I like your suggestions, mostly because I am fond of special attacks and grappling.
It might be simpler to allow characters -- without pulling out combat maneuverer rules -- to move in to share a square with an enemy, causing both of them to be subject to the "squeezing" rules.
Then one could have a feat that allows a character to share a square, and not suffer the penalty for squeezing. That would allow the person to freely attack at full advantage while disadvantaging her/his adversary to the tune of -4.
A follow-up feat might be to allow the person to take an AoO on a character that does a five-foot-step out of the squeeze.
Perhaps if someone had both the close-fighting feat and improved grapple, they could be eligible for a feat that lets them ignore the -4 penalty for grappling without both hands free, and which doubles the damage that they can do with a light or off-hand weapon during a grapple.
Uriel393 wrote:
So, something that has bugged me about many RPGs is the lack rules for closing on an opponent, to a distance where their longsword, their great axe, their flail is not effective. Real World fighters both in the past, as well as the present carry secondary weapons (Indeed, the Romans made a point <No Pun intended> of their primary weapon, the Gladius, capitalizing on this tactic) to exploit such close distances. Why does your fighter bother to carry a dagger? Why would someone choose a short sword over a longsword in D&D? (To DM) What do you mean there's not enough room to swing my Greatsword in the tunnel!?!
Her are some rules/options that I am going to try out in my Kingmaker game.
Please feel free to comment, discuss, help out if something looks imbalanced, or even try with your fellow gamers.
Combat Maneuver- Close.
When withing 5 feet of an enemy, and wielding a weapon designated as a 'close' weapon, as a Move action (Considered the combatant's 5 foot step), the combatant may Close with the enemy.This requires a CMB vs. the enemy's CMD. Weapons without the 'close' designation are -2 to hit in these circumstances. Failure to beat th CMD provokes an Attack of Opportunity (Without the penalty for fighting close).
Breaking the Close condition is a Move action (Also part of a 5 foot step or a normal Move, as the combatant chooses) requiring a CMB check vs. the opponent's CMD.Breaking the Close condition does not provoke an Attack of Opportunity.
Example:
Krogar the Wily is facing off against a Bugbear, wielding a Flail,and they are currently 5 feet apart. Krogar (Declaring his Full Attack) uses Close,
(Rolls a total of 23, vs. the Bugbears 19, thus Closing) and now may utilize his short sword at no penalty, while the Bugbear fights with a -2 penalty to his attacks. Should the Bugbear wish to break the Close condition, it will require him to break Krogaar's CMD.
Confined Spaces- Terrain (Sort of)
Fighting anywhere that does not allow full movement (A tight tunnel, etc...) gives a -2...
