D20 Patch: Combat

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Some of the basic rules for combat, such as fighting defensively or the withdraw action, have been changed.

Actions
At the beginning of your turn, you lose all actions, then gain a standard action, a move action, a swift action, and a reaction. Actions that cost a standard, move, or swift action can only be taken on your turn. You may use any action as one later on the list; for example, if you don't use your move action, you can later spend it on an action that costs a reaction.

Actions use the stack system. If an action is taken, and another is taken before it resolves, the second resolves first. The exception is move actions, which always resolve after other actions, and in the order they were taken. If two or more creatures try to take an action at the same time, such as two creatures making provoked attacks against the same action, each creature takes that action and resolves it in initiative order.

Standard Actions
The action itself may not require a lot of time, but it does require care or concentration. A standard attack, for example, isn't just a simple sword swing; you're attacking and parrying, looking for an opening to land a solid hit while simultaneously staying aware of your surroundings and defending yourself.

Ready Action: You choose another action to spend your standard action on, then choose one event. You gain a reaction that can be used to perform the chosen action, but only when the chosen event happens. The chosen event cannot be a free action or non-action that you generate, such as "when I speak" or "when I want to", but it can be something like "when I make a provoked attack" or "at the high point of my jump". You can, however, respond to a readied action that is triggered by your free action, allowing clever tacticians to coordinate attacks.

Standard Attack: You attack with a wielded weapon. ''In d20 Patch, weapons themselves say which maneuvers can substitute an attack with that weapon. For example, the Unarmed weapon would have the Disarm, Grapple, and Trip traits, allowing you to use your unarmed attack roll to perform these maneuvers.''

Move Actions
Move actions are split among the creature's moveable parts. For example, a creature can run, speak, and draw a weapon with each hand at the same time. However, each of these gives a disadvantage to other attacks, checks, and reflex saves (including each other). You may taken other actions while moving if they do not use the same parts. Note: Because you stop moving at the end of the charge, that attack does not get a disadvantage.

REPLACES: Flyby Attack{PF}, Ride-By Attack{PF}, Parting Shot{PF}, Shot on the Run{PF}, Spring Attack{PF}, and only being able to draw a weapon while moving if you have BAB 1+. Mobility {PF} is now "Move actions give one fewer disadvantage. You may take this feat multiple times." and does not have prerequisites. This way, anyone can use their arms while walking, but at a reasonable penalty, and you can take a feat to get better at multitasking.

Toss: You may toss a held object up to 10% of your light load as an improvised weapon, except it deals no damage (except falling damage, if applicable). If you deliberately toss the item for a willing creature to catch, your attack aids their roll to catch it.

Reactions
Though you can use reactions during any turn, you can't use one during your own standard action or reaction. When the condition required by a reaction arises, you choose whether or not to use it before other actions can be taken.

REPLACES: Immediate actions.

Catch: When a tossed, thrown, or projectiles object passes into or through your space, you may attempt to catch it using an acrobatics check, or use a weapon to knock it into your square with an attack roll. This uses the attack's DC, applying the weapon's size penalty as a bonus to the DC (size penalty becomes a bonus, but size bonus does not become a penalty). The object's DC increases by 10 for thrown weapons and 20 for projectiles. If the object was deliberately tossed to you, use DC5 instead. Note: d20 Patch has more severe size modifiers

REPLACES: Deflect Arrows{PF} becomes "You get a +10 competence bonus on rolls to catch objects. If making an attack roll with a shield, add its shield bonus." and replaces Missile Shield.

Provoked Attack: When a creature within reach provokes an attack, you may make an attack against them. You may only make one attack this way per provoking action, regardless of how many attacks the action provokes. Some actions only provoke attacks from certain creatures, and those creatures are the only ones that can take provoked attacks against it.

REPLACES: Attacks of opportunity. Combat Reflexes{PF} and similar abilities grant bonus reactions that can only be used to make provoked attacks, though you might consider expanding this to other reactions.

Fighting Tactics
At the beginning of your turn, you can choose to sacrifice one aspect of combat for another using one or more of the options below. The effects last until the beginning of your next turn.

Giving players options like fighting defensively makes turns more meaningful. Even if a player only ever chooses whether or not to use defensive fighting, this multiplies the possible paths combat can take, putting the player's fate more into their own hands. If a character dies and the player's reaction is "I should have chosen a different tactic", the system has replaced despair or frustration with hope and engagement.

Defensive Tactics
You get a disadvantage to melee attacks, a +2 dodge bonus, and temporary hit points equal to your cover bonus. While using defensive fighting, you can spend a move action to get another disadvantage and increase the dodge bonus by 1.

REPLACES: Combat Expertise{PF}, Disengaging Feint{PF}, Disengaging Flourish{PF}, Martial Power{PF}, fighting defensively, total defense, and the withdraw action.

Multiweapon Tactics
Using multiple weapons at once is different than attacking several times in a row. The attack is one quick combination of movements, and multiweapon fighting represents a vast variety of fighting styles and tactics. This includes feinting, pinning a shield, or even throwing a dagger while charging.

When you attack a target, you may use a number of weapons up to your dexterity modifier. Roll all the attacks at once, plus a disadvantage; if more than one weapon isn’t light, this gets another disadvantage. Before you know which attacks hit the target, choose which result applies to which weapon. Only the highest result applies a strength bonus to damage, if any (strength penalties apply as normal).

REPLACES: Dual Strike{CAd}, Double Hit{MH}, Feinting Flurry (Improved){PF}, Fox Style{PF}, Improved Feint (Greater){PF}, Moonlit Stalker Feint{PF}, Multiattack{PF}, Pin Shield{CW}, Ranged Feint{PF}, Steal and Strike{DotU}, Tantrum{PF}, Twinned Feint{PF}, Two-Weapon Feint (Improved){PF}, Two-Weapon Fighting (Improved, Greater, Perfect){PF}, Two-Weapon Pounce{PHB2}, normal two-weapon fighting and multiattack mechanics.

Reckless Tactics
You get a disadvantage to AC and reflex, but a +2 bonus to melee attacks. When you make a melee attack against a target or a target makes a melee attack against you, the attacker provokes an attack from the other. The attack and provoked attack resolve their damage at the same time.

REPLACES: Deadly Aim{PF}, Karmic Strike{CW/OA}, Reverse-Feint{PF}, Robilar’s Gambit{PHB2}.

Vicious Tactics
You get a disadvantage to attack rolls, but your strength modifier to weapon damage increases by 2.

REPLACES: Power Attack{PF}.

Note: In d20 Patch, light weapons get 50% strength bonus to damage, one-handed weapons wielded in one hand get 100%, and non-light weapons in two hands get 150%. Therefore, this tactic's simple phrasing gives +1, +2, and +3 damage to these things, respectively, but only if you're applying your strength modifier to damage.

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