New round structure - OPTION B - we'd like your feedback!

Ankha wrote:

So, if the acting player plays Aid from Bats as their first card, the opponent can't play Immortal Grapple because it's too late?

player should play IG at prelude step (combat range is close by default).

If he does not for some reason, than yes, it will be too late after strike declaration of his opponent.

Some additional clarification - I'm fine with "beating" in such a way, even think it will be positive development for a balance of combat disciplines.

If it's a problem, than Aid from Bats can be reworded into "Before range" (Prelude) card, giving initial range long, press and 1R default strike. As it's a default strike it's not declared, so player can play maneuver + IG to beat it to have nearly present balance. Nearly, obviously, because than something else will change, so as I've said, here we should aim for a continuous project

LivesByProxy wrote:

Also, while some such as myself may want combat to be more open ended with less steps, the majority of VTES players here would lose their mind if your suggestions were adopted, even if they aren't that wild in theory.

Actually 95% of combat situations in terms of cards played and things happening will be totally the same.

Most of the discrepancies will be connected with IG, because we are dropping "informal grapple step".

Logic behind it will be different, obviously, but I think it will be actually return to sanity for a VtES players

I'm really starting to lean on this option, in some form or another. Today we once again had two relatively new players (the other having played 10+ games, the other on her 4th or so). They were having fun in combat ( vs ), and it felt really bad when we just kinda had to stop them playing cards just to say that "you have to actually use that press on that Grapple before you taste..." instead of just letting them play their stuff.

It would save games some minutes (always good) as well as some nit-picking (always good).

The same more or less applies to the approach step. The newest player got a hang of the Grapple phase just fine, but I couldn't help but wonder if the whole thing were better if all of that was just mashed together.

Now, we'd need to figure out what to do with end-of-round cards and S:CE if the end phase was merged with presses, but that could be sorted out.

Just kinda wanted to bump this. We're getting more players and streamlining seems like the way to go. I really don't want to demo the game anymore with the phrase, that "okay, now you got everything, but combat is actually pretty complicated...". Which it is, as you have to traverse all those phases with nothing played in them.