I have only just seen this thread and may be able to help. I am new to paizo but not to pbp; been playing via pbp since 2006. While DMing I created a mapping and combat resolver system which greatly improved both character roleplay of combats (especially since D&D/PF is combat centric) while reducing the amount of work required by GMs. I am a programmer by trade and created a website where players logged in to resolve their character's combat. The system was a little clunky but the advantage was well worth it. I have been thinking recently of rejuvenating this system to be made available for all Paizo games. Here's the general workflow process:
1) GM loads the relevant information into the system at xyz.com. This information includes name, hit points & AC at a minimum. Eg: Goblin 1, 7, 13
2) Butch (the fighter) rolls his attack roll using the paizo die roller and receives a 14.
3) Butch logs onto xyz.com, selects 'Goblin 1' as his target and enters 14 as the roll.
4) xyz.com informs Butch that he has hit.
5) Butch rolls his damage via the paizo die roller and receives a 6.
6) Butch enters that damage into xyz.com
7) xyz.com informs Butch that Goblin 1 still lives. (If he had rolled an 8 Butch would have been informed that Goblin 1 was down.)
8) xyz.com removes the damage from Goblin 1's hit points.
9) Since Butch knows that he hit and did damage he can now fill out the gory details of how his maul smashes the goblin in the chest and now the little fellow buckles at the knees, wheezes for breath and looks for the nearest exit.
The mapper allowed players to move their own characters and identify which target(s) were in range.
There's the mechanics to improve combat resolution. Here's the other changes I made but it may not work for all games.
1) Anytime a player is realistically doing nothing except rolling die (eg: initiative, perception check) the GM makes those rolls.
2) Combat works by all players resolving their turns at once and in no specific order and then the monsters.
3) Initiative works as follows. All players roll init as normal. The monsters roll init 3 times and average. All players who have init higher than the monsters get to attack, then the monsters attack, then all characters including those who won init. Combat rounds continue as point 2.
4) Since there is no player order I forbade any combat discussion in the OOC thread. All discussion had to occur in the in-game thread and verbal instructions had to be limited to what could realistically be said in about 3 seconds. This allowed time for other characters to hear and comprehend. This whole ruling was to prevent too much strategizing happening. In a real battle I imagine there's very little time to create complex strategies.
Back to xyz.com: If there's enough interest I would be prepared to get this system back up and going again. This would be made available for all games for free. I may decide to request donations but only to the amount of the hosting cost (probably US$50/year). The reason for doing this for free is so that others can provide code to create a dynamic and useful system. The combat resolver should be able to resolve battles for any system so it is not system dependent.
I think I have covered everything. (I'm sure as soon as I click 'Submit Post' I'll think of something else.) If you would be interested in using such a system please let me know. If you have questions or other ideas again please let me know.
Interested to hear everyone's feedback.
