Topic: As the GM

[Hurin]

I'm sorely tempted to ditch RMC and go with RMU, but I heard the current playtest files are in desperate need of being updated.

Do you have a link to an alternate rule set dealing with combat phases/sequences that I can port over to RMC?

The beta rules are a bit out of date, but the basic concept is still there, so I think it is still helpful to start with the latest beta rules. Also, perhaps JDale can give an update/summary/preview?

The most important change IMHO is the option of 'Faster Rounds', so I am hoping that JDale can give us a preview of that text box from the more recent beta files. Perhaps an updated list of AP costs would help too (or has already been released on the forums?).

In any case, the simplest system of 'faster rounds' is what we've called colloquially the 'Simple Round'. Instead of there being multiple Action Phases, characters just take turns taking all their actions for the round, one character after another. Each character has 4 Action Points and one Instantaneous Action to spend each turn. (This is similar to the Pathfinder 2e 'three action and a reaction' system, and not that much different from the DnD 5e system either). Every action has a specific cost. Characters just pay the cost and take all their actions when it is their turn. There are no phases for different types of actions in the Simple Round (or I guess you could say there is just one single phase for all actions), and there are no declarations. You just spend your points and take your action(s) when it is your turn.

RMU makes this possible because it treats all actions according to the same rules -- spells don't always go first, for example, and melee is not resolved differently than spells (in the RM2 phased system, for example, spells were resolved first and simultaneously but melee was resolved afterwards and sequentially; but in RMU, all the actions follow the same rules).

In practice (and I've used this new system for multiple groups for a decade now), I have found players pick this system up extremely quickly, especially if they have ever played DnD or Pathfinder.

If you want to simplify movement as well, you can do away with the pace chart entirely, and just have players pay Action Points for movement as well (this is an optional rule in the core RMU books).

So, for the absolute fastest and simplest system: give each character 4 Action Points and an Instantaneous Action to spend each turn; have them consult the Action Points cost chart to allow them to buy/take their actions each turn; and have them take their actions one after another, using the 'faster turns' and pay Action Points for movement optional rules.

I have my own houseruled list of Action Point costs that I would be happy to email you if you PM me about it, but you might want to go with the RAW first so that you can maintain compatibility.

[MisterK]

About phased combat sequence : one of the most innovative uses of movement phase I've ever seen in a RPG is the one used in Agôn. I can only advise people who want to see a different take on movement to have a look at it. Seriously. Even if you don't use it, or even don't like it, this is the kind of mechanism that really makes you think outside the usual box.

[I won't describe it here - i would have to paraphrase or copy/paste text to explain it and it would probably breach a number of copyrights]

[Vladimir]

#2, cell phones go into the middle of the table.  Anyone grabbing for one pays for pizza/snacks/drinks that session…after a few sessions, no cell phones will be in use!

  Ten years ago I would have agreed 100%. One of our players, out of similar courtesy left his phone in his car. His father died in a fire in his home while my friend was gaming. He had messages from his father who was trapped in a room above a burning garage. Would the cell phone made a difference? Maybe, maybe not...but my friend has to live with it. 
  Most of my friends know enough to screen calls while we are gaming and politely inform callers that a call will be returned. I never deny a phone with anybody with children or older parents because you never know.

  I agree with pretty much everything else you listed. Organization skills make a GM's job much easier and the more you play, the more you learn to tweak your organization. My group would hold an after action debriefing at a local restaurant and discuss the evening's gaming over coffee. The sessions were open discussions from how the GM could improve the flow of the game to questions among players like, "What were you thinking?"
  I found these discussions very constructive as we'd break down scenarios and how players dealt with them, offering suggestions to improve tactics and alternate solutions to challenges posed by scenarios.

  On the issue of combat sequencing, I have played more than enough games to know that some games execute combat poorly and that you'll never please all your players, no matter what method you adopt.
  My group homeruled a combat sequence based on a simplified version the action point method, which assigned complexity levels to every possible action from walking to piloting a craft and letting players choose their actions. All actions began at the same time with the least complex going first. Looking at a group of people was simpler than looking at a group of people and specifically targeting one. Simple Actions, Actions and Complex Actions were given  respective cost of 1, 2 and 3 points with an average person having 4 points to allocate, so up to 4 Simple Actions, 2 Actions or 1 Complex Action plus a Simple Action per round...until you stopped using rounds and just counted Action Point expenditure, then one round would simply blend into the next round until actions stopped.

[Majyk]

Oh man, that is tragic but a very good point due to our aging demographic…sorry to even imagine, let-alone hear.

#2, cell phones go into the middle of the table.  Anyone grabbing for one pays for pizza/snacks/drinks that session…after a few sessions, no cell phones will be in use!

  Would the cell phone made a difference? Maybe, maybe not...but my friend has to live with it. 
  Most of my friends know enough to screen calls while we are gaming and politely inform callers that a call will be returned. I never deny a phone with anybody with children or older parents because you never know.

===

I always love this.
When streaming, I try to leave the “after gaming” talk live for as long as it’s safe/PC to do so!  So much learning after a session, for sure.
Highly recommend this, also.

#3,  My group would hold an after action debriefing at a local restaurant and discuss the evening's gaming over coffee. The sessions were open discussions from how the GM could improve the flow of the game to questions among players like, "What were you thinking?"
  I found these discussions very constructive as we'd break down scenarios and how players dealt with them, offering suggestions to improve tactics and alternate solutions to challenges posed by scenarios.

===

I always liked a flowing round, too, and used CEATS and then the actual Second-by-Second round with actions mapped out depending upon Creature code speeds from C&T.  Definitely a crunchier layer, however, but easy math with Weapon Speeds baked in.

Wanna stab with a dagger vs a Two-Handed No-Dachi?  You can get in 3 attacks before they do, now!

#4, ...until you stopped using rounds and just counted Action Point expenditure, then one round would simply blend into the next round until actions stopped.