u/JakeBit

Hey friends,

I've been searching online to see if anyone has created a system for auto-resolving combats in DnD 5e2014, but I couldn't find any - so as they say, if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself!

Intention

I hope to work with experienced DMs like you to figure out how to best make a system that would allow a party to determine what resources and hitpoints they'd lose from a combat they might not want to go through the motions of fighting. I intend to write a system for my own home use, but I am just one guy, and I'd love to hear more perspectives and ideas from other DM's own games.

Disclaimer: This is a post about workshopping an Auto-Resolve Combat system - not a post about whether or not that is a good or even necessary system to have. If you read this far and feel like such a system is unnecessary, don't write a comment about it. That fact that you might find it useless won't help us write the system, and it won't deter me from trying to write it. However, if you have legitimate critiques or points for the workshopping of this system, go ahead.

Reasoning

There's this joke in RPG fandom that the greatest monster in all of tabletop roleplaying is the group's calendar, and as I approach thirty, that's more true than ever. People are busy, there's jobs to do and children to raise - so for me, as a diehard RPG fan of almost twenty years, I want the time that me and my friends have together to be as interesting and efficient as possible.

DnD as a core system has issues with how the time spent with it doesn't always measure up to the enjoyment you get out of the effort spent, but that's a discussion for another time - what I have spotted that my players and me frequently stumble upon, is the fact that, as a game of resource management and drainage, DnD is quite taxing to play.

The mechanical side of DnD is exciting in the minutia of managing hitpoints, hit dice, magic items, spell slots and exhaustion, and they are drained by combat - this comes partially from the game's origin as a wargame. This is fun, but as time has gone by, DnD has shifted focus to become a game of swashbuckling adventure, cinematic combat and emotional narratives in campy settings.

In modern DnD, I imagine DnD scenes like actual TV-show scenes - and that means that the players and DM alike are the editors and writers of their little story. We get excited about when Bard kisses their love interest and linger on that moment for ages, while the otherwise boring (but mechanically more interesting) journey through the desert is punctuated with a short narration that might span weeks of in-game time.

This does not translate to combat. DnD combat is almost a seperate, frequently deep and tactical system that essentially has the mechanical function of draining resources for the player characters - but that's as true for a three-phase boss battle with the Elder Dragon as it is with the three overzealous Goblins that mistakenly ambush them on their way home. In a TV-show, we'd enter that scene by seeing three Goblins on the ground while the characters brush a little dust of their shoulders from the combat that we, as viewers, didn't need to see.

This long pre-ample is all to say that I think an Auto-Resolve system for DnD 5e2014 could be quite useful; even necessary to keep the pressure of the mechanics up while maintaining the momentum of the story.

I've constructed a few strawmen arguments here, just in case:

• "If a combat is uninteresting, why have it in the first place?": I usually remove combats I don't find interesting already, but there are two reasons why: 1) As I wrote, DnD is a game of longterm resource management. The tension of that game is removed when a party can have one, maybe two difficult encounters between each Long Rest each day. The smaller, less important combats are there to drain those resources - and 2) Not every combat should be Auto-Resolved right away. Many combats are decided in the middle, when the big threat is handled, and the party just wants to "mop up" the rest without resorting to taking several turns of slashing and firebolting to do it.
• "Can't you just eyeball it with your party?": Absolutely, and I have, but I think having an organized way of doing it - with actual rules the players can study to determine if they like their chances - empowers to players rather than giving the DM the final say.
• "With this much homebrewing, wouldn't it be better to find a different game?": Absolutely. Lets move on.

Basis

If you ask me, this system should contain a few things:

• Simple: The rules should be very simple and easy to implement. No reason to complicate something that is supposed to save time.
• Require consensus: The DM and players should always agree when to use it. It cannot and should not be forced by either side.
• Take Classes into account: Like the write-up I make below, I think its easiest to make this system if it takes each class into account - it would be monumentally unfair for the Barbarian and the Wizard of the party to take an equal amount of damage, for example.
• Should be usable in the middle of combat: The real power of this system should be that it should be able to end a combat the exact moment the player's excitement peaks, rather than fizzle out as they mop up the stragglers.

So, with that in mind, here's a...

First Draft

This draft contains straightforward rules, as well as an example of what a Combat Outcome table for a Fighter might look like.

Combat Auto-Resolve

At any point from when an Initiative roll is called until the characters exit Initiative count, a player and/or the DM can call an "Auto-Resolve". If the entire table agrees to this, all creatures immediately exits Initiative count, and all enemies are effectively defeated (either unconcious, dead, fleeing or what else feels most natural the situation), and each character must make a "Combat Outcome" Roll on their respective Combat Outcome Table.

When you roll on the Combat Outcome table, your character immediately suffers the results of the roll, as if it was caused during the auto-resolved combat. Any effect rolled is final, regardless of any special abilities of the characters, enemies or otherwise in play. The roll cannot be modified, except by spending Heroic Inspiration (which allows for a reroll of one die) or an ability that allows a player to reroll any die (such as the Lucky feat).

Once an "Auto-Resolve" is called, follow this instruction:

1. The DM determines the Combat Outcome dice pool by consulting the Auto-Resolve Table. The dice are placed within view of all players.
2. Each player takes the amount of Combat Outcome dice they wish to roll. Each player must roll at least one dice. If there aren't enough dice for everyone to have at least one, ignore this rule and proceed as normal.
3. Each player rolls their Combat Outcome dice and consults their Combat Outcome Table. Each die is counted as a separate result.
4. The players implement the result of their roll.

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Auto-Resolve Table

CR (Counted for each individual enemy)	Combat Outcome Dice
1/8	1d4
1/4	1d4
1/2	1d6
1	2d4
2	1d4, 2d6
3	2d4, 2d6
4	4d6
... etc...	... etc ...

(The die-types will increase as the CR goes up, with leads to more dramatic outcomes, as seen below)

Combat Outcome Table (Fighter)

Result on Combat Outcome Die	Result
1	1d4 damage.
2	1d6 damage.
3	1d4 damage, loss of 1d4 arrows, bolts or similar ammunition.
4	2d6 damage.
5	1d12 damage.
6	1d12 damage, 1 "Action Surge"/Magic Item/Class Feature charge spent.
... etc ...	... etc ...

(As with the Auto-Resolve Table, the results on the die will become more dire the larger the result is. It will also drain more of the Class' unique features, such as Inspiration, Spell Slots, Ki point etc.)

Example

My character, the Level 3 Dwarf Fighter "Brokrem Stoneseeker", has encountered two famished wolves on his journey. Easy enough to take down, but the DM doesn't wanna fiddle with a five minute battle, and neither does Brokrem. They call an Auto-Resolve.

1. Following the Auto-Resolve Table, the DM finds the right die for each enemy. The two Wolves are both CR 1/4, so he takes 2d4 and places them in front of Brokrem.
2. As the only player present, Brokrem takes the two Combat Outcome dice. Had he had a friend with him, he could've given the friend one d4 and taken the other himself.
3. He rolls the 2d4, getting a 2 and 4.
4. Looking at his Combat Outcome, that means he takes 1d6 damage and 2d6 damage - ouch! He rolls the damage, and gets a 3 on all three. Brokrem takes the 9 damage, and the battle is over - with a few wolves' teeth imbedded in his shield as a trophy!

-

... And that's as far as I've gotten. What do you guys think? How would you implement higher CR creatures, and how should a Combat Outcome Table look to be somewhat fair to the DM and the players?

I hope you'll join me in workshopping this system, because lord knows it's one we could really use at our table :D