Pulled aside from this thread. I've quoted the relevant bits, so you needn't find them.
One rule I've long wanted to implement (but haven't had the chance to do so) is pre-planned rounds. Theoretically, it'd work like this:
Everyone rolls initiative. We start at the bottom of the initiative order and go up. On your initiative count, you may choose to take a move action or begin a full-round action. If you choose to take a full attack with your full-round action, you make your first attack at this time. This rewards those with higher initiative counts because it allows them to move more tactically (effectively getting to survey the battlefield and react to it).
After everyone has done this, we start at the top and do down. You may now take a standard action (or a second move action) or finish your full-round action. If you began a full attack in the first half of the round and you no longer have any valid targets, you must take a move action at this point or simply choose to forgo your remaining attacks.
You may take swift and free actions whenever you'd like.
Special cases:
Charges are allowed to be non-linear, as they are spit over two actions. Effectively they are move-move-single attack, but the rules on moving through difficult terrain and allies' squares remains. Also, both moves must be directly at the intended target, and may not circumvent obstacles.
Special actions that provide bonuses/penalties on a full attack must be declared at the beginning of your first action. If you wish to gain additional attacks from flurry of blows, two weapon fighting, rapid shot, etc. you take any associated penalties on that first attack, even if the rest of the full attack cannot be completed.
Splitting a full-round action over two rounds is basically disallowed unless you are limited to only a move or standard action on your turn (such as being staggered). It's not a thing I've really ever seen anyone do anyway, but it is even more cumbersome under this system.NOTE: this houserule would probably not be in place for high level games, where combat is already really slow. We don't play much past level 10 anyway.
Actually, I can see that /helping/ in high level play, since many people get locked into actions long before they need to resolve them.
The real tactical thinking only happens for the init winner. Very interesting idea indeed.
Grimm had a system much like what you're describing, Mauril. The slowest characters declare actions first, then faster characters, THEN everything resolves.
The Streetfighter RPG (yes, there is something like that) had a system where every action had an init modifier and the slowest would go first with their action but everyone who had a higher init could alwasy chose to act "now". So the quicker could chose if they wanted to go first or not.
And if you were hit hard enough in combat you could lose your action.
So chosing to make a very strong, high damage but low init action was dangerous.
But high init actions often were too weak to interrupt other actions.
As the rest of the rules was rather similar to Vampire and Werewolf I guess that Streetfighter was from white wolf, too.
Anyway, can we maybe work on refining this a bit more? I really like this as a concept, but I know that right now it is too simplistic to cover corner cases.
Problems I'm already seeing:
The middle initiate loses out after the first round. With the way that rounds double back on themselves, the guy at the bottom of the order and the top of the order are basically the same after the first round. The "no splitting full-round actions" somewhat mitigates this, but tactically it's very similar. I'd like to find a simple and elegant solution to this that doesn't reward getting a low initiative roll.
Other full round actions that involve movement and attacks. I've sort of covered charging, but what about ride-by attack, flyby attack, spring attack and others like that? Should it work the same? Basically allow partial movement in the move phase, then the attack and the rest of the movement on the standard phase.
As a caster, sometimes I want to cast then move (because of ranges or the like). Currently you basically have to choose to move in the move phase or forfeit any movement. Should there be an option to delay movement until the standard phase, but at some sort of limitation? Say "delaying movement only allows you to move half your speed" or something? This still allows for some post-action movement, but encourages movement in the move phase. Delayed movement would be different from downgrading a standard to a move action.
Monks at level 5 and beyond have little reason to not declare a flurry on the beginning of their turn, if they have an opponent in range, even if they only want to make a single attack and then run away. At level 5, the normal BAB of a monk and his flurry attack bonus equal; at level 7 the flurry AB surpasses his normal BAB. Unless he's wanting to do a specific "standard action only" attack, it's better for him to just flurry. Mind you, I don't find this a huge problem (I would be fine with monks just having full BAB but that's outside the scope of this houserule) but it's something that might need to be addressed.
Manyshot runs into the same issue. Why wouldn't an archer declare a full attack to get the extra arrow in the first round? I mean, archers are usually getting full attacks anyway, so it probably won't be an issue that will come up often, but it just seems like something that would need to be addressed. Maybe something added to Manyshot like "the additional damage from the second arrow is dealt during the 'standard phase' and only if the archer continues the full attack"?
I'm sure there are other things, but those are just the ones I thought of this morning.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Well, I don't want to completely invalidate someone's round if I can avoid it. That seems a pretty solid way to get this houserule vetoed by my group. I just want to reward a high initiative and encourage more tactical movement.