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Somebody brought this idea up back in Alpha1 and I wanted to give it another try.
Basically, all characters would have the ability to alter their combat stats a little based on their "stance," and some characters could use feats to alter them a lot. Other than adding a little flexibility to combat, this would also try to bring all the Power Attack/Combat Expertise type feats together into one system.
First of all, I see there being four elements to combat: movement, accuracy of attack, damage, and self defense. I see these as falling along two axes: movement vs. accuracy (the more you move, the less accurate your attack is going to be, and the less you move, the more you can focus on accuracy) and damage vs. self defense (you can do more damage if you stop worrying about protecting yourself and just hack away, or you can protect yourself and take more timid shots).
The four elements would become four stances, three offensive and one defensive: a Mobility Stand, a Steady Stance, an Aggressive Stance, and a Defensive Stance.
Based on the two axes above, while in a Mobility Stance a character could gain an additional 5' step at any point in their turn by taking a -1 penalty on attacks, representing sloppy, rushed strikes. Similarly, while in a Steady Stance a character could gain +1 on attacks by giving up their 5' step, representing careful aim. While in an Aggressive Stance a character could gain +1 damage by taking -1 AC, representing the reckless abandon in an attempt to do more damage. And finally, in a Defensive Stance, the character could gain +1 AC by taking a -1 penalty to damage, representing tentative strikes while defending oneself. There would also be a fifth Neutral Stance with no adjustments.
Later, by taking feats, characters could adjust their stats by more than 1. With Improved Aggressive Stance a character could take an AC penalty as high as BAB in exchange for an equal bonus to damage. With Improved Defensive Stance a character could take a damage penalty as high as BAB in exchange for an equal bonus to AC. With Improved Mobility Stance a character could take the 2nd 5' step for free and a 3rd 5' step for a penalty of 1/2 BAB. And with Improved Steady Stance a character could give up their 5' step in exchange for a bonus to attack equal to 1/2 BAB.
Then, with Greater Aggressive Stance a character could get +2 damage for each -1 AC, and with Greater Defensive Stance a character could get +2 AC for each -1 damage. With Greater Mobility Stance a character could take a 3rd 5' step for a penalty of 1/3 BAB, or a 4th 5' step for 1/2 BAB. And with Greater Steady Stance a character could give up their 5' step in exchange for a bonus to attack equal to 2/3 BAB.
Note: A lot of these number, especially for the Greater feats, are just place holders and meant to indicate how the feats could work more than anything else. If folks like this idea, we can figure out the exact numbers later. Also, I know they get pretty strong. To a certain extent, this could be controlled by setting pre-req's for each feat at higher ability scores (Wis 13 for Greater Steady, Dex 13 for Greater Mobility), higher skill ranks (Concentration 10 for Greater Steady, Acrobatics 10 for Greater Mobility), or just higher BABs.
One other thing. You could shift bonus and penalties within a stance each turn with no limits. But you cannot shift between stances quite as easily. Imagine the four stances are laid out on a circle: Aggressive > Mobility > Defensive > Steady > Aggressive. You can switch stances just fine in that order, or by going backwards around the circle. What you cannot do is cut across the middle (Aggressive <> Defensive, Mobility <> Steady) without stopping in the middle and taking a Neutral Stance for at least 1 round.
Okay, here's on other fun thing I thought of. I've seen people use die to keep track of the number of spells they have left or the number of turns an effect has left. If Pathfinder were to adopt the idea of Combat Stances, one could create a d6 with the different Combat Stances on each face. Aggressive/Defensive and Mobility/Steady would be on opposite faces, and Neutral would border them all. Not only would you use the die to remember which stance you were in, only being able to roll it one tip (one side goes to bottom) would tell you which stance changes were legal. On the 6th side, opposite Neutral, you could either put a Pathfinder logo or something else, like Prone. This is either really lame or brilliant. This little Combat Stance die could become one of Pathfinder's signature items. Can't play Pathfinder without the combat stance die. Go buy a bunch!
Anyway ...
Questions-
1) Some of the mechanics would need to be worked out and balanced (like Improved Mobility and Improved Steady), but is this even an interesting idea to anyone?
2) What feats could be incorporated/rendered obsolete by such a system?
Other thoughts/opinions absolutely welcome.
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This is basically what Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play lets you do in combat -- every character (regardless of their career and training) may at least *try* 'Defensive Stance' or 'Aim' or 'All-Out Attack'. It works pretty well and has eliminated the need for any such Feats/Talents like 'Reckless Attack' or 'Dodge' or 'Careful Attack'. They are all simply tactical option available to everyone, and some characters are just better in them due to their training/career.
I like this. It would probably be too large a change for the compatibility of the Pathfinder RPG with normal 3.5E, but nonetheless, the idea is definitely interesting.
I was one of the posters that day, I think.
My proposal was:
Agressive Stance: + to-hit / - AC
Defensive Stance: + AC / - to-hit
Fast Stance: + to-hit / - damage
Power Stance: + damage / - to-hit