Simultaneous Combat System- v3 - Objective_Peanut42

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this to TotM or online play, so if you have thoughts on this- I’d The Simultaneous love to hear it! Combat System How it Works: The Action Cycle Once the encounter has been set up on the board, The Proble play begins. In the Simultaneous Combat System (SCS), just as in standard 5e combat, each battle I am a relatively new DM compared to others, as I consists of several rounds. Inside each round, each have only been behind the screen for a couple of player has the same amount of actions, years now. However, there is one thing that has movements, and bonus actions that they would always bugged me about standard 5e D&D- the typically have to work with in a round of standard 5e combat. Like most DMs, I always want combat to combat. The action economy does not change. feel exciting, dramatic, and above all-engaging. The current turn-based 5e system, however, seems to Since there is no initiative order, actions and limit these feelings to a considerable extent- movements are all happening at the same time. To especially with larger parties. Most of your time as a prevent absolute chaos, however, all actions are PC is spent silently waiting your turn and pretty lumped into three resolution phases. Combat moves much checking out of the action. Besides lack of through these three resolution phases, resolving engagement, 5e combat can seem to stretch on for each type of action as it arises, and then repeats ridiculous lengths of time. A combat encounter of 5 these phases until no more actions or movements rounds is said to last 30 seconds in-game time, but are left in the round. The round then ends, and the with parties of 5 or more PCs, a 5-round encounter next one begins at the top of the three resolution can easily take more than an hour to resolve. I know phases. This cyclical process is called the Action I’m not the rst or the last to address these issues, Cycle- and it is the driving mechanic behind the but to that end, I have developed a revised 5e SCS. The Action Cycle works in this order: combat system that I believe drastically improves (and accelerates) combat encounters. - 1st: Spells • Non-Attack Spells Simultaneous Combat! - Any spells not requiring a ranged or melee So here is the big change that this system revolves attack roll. This includes any spell requiring a around - NO MORE INITIATIVE. And not only that - DC save from a target(s). A creature targeted NO MORE TURNS. That’s right: The Simultaneous by this type of spell must roll to save and Combat System gets rid of turn-based combat any e ects of success/failure are applied altogether in favor of near-real-time combat. It is no immediately. longer one player’s turn at a time- it is everyone’s - 2nd: Attacks turn! I know, I know. This concept probably seems crazy, • All melee & ranged attacks (including ranged/melee attack spells) chaotic, and game-breaking, but I promise you- implemented correctly, initiative and turns can be - Every creature who intends to attack (melee, removed entirely from the game and result in a ranged, or melee/ranged spell attack) rolls combat encounter that is much faster, more tactical, their d20 attack roll and places it next to and more fun! their token on the board. Starting from the highest attack roll to the lowest, the DM then This system borrows heavily from ideas on the Dungeon Craft youtube channel, but I have clari ed resolves each attack. Meaning- each and adapted them for ease of use. I have creature’s attack roll now also determines implemented this system at my table to tremendous the order in which each attack lands. As e ect. To give you an idea- I currently run a party of the DM resolves attacks, the corresponding 5 PCs. With the standard 5e combat system, a 4- d20s are removed from the board making it round encounter would take about 45m-1hr to easier to keep track of which attacks have resolve. With the Simultaneous Combat System, I already been resolved. can easily run a 4-round encounter in about 15 minutes! Note: This system works best with tabletop play with tokens or miniatures, and a ton of dice! I’m sure there is a way to adapt - 3rd: Moves + Misc. ff ff fi m fi • Miscellaneous Actions Combat Overview - This is a large category and includes everything that is not an attack, spell, or Here is an overview of what a typical SCS ght movement (Dash, Disengage, Hide, Help, would look like: etc.). These actions include any Action that does not directly cast a spell or make an - Round #1 attack (special class actions, e.g.). More on - 1st Cycle this later. - Any actions take resolution priority over • Spells movement in the Moves + Misc. phase. For • Attacks example- a ghter wants to use Rally as a BA before he moves. This BA is resolved • Moves + Misc. before any other creatures resolve their - 2nd Cycle movement. • Spells • Movements • Attacks - Movements & Misc. Actions may be split up and used in any order. For example you may • Moves + Misc. move 10ft, use the Help action, then move another 20ft. - *repeat until no more actions/ movements remain* The Action Cycle then repeats from the top, and - Round #2 any remaining actions are taken. Once every combatant has used up all their - 1st Cycle available actions and movements, the round ends, • Spells and the next begins at the beginning of the Action Cycle. Combat moves through as many rounds as • Attacks are necessary until the battle ends. • Moves + Misc. To keep track of the current cycle and round, here is - 2nd Cycle a diagram I use with my players to keep everyone on the same page: And so on, and so on… T H E AC T I O N CYC L E Bonus Actions One tricky bit comes in the form of Bonus Actions. Just like normal actions, Bonus Action’s (BA’s) are lumped into three categories: Spells, Attacks, and Miscellaneous. BAs are resolved in the resolution SPELLS phase in which they t. Spells with a BA casting time are resolved in the Spell phase. Extra attacks that can be used as BAs are resolved in the Attack phase. Every other kind of BA is resolved in the Moves + Misc. phase. Unless a BA is explicitly m ov e s making an attack roll or casting a new spell, it AT tac k s automatically falls into the Misc. bucket. + mis c. BAs can be used alone or in addition to a normal action in the same resolution phase. The user of the BA may decide the order in which their actions and BAs take place. For example: In the same Spell resolution phase, a Cleric could choose to cast Healing Word as a BA before or after casting Aid as a normal action. Or a Rogue could decide to move 15ft, Use an Object as a BA, and move another 15ft- all in the same Moves + Misc. phase. fi fi fi Example Battle Let’s take a look at an example ght to get a clear understanding of how these mechanics would play out in a real combat encounter. Our PCs- a Rogue, a Wizard, and a Paladin enter a room with with 3 angry Orcs wielding rusty swords. Combat breaks out. *I’m open to suggestions for a phrase to replace the ever-satisfying “roll for initiative” here. UND 1 RO SPELLS - Round 1 m ov e s + AT tac k s • 1st Cycle: mis c. - Spells fail 10 - The DM asks if anyone is using a spell. 1d6dmg Everyone who is casting a spell that does fail not involve an attack roll states their 4 intention to the DM. 1d6dmg • The Wizard casts Acid Splash on the two smaller orcs, who immediately roll and fail their save, taking 1d6 damage - Attacks - The DM asks if anyone is attacking. RO UND 1 Everyone who is making a melee or SPELLS ranged attack (including ranged/melee spells) rolls their attack d20 and places m ov e s + AT tac k s the resulting die next to their character HIT mis c. 21 token on the board. • The Rogue is ring at the large Orc- he rolls a 21 • The small Orc is throwing a dagger at the Wizard- he rolls a 16 16 • The DM surveys the all the dice on the 4 DMG HIT 1d6+3dmg board. Moving from highest attack roll to lowest, the attacks are resolved in the following order: 1. The Rogue’s arrow hits rst and the large Orc takes 1d6+3 damage 2. The small Orc’s dagger hits next and the Wizard takes 4 damage. fi fi fi - Moves + Misc. UND 1 RO - The DM asks if anyone is moving, or using any miscellaneous actions. SPELLS • The Wizard ducks behind the partial m ov e s + AT tac k s cover of a barrel mis c. • The Paladin moves forward to engage the large Orc • the scarred Orc moves into melee range of the Rogue • the big Orc moves forward to engage the Paladin • the small Orc moves towards the Wizard, but is just out of melee range. • 2nd Cycle: - Spells - The DM asks if anyone is using a spell. • No spells are cast - Attacks - The DM asks if anyone is attacking. • The Paladin is swinging his sword at the big Orc and rolls a 12 UND 1 RO • The big Orc is swinging his sword down at the Paladin and rolls a 22 SPELLS • The Scarred Orc is slashing at the m ov e s HIT + AT tac k s 3 DMG mis c. Rogue and rolls a 16 16 • The Rogue is using disengage as a bonus action and moving away from the scarred Orc 6 DMG • Based on the value of the attack rolls, HIT the attacks are resolved in the following miss 22 order: 12 1. The big Orc hits rst dealing 6 damage to the Paladin 2. The scarred Orc hits next- the Rogue takes 3 damage. 3. The Paladin goes last, but his swords clangs o the big Orc’s crude iron ff fi UND 1 RO - Moves + Misc. SPELLS - The DM asks if anyone is moving, or m ov e s AT tac k s using any miscellaneous actions. + mis c. • The Rogue moves just out of melee range of the scarred Orc. • The scarred Orc pursues the Rogue and is back in melee range. - No more actions/movements remain - *End of Round* - Round 2 • 1st Turn: - Spells • No spells are cast - Attacks RO UND 2 • The Wizard is ring Acid Arrow at the SPELLS small Orc who is charging towards him m ov e s and rolls a 19 + mis c. AT tac k s • The big Orc is swinging down again on the Paladin and rolls a 12 HIT 2d6+3DMG MISS 25 • The Paladin is swinging back at the big 16 8 Orc and rolls a 22 1d8+5DMG • The scarred Orc is attacking the Rogue and rolls a nat 20. The Paladin, 22 HIT however, uses his Protection reaction HIT MISS to protect the Rogue and imposes 19 12 disadvantage on the attacking Orc, 4d4DMG lowering his roll to 8. • The Rogue slashes at the scarred Orc. He rolls a 16. • Based on the value of their attack rolls: RO UND 2 1. The Paladin hits the big Orc SPELLS for 1d8+5 damage m ov e s + AT tac k s 2. The Wizard hits the small Orc mis c. for 4d4 acid damage. The Orc melts before he can get to the Wizard. 3. The Rogue hits the scarred Orc for 1d6+3 damage, plus an additional 1d6 sneak attack damage. The scarred Orc falls to the ground, dead. 4. The big Orc’s sword glances of the Paladin’s shield. fi - Moves + Misc. • The Rogue sweeps around to ank the big Orc - No more actions or movements remain - *End of Round* - Round 3 • 1st Cycle: - Spells • No spells are cast - Attacks • The big Orc uses action Multi-Attack to attack the Paladin and the Rogue. He rolls a 25 and 16. • The Wizard casts Scorching Ray on the big Orc and rolls 17, 19, and 24. UND 3 RO • The Paladin attacks the big Orc and SPELLS rolls a 7. m ov e s • The Rogue attacks the big Orc and + mis c. AT tac k s rolls a 13. • Based on the value of the attack rolls: 1. The big Orc’s rst attack hits the Paladin for 6 damage 6DMG HIT MISS 25 HIT 2. Before the big Orc’s 2nd attack 7 16 lands, all 3 blasts of the Wizard’s HIT Scorching Ray land and deal 6d6 HIT 24 HIT MISS damage to the big Orc, turning 17 19 6d6DMG 13 him to a smoldering pile of ash. - END OF COMBAT! Quirks of the SCS - Attacks of Opportunity the room, while the Goblin plans to continue to hack the Ranger to pieces. As you may have noticed in this combat example, no opportunity attacks took place. This absence is In standard 5e combat, let’s say the Ranger is rst because, in the SCS, there are no opportunity in the initiative order, and her turn begins. She attacks. Once again, I know this seems like a crazy makes a run for the door, and the Goblin gets an idea, but in the SCS, these attacks are unnecessary opportunity attack as she turns to run. This and give an unfair advantage to melee-focused opportunity attack exists as a penalty to the Ranger combatants. Since all combat is happening more or for leaving the Goblin’s melee range and less simultaneously, the need for a penalty for interrupting the Goblin’s intended melee attack on moving out of melee range is not there. Let me its turn. explain: If there were no opportunity attacks in standard 5e Imagine a Ranger and a Goblin are standing toe-to- combat, there would be a severe disadvantage to toe in melee combat. The Ranger intends to make a melee attackers. In the SCS, however, all break for a closing stone door on the other side of movements are resolved after all attacks. Even if the fi fl fi Ranger runs away, the Goblin will attack before that A saving throw made to resist a spell's initial happens and thus does not need the opportunity casting is made immediately when the spell is cast attack to make up for a lost melee attack. during the Spell resolution phase. - Disengage A saving throw made to escape from a status Since there are no opportunity attacks in the SCS, e ect already in place is made at the top of the the role of Disengage changes as well. In the order during the 1st Spell resolution phase in the SCS, Disengage moves the user back 5ft away round after the creature su ers the e ect. from their attacker and out of melee range. For example - an Evil Wizard casts Hideous Laughter on the party's Fighter, who immediately Now, since Disengage falls into the Moves + Misc. rolls and fails his saving throw. The spell takes resolution phase, the attacker could theoretically e ect, and the Fighter is incapacitated for this immediately pursue the Disengager to try to close round. The ght goes on around him as he cackles the distance. Disengage, therefore, is primarily used his brains out and can make no further actions this to gain a head start when eeing from a melee round. Before any other actions are taken, during attacker. the rst Spell resolution phase of the following *Note: since ner ng Disengage in this way mainly a ects round, the Fighter may make the saving throw to Rogues and their Cunning Action, I usually home-brew a little break free from the spell's e ects. bit here and give my Rogue PCs 10ft of extra movement speed. This adjustment makes the Rogue still have that feeling of - Spells extraordinary battle eld agility. This issue is also somewhat alleviated in the next section. Generally speaking, all spells that are cast during the Spell resolution phase happen simultaneously. - Dexterity Contests That is to say if multiple creatures cast a spell in this phase both spells immediately take e ect. A fun opportunity that the SCS presents is dexterity contests during the Moves + Misc. phase. Suppose This changes, however, if a creature intends to use two creatures are racing towards the same goal or a spell cast as an action and a spell cast as a generally trying to be faster in their movements than Bonus Action in the same Spell resolution phase. their enemy. In that case, I love to employ a Naturally, the spell cast rst is resolved rst, and the dexterity contest between the two creatures to spell cast second is resolved second. This only determine who arrives at their destination rst. becomes tricky when competing with other spell- These dexterity contests should operate like any casters. other skill contest. The involved parties roll a Every spell cast rst is resolved and takes e ect, d20+their dexterity modi er. The higher total arrives and then every spell cast second is resolved and at the destination rst or accomplishes a physical takes e ect. This means that if a creature is casting goal before their enemy. two spells in one Spell resolution phase, it is It could be argued that the lack of initiative in the possible for an enemy to cast a spell that prevents SCS takes away advantage from creatures with the creature from casting the second spell. high dexterity scores that would otherwise have a An example: During heated combat, a Cleric and an higher initiative bonus than others. This issue is evil Necromancer are exchanging fearsome spells. somewhat alleviated, however, if the DM generously During the rst Spell resolution phase, the Cleric employs dexterity contests through combat intends to cast Mass Healing Word on his party as a encounters. Racing to close and bar a door before a Bonus Action and then cast Banishment on the horde of goblins breaks through?- dexterity contest. Necromancer as an action. The Necromancer Rogue trying to pick a lock before a temple guard intends to cast Hold Person on the Cleric as an clubs them in the back?- dexterity contest. action. Both spells cast rst take e ect - Escaping Saving Throws immediately- The Cleric’s party is healed by Mass Healing Word for 1d4+4, and the Cleric rolls a All saving throws made to escape or resist a status wisdom saving throw to resist Hold Person and e ect are resolved in the Spells resolution phase. fails. The Cleric is instantly paralyzed and thus These types of saves include a strength save to prevented from casting Banishment. break free from Entangle; a wisdom save to break free from Hideous Laughter, etc. ff ff ff fi ff fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fl ff ff ff ff ff fi ff fi ff encounters. I do this so the PCs and I know what Things to Keep in Mind round it is (this is very important and can quickly get confusing in the SCS), and so we all can keep - Tactics the Action Cycle order in mind at all times. The SCS fundamentally changes a lot about how - While I roll my monster's attack rolls behind the combat and thus strategy works in D&D. I can’t screen, I almost always use standardized begin to list, or even imagine, all the ways in which damages. Meaning- I don't roll for attack tactics might change because of the loss of damage. I divide the maximum damage roll of a initiative and turn-based combat altogether, but a particular attack by 1/2, add the modi er, and use few things come to mind. that number (1d10+4 = 5+4 = 9 DMG, e.g.). This A large mechanic a ected in the SCS when thinking tactic helps to streamline battle and speed things tactically as a PC is planning. You can no longer sit up. back and think about all the moves and actions that - Sometimes I o er my players a limited window have happened leading up to this moment and then before battle to learn info about their situation. I’ll plan a whole turn accordingly. Additionally, you give them 1-3 minutes on the clock to ask cannot count on being uninterrupted while you act questions to the DM and learn as much info out all your various plans. about their surroundings as possible- this You are forced to think on your feet and includes rolling perception, investigation, history immediately address your current situation. checks, etc. This time can give them some Meaning- your plans may suddenly change halfway advantageous info about their enemies or through a round if you are suddenly charmed from environment, and the time limit keeps it high- afar, trigger a trap, or your intended target dies pressure and high-stakes! before you can get there! - The SCS lends itself to Matthew Colville's Another strategic element the SCS introduces is "Action-Oriented Monsters" very well. You can timing. In some cases, it may be bene cial to wait have your monsters and PCs play by the same until later in the round when other combatants rules, or you can occasionally throw in extra actions have played out to nally act. In other cases legendary actions or lair actions whenever you it may be a race against time to prevent some awful want to make the battle feel extra dynamic and event from happening! spicy! It's a balancing act- you don't want your PCs feeling like your just doing whatever the hell - Exceptions you want, but the right amount of the unexpected can be incredible! The Simultaneous Combat System is a work in progress. I have done a lot of play-testing and tinkering to get it here, but there will always be Final Thoughts edge-cases that throw a wrench in the works. As we all know, D&D- especially high-level play- is a If you’ve read this far, you’re probably considering game of exceptions. I'm positive that some trying this system out sometime. And I would say scenarios, or spells, or feats, or mechanics break go for it! Get a few friends together and do a one- how the SCS works somehow. shot using the SCS. If you see some potential in it- When you use the SCS, I would ask you to deal great! If you hate it and want me arrested- great! with these complications in the same way you deal At my table, the Simultaneous Combat System will so much as a DM- make it up! This system is a makes D&D as a whole more fast-paced, engaging, home-brew endeavor that sometimes demands thrilling, unpredictable, immersive, and fun. What home-brew solutions. If you need to change and more could you want?! adapt the framework I've laid out here to your situation- do it! As long as you are transparent and If you have any questions about the system, fair with your players, you can all have a fantastic comments, suggestions, death threats, etc., please time! reach out to me on my Reddit: - DM Tips u/Objective_Peanut42 Here's a quick list of things that have helped while This is a living project, and I am constantly running an SCS game: developing and shifting things around. If you have some thoughts on how to further develop the SCS, - I mentioned this before but it’s a huge help- I I’d love to hear them! always display the Action Cycle chart and a Round Tracker outside of my DM screen during Thanks for reading and happy rolling! ff ff fi fi fi