in the list already as well.
If possible could you summarize the module in a short paragraph encapsulating the idea of your module (in a way that doesn't make it sound like power because I can see there is a difference I just can't quite put my finger on it) and a name for it?
The ideas I posted are a straight rip the FATE system by Evil Hat Games.
As a proposal for a DnD Next module I would describe it as . . . .
A module that encourages descriptive play and effective nonattack combat actions. This can be done many ways, that used by FATE is but one example. DnD could do something similar by including an open-ended module that allows DMs to award action points whenever the PC does something descriptive and engaging. These action points could be a meta currency in the game. Maybe 5 action points can be spent to obtain advantage or an extra action. The exact exchange rate would need thorough testing and consideration.
Help make Combat Mastery happen: If you like the idea of Combat Mastery, as outlined below, for fighters copy it onto your signature and add interesting combat maneuvers to the list. Two new examples could be throat punch or spit in eye.
Combat Mastery: When a Fighter performs combat maneuvers such as bull rush, disarm, sunder, trip, hip toss, eye poke, ball kick, hair drag, blind with sand, slide down banister, swing on chandalier, walk on barrel, use enemy as shield, interpose self in front of arrow trying to kill wizard, intimidate, pick up kobold by the neck, etc, the minimum die result is 10.
Fighter Combat Maneuvers: On a given round the fighter can bull rush, disarm, sunder, trip, hip toss, eye poke, ball kick, hair drag, blind with sand, slide down banister, swing on chandalier, walk on barrel, use enemy as shield, interpose self in front of arrow trying to kill wizard, intimidate, etc, in place of his/her move action. This is a nonattack action that might cause the fighter's opponent to be rendered prone, unarmed, blind for a round, etc, or otherwise grant the fighter advantage or his/her opponent disadvantage as the Fighter sees fit.
The ideas I posted are a straight rip the FATE system by Evil Hat Games.
As a proposal for a DnD Next module I would describe it as . . . .
A module that encourages descriptive play and effective nonattack combat actions. This can be done many ways, that used by FATE is but one example. DnD could do something similar by including an open-ended module that allows DMs to award action points whenever the PC does something descriptive and engaging. These action points could be a meta currency in the game. Maybe 5 action points can be spent to obtain advantage or an extra action. The exact exchange rate would need thorough testing and consideration.
Okay. I had envisioned thing wizards might do. Ripping off another game is... dangerous, but I am doing to throw this on the list anyway because you are going to house rule it and even if it isn't something wizards could do it is still an interesting idea (I like it).
Another thread made me think of this, but this is where it really belongs.
We need a module that gives the fighter Combat Mastery. Exactly like the rogue's Skill Mastery except it applies to combat maneuvers like trip, sunder, disarm and the like.
Help make Combat Mastery happen: If you like the idea of Combat Mastery, as outlined below, for fighters copy it onto your signature and add interesting combat maneuvers to the list. Two new examples could be throat punch or spit in eye.
Combat Mastery: When a Fighter performs combat maneuvers such as bull rush, disarm, sunder, trip, hip toss, eye poke, ball kick, hair drag, blind with sand, slide down banister, swing on chandalier, walk on barrel, use enemy as shield, interpose self in front of arrow trying to kill wizard, intimidate, pick up kobold by the neck, etc, the minimum die result is 10.
Fighter Combat Maneuvers: On a given round the fighter can bull rush, disarm, sunder, trip, hip toss, eye poke, ball kick, hair drag, blind with sand, slide down banister, swing on chandalier, walk on barrel, use enemy as shield, interpose self in front of arrow trying to kill wizard, intimidate, etc, in place of his/her move action. This is a nonattack action that might cause the fighter's opponent to be rendered prone, unarmed, blind for a round, etc, or otherwise grant the fighter advantage or his/her opponent disadvantage as the Fighter sees fit.
Another thread made me think of this, but this is where it really belongs.
We need a module that gives the fighter Combat Mastery. Exactly like the rogue's Skill Mastery except it applies to combat maneuvers like trip, sunder, disarm and the like.
