You have it almost right, Rizzen, The thing that slipped is that, unless he has a special rule that supercedes the general rule, your BBEG cannot attempt to dodge more than one. single. attack. per round.
And unless there is a special rule in place for him that supercedes the general rule, the BBEG cannot attempt to parry ranged attacks.
It does not matter how many actions a character has. You can only attemps one. single. dodge. per round.
Well .. you would be able to see all the attacks that Rizzen would make for a battle round at once .. so ..
I was not saying he would make a post for a single npc and then wait for the player to respond. I was saying that, since he is working the initiative in Player and NPC blocks, he would do ALL the rolls for ALL of the NPCs .. then we would do ALL the rolls for our PCs.
I am not sure how you would not know your best response when you can see everything at once....
A dodge can be used against any attack, but you can only parry melee attacks unless either a) you have a feature that says you can parry ranged attacks, or b) the ranged attack says you can parry it.
Also, ranged attacks are usually more dangerous, so if someone shoots at you with an MD rifle, save your dodge for that one.
So I have a possible suggestion. Since you have been talking about using block intiative (PCs all go, then NPCs all go), you can do block actions as well.
So you describe NPC actions, declare attacks, and make rolls.
Then the players declare dodges, parries, etc, make rolls, post their own attacks and actions, and make their rolls for that.
Then you make rolls for the NPC dodges and parries, describe combat narrative, new NPC actions and attack rolls.
Trace deftly steps aside from the first attack and smacks the second out wide, but all his effort leave him exposed and the third strike opens a narrow gash in his shoulder.
Undaunted, he retaliates with a flurry of slashes, his vibro-claw humming.
Sorry for being a ghost lately. This is not showing up in my games yet. I am gonna dot the gameplay page so it does.
I am pretty sure that the way you are discussing handling the pre-rolled dodge roll is not going to result in correct play.
The juicer has a feature called auto-dodge because they can freely dodge any and all attacks they are aware of. Most people can only attempt to dodge a single attack. I may be mistaken, so I will reach out to my Rifts guru to get a clarification.
Trace smiles at Zimm and bows slightly, "Welcome to Sandpoint. My name is Trace. And the bubbly pies are positively the best thing about these festivals."
Trace smiles at his friend, happy to have brightened her day a bit. Then her earlier question registers and he grins with real enthusiasm, patting the disk hanging at his waist, "This thing is amazing, Yu'lak! I went hunting with it yesterday and even though my aim was totally off for some reason, it came back to my hand every time! Thanks again!"
Avanoa le Gataifale wrote:
Avanoa raises an eyebrow at Trace. "Are you trying to bribe an officer of the law in the execution of her duties, citizen?" A twitch of her facial muscles hints at a barely suppressed smile, so Trace can tell that she's just joking. Probably.
She takes the pie from the vendor, careful to not burn her fingers on the hot pastry shell. "I hope you didn't put anything weird in it, Trace. I know you love your pranks, but not everyone finds them amusing. One of these days, someone will get real angry with you and tan your hide until you're purple all over. And that, if you're lucky." She keeps her tone light, but her words sound almost resigned, as if this is a conversation they've had many times before and she knows all too well the lack of effect it has on Trace.
Nodding at Yu'lak, Avanoa asks the crafter: "And what project are you working on these days? This festival is drawing people from all over, have you made any good sales?"
Completely missing the hint of her smile, Trace frowns, "Aww, c'mon Avanoa, I'm just tryin' to be nice."
When she takes the pie he smiles broadly, "Me? Just a little feller like me? When would I have had time to do that?" But his face takes on a more serious cast, "No pranks today Avanoa. I think the Mayor might actually exile me from the town if I messed today up for him at all."
Trace wandered through the crowds, a smile on his face. It was a good day, and everyone was in a good mood. Old Man Sark had even greeted him pleasantly. It was nice to have people smiling at him instead of looking at him suspiciously.
Sure, he had pulled a few pranks. Some of them had even gotten out of hand. He had to stifle a chuckle at the memory of dying Old Man Sarks prize hens a virulent green. But no one aside from himself had gotten hurt, so he wasn't sure why everyone was so grumpy with him. Enough! It is a festival, Trace me-boy, and you are going to have fun.
Shaking off the melancholy memories, he nodded to Avanoa as he passed her near the bubbly pie seller. Pausing to buy a bubbly pie, he wandered on, relaxing in the celebratory atmosphere.
So, unless there is an objection, my connections so far are as follows:
Yu'Lak crafted a shock ring for Trace for which Trace is very grateful.
Trace saved the child of a local noble from a fire, and she is very grateful. However, as grateful as she is, she is running out of patience with constantly having to smooth over ruffled feathers for the mischief Trace gets into.
Avanoa talked to Trace while he was cooling his heels in jail one night, advising him to do something helpful to the community of Sandpoint since he had been pissing a lot of people off. She suggested.
When Elbow and Trace fight together in melee, they both gain +1 Speed defense, and Elbow finds his movements easier and lighter as gravity weighs on him less.
For the armor item, I assume we are only allowed Regular items?
For the item from Yu'lak, If the GM will allow, I will take a shock ring. If not, I will take a metalweave vest.
Connections:
I have connections for being a Jack, for being graceful, and for controlling gravity.
Graceful - One of the other PCs convinced you that joining the group would be in your best interest.
This would work well with Avanoa. Being a member of the local guard, she could have had some interaction with Trace when he spent a night in the jail for climbing yet another thing he should not be climbing.
Jack - You once saved the child of a local noble from a fire, and she is very grateful.
As grateful as she is, she is running out of patience with constantly having to smooth over ruffled feathers for the mischief Trace gets into.
Controls Gravity - Pick one other PC whose focus intertwines with yours. This odd connection affects her in some way. For example, if the character Carries a Quiver, then your ability to manipulate gravity sometimes extends the range of her arrows. If she Entertains, her jumps, dances, and juggling balls seem less bound by the laws of gravity. If she Masters Weaponry, her weapons sometimes feel lighter.
I am not sure who would work well with this one...
After seeming to hesitate for a moment, Trace speaks into the silence around the three at the bar, "I do not understand your logic, Don. Why do you say that to live you must become morally dirty?"
Picking up his dishes, Trace walks over to the bar. Setting the dishes off to one side, he slides the mug to the barkeep with the requisite two copper coins, "Another, please."
