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Old 08-17-2022, 10:44 AM   #20
Curmudgeon
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Default Re: Should Waiting permanently change your place in the turn sequence?

Thinking about it a little more, one possible solution to the problem is to change the combat system in a major way. Instead of initiative going from the highest Speed (best reflexes) to the lowest Speed for initiative, run initiative from the lowest Speed (worst reflexes) to the highest Speed.

Some games employ this ordering, suggesting that it better mimics the ability of those with better reflexes to react more quickly to the actions of those less gifted with reflexes. In essence, the slower reacting are locked into their responses, allowing those faster to factor those actions into their choice of response.

Such a re-ordering would do away with Wait altogether, instead replacing it with an Interrupt, whereby a faster reacting character can chose to react to the slower character's declared action's now rather than waiting to see what else develops before he would normally have his go at it.

If you don't particularly like the idea of Interrupts, you could do away with them, but declare that events resolve on the following turn, thus the slower character attacked and successfully got by the quicker character's defenses, but the injury and any penalties for shock don't apply until the sequence starts again. In this scheme, there actually is a common second that is shared for everyone's turn. This would be a major change-up, and I definitely have not playtested the idea to see how completely the entire combat system would need to be re-written, but it would potentially be a fairer solution to the problem posed.
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