I pretty much never comment on anything, ever, but I'll make an exception for you. As a lot of DM/GM, D&D 5e is becoming a little bit frustrating to run each time and I tend to tweak and hombrew the rules more and more the ease the pain. So much in fact that I almost finished writing a complete different game system. (With quite the same liberating action economy, inspired from many boardgames, turn-based strategy games and others TTRPGs. Never considered to entirely drop the hit rolls tho !) It is wonderful to see that your rules change so much of the game momentum while also being able to keep using all the D&D collection with minimal modifications, in particular all the foes and monsters stats. One of the critical parts I am stuggling the most with on my own system ! Hat's off to you, mr.Diaz. Really well done. Can't wait to read the full pdf.

Fred: "Now, let's find out who this different combat system really is." _Pulls off the hood_ Velma: "Jinkies! Pathfinder 2e's 3-action economy!" PF2E3AE: "And I would've gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!"

It's like watching someone discover that other TTRPGs exist.

I am always amazed at the lengths people go to in order to avoid playing anything other than D&D.

I think the 80/20 rule applies here. In my experience, there are two things that slow down gameplay much more than anything else combined: rolling for initiative and looking up spell descriptions. Anyway, "Players go first" = boring steamroll.

This looks more like some strange mix of primarily Dragonbane with a sprinkle of PF2e than it does 5e but seems like it could be interesting at least.

I don't like that the character's attributes don't influence the rolls, and neither does the opponent's. This looks like the best way to play is to use the best weapons for each situation, the character himself being useless.

Friend, this isn't a combat hack, this is basically a new system. One that sounds really interesting, actually.

This changes so much that it isn't 5e anymore. Which makes it better in my book. However if you're gonna change this much, you might as well take a look at other systems.

I love seeing twists on the base assumptions of how combat in D&D works. I really applaud the effort to streamline some things, but I'm afraid it's not all upsides and swiftness. Not rolling for initiative may seem like a time-saver, but your players _do_ have to roll for initiative anyways and I guarantee you'll be reminding them how many AP they get for their first round, every time. I do like going clockwise though. I think I'm going to try something in the middle - Person who rolls highest goes first, and then it's clockwise from them. Helps everyone else remember when to get ready for their turn if they see the action happening on their right. Also, armor rules, when bonuses do and don't apply because of armor, what things do and don't take one of your AP... they're all rules to confer about and that will slow stuff down. I love that gambling your AP on reactions becomes a strategic facet, but I don't think real combat would go noticeably faster with this system. Players will still hem and haw about their options, scritch their chins as they look through their spells, ask you which ones take 1 or 2 AP...

Seems like it could be fun to try, looking at the preview there was one issue I thought of. Since enemies with over 12 ac dont take your stat mod damage then it removes insentives for most martial players to ever increase their main stat and they would only ever choose full feats.

I think the issue with doing attack rolls with damage dice is that your majorly changing the statistics of a critical hit versus a miss. On a d20 you are only one in 20 shot of getting a one. On a D4 you now have a 25% chance of a critical failure

This deserves a system of its own, the rest of DnD was designed for standard combat rules, so you'll eventually run into conflicts, such as having a bonus to initiative that no longer matters. Also, I think it's weird to have it where the more sides of your damage die, the less likely you are to miss, a better alternative would be to just roll to hit and then deal average damage.

You'd be better off with a different RPG system. 5E's convoluted rules and power bloat leads to everyone tinkering with it. As a result players are learning a 5E hacked system over and over again everytime they play with a different DM. There are other RPGs that do not require as much work to make it workable so you only have to learn the new system once instead over and over again...

Okay, at the beginning you make it sound like you don't roll initiative and how the players go first and in the order of readiness. Then all the sudden you are talking about Stabs rolling high on his initiative. When did this happen?

This is basically a whole new game. You should write it.

Very cool and interesting idea but it changes so much within 5e that I fear it may break a lot of the system and would fair better as it's own thing. Someone else mentioned it but for example, misty step as a bonus action isn't needed in cases where you don't need to disengage an enemy or get across a gap etc. You could just move twice with 2 AP. This itself isn't a huge issue, just a slight nerf of Misty Step but I imagine there are countless similar situations to be found with this hack. My main issues with it off the cuff are, 1) damage die and therefore weapon determines the attack chance of the character over their inherent skill, it practically makes characters entire sheet useless 2) D4 having a 25% chance to fail or Crit is in a way, even more swingy than D20 despite less outcomes. You'll be hitting crits or failing constantly like a headless chicken. It would appear like the character has no control over what he's doing from one moment to the next, completely at the mercy of the roll. One second an incredible fighter, the next a complete incompetent fool. The weight of choices in the character creation now matter far less and I don't think that such a mechanic would be overall as fun as it would be frustrating. People want some level of consistency. 3) Not sure how magic weapons would work like +1, +2 etc. as stats don't affect rolls to hit. 4) How does sneak attack work in this system? If d4 has higher crit chance to offset other weapons higher average damage, what about when you consistently roll 4's and deal 6d6 sneak attack damage too? And does crit chance affect those? If you roll 6 on them does that crit again and again? That'd make Rogue the strongest in the game besides maybe Paladins. 5) Always having player's go first feels a little meh. It's not a huge issue, just not for me. Less of a criticism, more of a personal preference. 6) Reactions: If you can take multiple reactions in a turn, that would mean multiple abilities and spells all happening together in one turn that aren't meant to be stacked leading to possibly unforeseen game breaking moments. 7) If you streamline the game by removing Initiative but then require an Initiative roll anyway to determine AP, is that really speeding up play? I guess a little and I do hate how initiative interrupts the flow of combat but that said, do you roll initiative every single round in this hack to determine AP? If so, that would actually end up taking more time overall in a typical fight vs D&D rules for initiative once at the beginning. 8) if normal out of combat situations still use a D20 and stats as normal, there's a big disconnect between combat and out of combat resolution mechanics which could confuse people a lot. 9) Going back to the hitting and missing, it appears unlikely to ever miss which does speed up the gameplay and is offset by damage reduction but some may not enjoy the concept. The biggest issue being that a character who pulls out a dagger they are proficient in, will get no added bonus if I'm understanding correctly from the video and will also go from having a super low chance to miss with Greataxe for example to suddenly missing quite regularly with the d4 weapon. The character's actual skill once again fails to factor into the situation. A fighter trained in war shouldn't suddenly become less likely to hit due to changing their weapon. Overall though, I think the basic ideas are cool. 3 point Pathfinder 2e type economy, more freedom on a turn to gain more movement or do more interesting things rather than confined to "this needs this specific action type to use." Also love the interpose and being able to choose when to absorb damage. I homebrewed the interpose ability pretty much identically in my own games a few years back, felt it adds much more teamwork and a sense of self-sacrifice to the game. Saving someone at a cost. I loved that and really like the implementation here. I think this is a really cool idea though and if I ever have spare time I'll check out the free core rules for sure. That said, I feel it could almost be better off as it's own game but 5e sells and has the biggest fanbase so all the best with the module.

Different in the sense that its strangly more complicated lol. Why would a wizard misty step when we could simply walk the same distance twice with 2 acrion points? Having initiative be always advantaged towards the party removes tenstion and possibly wipes an encounter before it starts. I can respect the attempt to streamline 5e combat, but this simply just needs to be refined into its own TTRPG. Also, a more prominent reason for dnd combat taking so long is players or DMs who dont know their character. That can just be fixed with about 20m of prep before the session.

The way you modified the action economy is really similar to the DC20 system and the stacking crits is exactly like righteous fury from Dark Heresy which is my favorite RPG! I love how your rules are streamlined yet still more flexible than 5E and the video editing was excellent at delivering your ideas. Great job!

I don't think i will use theses rules, sound just like a totally new game to me. But your video kept me hooked for the entire duration and your editing is very very good. I'm subscribed and will wait for more videos. Your channel have everything to grow fast, congrats.

I like the initiative order. After that, it seems like a different game system than DnD. As mentioned before it seems more like Pathfinder 2e. That being said if it works for you and your group more power to you.

these rule sets are cool, and really fit for a different game I am sure this would work for many tables, but the speed of things isn't always as important, I find, especially with more strategic parties. But that does not mean that it never fits, and I hope other DMs can use these rules well

Found this with 14 minutes left in the kickstarter. Very thankful lol this seems great

I love this. I want to run a game based on Bloodborne and I really want to get across that fast paced combat, and this works great for that I think, it also means that more combats can happen in one session

This is suspiciously similar to DC20 systems.

I'm OK with my 5e combat, but this is a great video, would love expand a system based on it. Always up for a new system. Instant subscription man, good stuff.

Wow your ruels almost sounds like the 3 actions in pathfinder 2e.

Great job with the editing. Also this seems very similar to pathfinder second edition.

I really love the fact that you made weapons dmg dice less of a stat stick

Roll initiative just when the session starts, and during rests. That way, you will have a ready initiative list long before the combat starts.

"You're calling the tabletop helpline, have you tried not playing D&D?"

I may not love everything here, but i do love Stabs.

would be interesting to see what you actually kept from 5e. the system seems great but it's not d20

Honestly, it's an interesting idea for how to handle damage/attack rolls for a fresh system. As a lot of others have said though, this deviates so much from DND that I wouldn't really consider it DND at this point--which, also as others have said, I wouldn't really consider a bad thing. Though, for 5e, it winds up negating or having weird interactions with a lot of features that it might feel bad if you have a player who planned to use those kind of abilities. I've been observing and trying systems like the MCDM RPG, Lancer, ICON, etc. and seeing how they handle and resolve skills, rolls, and damage, and how it differs from D20 based systems (if at all), so this is definitely going into the inspiration toolbox for when I one day decide to try and craft a system myself.

How does this affect the action economy problem of big solo monsters in 5e? Do you still need to give them legendary actions? Do monsters not required the dodge action? From the video it seems like the bug had "medium armor" but the rogue ignored it with a crit; wouldn't the first attack from the dwarf interact with the bug's armor in any way?

Love this hack hopefully, I'll be able to back the Kickstarter in a day or two found this a little late in the game but it looks great

I feel like people overlook the physical ways in which you can reduce the time it takes at the table. Everyone is rolling initiative and it's at the same time. A DM can pre-roll initiatives for encounters they know will happen. So the process is not that slow. D&D's fundamental math has certain results. You don't need to add your modifiers to your attack if you rolled a 2. Or an 18. You can very quickly guess the AC. While you're "waiting for permission", you can just roll damage while the DM checks if it hit.

I love this. Gonna try it out

This is Genius. Also, I need more of Stabs in my life, I must know more about him.

this is very interesting as i just finished learning about DC20 which takes the opposite direction, getting rid of the damage dice. instead, every 5th point above success gives an extra point of damage. which is nicely streamlined, but im not ready to say goodbye to six other dice of different sizes, your proposition i actually like more

Very interesting. I like it. Good luck to you.

Dig it! I was skeptical at first "that ain't D&D" but looking at it like another system, it looks fast and furious!

This gave me some good tips. as the campaign I DM climbs higher in levels, some of these tips will help me improve gameplay. My players are too eager with the higher level massive attacks and damage to want to change combat, but the exhaustion could help out as I crank up the baddies.

I could also incorperate a buffing attacks idea i had recently, using small spells like cantrips to fuel another spell or an attack with additional power. For example, a spellcaster using fireball and then adding the gust cantrip in order to literally add fuel for the fire, thereby buffing the attack with possibly an additional attack die. Or a spellcaster using a 1 action point reaction with ray of frost to give the barbarian a cold damage variant of his greataxe swing to avoid slashing resistance.

LOVE IT, just pathfinder lol but I still love it a lot

Ankheg are normally large monstrosities but you call it a medium armored monster, is this a change made by he nimble rules? Do monsters not get to reduce damage from their armor? If there is no rolling initiative how are the wizard, dwarf and kobold coming up with their initiative scores? Wouldn't all players use daggers since there is a 25% chance of stacking damage dice on a crit? It also seems unlikely that the ankheg would be on the verge of death and not use its acid spray attack to target multiple foes, is this just DM incompetence?

What does the "extra attack" feature do in this system? Two attacks with one action point? Or simply that your multiple attack penalty is negated for one additional attack?

So I had an idea because the realized the issues that some people brought up - that monsters going at the end means a steamroll (either the players killing them all, or the enemies swarming all at once and TPKing) and that it makes seating arrangements matter which is kinda dumb. So, what about doing Popcorn Initiative? Whoever's ready goes first still but instead of going clockwise they can choose whoever's turn goes next - including the enemies. It adds another strategic layer because, sure, you would rather not want to be stabbed by the enemy but you also don't want them all to go at the end and swarm you.

Players experience lvl has a hugh part on how fast combat goes! Plus to all DM's ac, ability check or spell dc dont have to be a big secret helps speed up things while sticking with the rules!

Yes! So much yes! I was working on a similar system. Hit points is described as fatigue and such. So why wouldn't you be depleted HP each round of combat. At the end of a combat you would heal your total HD pool, minus the number of combat rounds.

As someone who’s played in a system similar to this, it’s broken. It sounds ideal but it doesn’t work like that in practice.

Wait a second… you’re just trying to get us to play pathfinder!

An easy way to fix many of these problem is to just roll for initiative in advance for monster and setting up the initiative order. For spells, if someone is looking during others turn what his spells do, i find it pretty fast. Still, at our table we like the traditional system, even if this looks pretty fun

If you feel the need to change so much with a ruleset, why not just use a better ruleset in the first place or simply write your own?

SO... you don't play D&D. That's your answer.

I love this. going to try and implement it myself. Onlly error with your example story, misty step is a leveled spell, meaning it should take 2 aciton points, but the wizard only had one (I assume cause he is in the dying condition).

Great video! I agree with most of the things here, and have used a variant of it for a while. Speeding up the pacing of combat is great, i thought i would just throw a few tweeks ive found from ridiculous things my players have done: A. Action economy for the enemies is important. Looks like the monster has arround 3 actions here which works, but smaller hords like Goblins and Gnolls get tedious like this. Try giving them one action each. B. That one spell: Haste. Breaks so much stuff. C. Pets like familers and Warlocks Pact of the Chain need 1 action, or the pet has to use the characters actions. And finally D. Never let them use AP for Bonus actions. It might make sense, but it allows for allot of setup from buff spells and the ability to spam Healing Word. There are more than this, but these are the main things to consider. I hope you do a follow-up on this!

I play online,so the automated character sheets and automated initiative solve this issue instantly

I'm intrigued.

Nice video, I think a good solution for dnd 5e combat system would be players that remain focus on the game, that remembers when their turn is and that knows rules and what their characters can do (yeah, even the spells).

Great video! I’ll definitely try this with my group! Question: Is there a good way to make armor class a passive thing? I don’t know how I feel about making it an action.

First of all, this is PF2e without initiative(And some other modifications). Second of all, if you gotta change this much to enjoy DnD with your friends, then it's time for you and your friends to pick up a different game. Trust me, I spent an insane amount of time modifying DnD to my liking before realizing I could just find a different game that better suits my DMing style and needs.

This is sorta like Mörk Borg combat. Learning about it can help make some calls for dnd

Looked into this with a friend. We noticed that it really nerfs casters. With their low AC they would have a hard time negating any damage, and they would have less AP than melee classes since it would cost them 2 AP to cast a non cantrip spell, while melee attacks or abilities only take 1 AP. And with the AP cost like that, a melee class with the Dying condition would still be a threat, while a caster class with the Dying condition would be stuck to cantrips. I think there's some good ideas here, but it still very much needs some work. But if it's for a melee campaign, then it would be good.

The best combat i had was in COS. We were fighting an evil tree and i combined giant's might with enlarge to match its size, and the party's vampire bloodhunter learned its weakness. So, I pucked her up and as a proxy, i helped remove that weakness. It was a contest between my +3 str with advantage against that tree's +4 con with advantage.

the ultimate D&D 5e combat hack, is an entirely different system? because thats what it sounds like. must admit it sounds pretty cool though

Is this just some sort of a pathfinder?

Interesting idea, but this just becomes a simplified Pathfinder basically. I like the crunch but I will take that crit mechanic as I do not like giving basic +1,2, 3 weapons which kesds me to making homebrew. Ultimately I prefer having little combat though so some heaviness is good.

This feels like a very not-D&D take on D&D... I like it, but I don't think it's even fair to call it D&D with how much you've changed. Definitely seems like a solid foundation for a ruleset though!

I appreciate people's homebrew. D&D was originally meant to be modified.

Very curious about the design thinking of a roll of 1 being a miss. Was there a strong reason for misses to be included? (Long time 5e player who has moved to Into the Odd based games)

The only real problem I have with this is the system relies on players not being prepared. As a wizard main myself, if I'm going first it's fairly easy to determine what spell I'd want to use (a control spell, like command at low levels and wall of force at high levels). The idea of rolling initiative is to try to prevent creatures that don't have dex or a specific ability (at the cost of another ability, such as the alert feat) to offset a lower dex in initiative. This system rewards attentiveness, which is honestly amazing and would help keep tables on track, but if players are paying attention then it becomes interruptive as everyone tries to get the first action in or players could set up in advance who goes first, completely bypassing the reason initiative exists, and throw a group combo. A rule I've seen before that accomplishes much of what this video tries to solve is simply rolling initiative either one time at the beginning of the session or if you're looking to start combats faster without interruption initiative can be rolled at the end of the encounter in preparation for the next. If it's the length of each turn that is causing issue a timer/stopwatch works fabulously. Dnd (at least 5e) doesn't go kindly with the action point based system because (as said in the video a cantrip is one action point) casting three cantrips is going to be way more damage than any other spell. If a caster is limited in the number of cantrips what about a combo of a bonus action spell, a cantrip, and attacking. If that's the system you want to play Pathfinder is already set up for this and the two systems are very similar.

I've been using this system with my players and they've been absolutely loving it. One thing I haven't been able to find much of in these comments is questions about specific feats and things of the such that might conflict with this system. How would something like great weapon fighting work? How about the Sharpshooter feat? My solutions have just been adjusting them slightly on a whim to fit the system, and there's probably more im not aware of.

This has inspired me to take the parts I liked about this (particularly the crit mechanic) and apply it to games. I think I'd still do a D20 to hit, but crits will be dictated by rolling the damage dice just to see if you crit. I know this does the OPPOSITE of what Nimble co is attempting to remedy, but I like the crunchiness. I think it does a great job to fix weapons and some being objectively better than others. I like the idea and flavor of daggers, but because they SUCK in 5e, I would never touch them. This completely fixes that. This is like a better version of crit range from 3.5.

This is interesting, but I cant help but feel it makes ranged weapons even stronger then they are in base 5e

Im deffinetly gonna incorporate atleast some of these changes in my own game.

"Oh, yeah. I play League of Legends. I have a mod that makes it a janky cooking sim game."

so i cannot back the kickstarter right but from the PDF does attack with multiple dice work like cairn where you take the best die (if the primary die is not a 1) or only the primary die

6:50 Yes, that is stupid, they should DIE at 0!

My game I’m making has no miss chance either. Misses have to happen due to the creature actively blocking, dodging or some magical effect like mirror image. My action economy is similar to this, but I think a lot more in depths. It’s very simple like this at early level, but as you get higher, you have a lot more you can do. And because you don’t have to roll for hits and do a million checks, action feels faster and more punchy and dynamic, which is what you want. I’ve always thought arbitrary miss chances based on a dice roll in games were idiotic. I basically looked at as many TTRPGS as I could and most of them have the same issues, so I cleaned up a lot of that and made crafting, conversation their own mechanic, so that combat stands out in the way it’s handled. All 5 systems within the game do.

Feels a bit like Pathfinder 2e with less d20 to me. But best of luck with your enterprise.

So, its an inventing a wheel. Its just EZD6 system. Just play it, lol.

I love how this system gives the players more ways to react

EPIC, seriously I think this is one of the freshest and newest idea I've seen in a loooong time. Wow gonna tweak some little things for my table but wow. Incredible

im stealing these

Good Stuff! Electric Bastionland and its related RPG Into the Odd roll damage straight up as well. You should check those systems out. Very well known in the indie rpg scene.

You mentioned how as a reaction you can reduce damage by AC - 8 With that in mind, to reduce the math done on the spot, could a player just reduce their AC by 8 on their character sheet? Is the original AC needed for anything with these alternate rules? Thank-you for your time.

I'd love to take inspiration from this system for a simple OSR system I'm writing. Would you allow me to do so?

The editing and pacing on this is beautiful. Love the ideas too, keep up the awesome work!

This man is C O O K I N G

This looks like Dc20

Looks dope

While i like the idea, i feel like it personally doesn't solve the main issues with any DnD game I've run or played in. The adding of numbers and rolling for hit and damage separately aren't the major slow down factor. Its the wealth of options. "Do i run over here to get the high ground, what spell do i pick, would this random bag of beans help me out in this situation?" This is basically rolling to hit and damage at the same time

This sounds interesting. Reminds me to Pathfinder 2 but easier! You might just gave me an excuse to use all my D&D materials again

This would work great if everyone is on board with it. I wouldn't force any group into it, though, as it negates so many game rules that players may have built their characters around. If AC has no meaning, a tank is just a character with high HP, and there's no point using a shield. Want to play a tank and get a mechanical benefit for your choice to use a shield? Sorry, no can do. If there's no accuracy, Str and Dex become very attractive dump stats for all characters.

3 "action points".... PF2, I see what you're doing....

Other systems have done this. Just look at Savage Worlds or Pathfinder 2. I never understood changing 5th edition. Or any edition for that matter. I really only make changes if the players bring something up.

does monster armour have any impact on chance to hit and/or dmg done?

So a fighter with 16 Str carrying a greatsword is more likely to hit his enemy than the rogue with 20 dex wielding a dagger. It still tilts the balance towards bigger weapons. Even more when you gain skills that increase your chances to hit a crit. PD: I also love pathfinder, but me and my group are more used to DND 5e

I think this might be a good way to introduce the game to new players or something like that however 1.) having players all go at the start punished them because multiple enemies in a row having turns allows them to do a lot more before player reaction 2.) quieter players will always be last in combat 3.) the AP system and quickened hit rolls would majorly favor some classes over others. Again cool way to play a more loosely goosey game but it would be really imbalanced and most likely leave some players feeling like background decoration for their main character party member that does everything