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So, I've run into an issue multiple times GMing. Here's the setup, as pictured in my head:
The PCs race up the tower, being pelted by attacks from screaming ghosts and a young dragon. At the top of the tower is a group of dangerous casters and archers raining pain down on the group. The Party desperately scrambles up the tower, only taking maybe the occasional standard action to fire off a spell or pot shot at their attackers; desperate to get off the narrow sloping stairs, they move as a group so as to not leave anyone open or behind.
What happens in-game:
The round of combat starts out looking good, until the first PC to go springs forward. She's running, right? That's exactly what's happening? Well, on the game board, she just lept out in front of everyone by ~30 feet, and now the entire team of archers at the top can take pot shots at the exposed hero. Then eventually the group, ONE BY ONE, catch up with the blasted hero, and begin to cycle the process all over again.
This severly breaks the suspension of disbelief for me and many of my players, as the turn-based system completely betrays a scenario where staying together is key.
Taking a readied action to immediately run with someone else would be an utter waste of everyone's standard actions (as well as waste the Move action for everyone but one person.)
Has anyone developed a system for a sort of "Group Move Action"? A way for all the PCs to run alongside/behind each other at once instead of awkwardly exposing random party members who are at the beginning/end of initiative?
I propose that if the group can agree on a certain action/timing, they can do it at once without having to bend the Initiative/Hold Action/Turn.
I'm just curious if anyoen has come up with any more creative solutions to this problem.
Sounds like a good time to not be using normal initiative.
Until the party reaches the top of the tower, as in this example, just do the party as a whole, and the enemies as a whole, in sequence. Only use readied actions if the party is moving from cover to cover.
So in essence, what happens is this:
The party begins climbing the tower, and comes under attack. Each enemy gets an attack off. Randomly target these, probably focusing those from above on the first one or two party members. Once those attacks have been resolved, the party proceeds up the stairs as far as they can in one round of movement. If some of them want to move slower to fire off some attack, let them; they'll just be in the dangerous position longer. Now handle all the enemy attacks again, then players.
Once the players reach the top of the tower, have them roll initiative.
In a lot of ways, until the party reaches the top and can engage normally, they're effectively facing a bunch of auto-resetting traps.