New Combat Action: Counter

[clash]

I thought this would make an interesting option. Kind of like a balance between an attack action and a Dodge action.

Counter:
When you take the counter action, you prepare yourself to counter an enemies attack against you. The next melee attack made against you before the start of your next turn has disadvantage provided you can see the attacker. In addition as a reaction to their attack you may make a single attack against the attacker. If you do that attack has advantage.

Let me know what you think. Too strong, too weak, broken when used with class combos.

[GalacticAxekick]

Really, I'd just write a "riposte" reaction.

"When a melee attack misses you and the attacker is within reach, you may make an opportunity attack against them with your reaction."

Counter as an action and reaction? Nah, dodge then riposte. What the riposte lacks in advantage, it gains in not costing your entire action to dodge one attack. What's more, you could riposte without dodging when you see fit (letting you attend to other priorities). Simplicity. Flexibility.

[clash]

I like having it as an action. Having it as a reaction just gives everyone an extra attack as a reaction, and messes with stuff. What if I made it only consume the action and left it as is. No reaction required.

[GalacticAxekick]

I like having it as an action. Having it as a reaction just gives everyone an extra attack as a reaction, and messes with stuff. Everyone already has opportunity attacks as a reaction. Nothing is being messed with.


What if I made it only consume the action and left it as is. No reaction required.Then it's pretty strong, at low levels. Unless you're outnumbered, a counter will offer better offense and defense than a normal attack while retaining your reaction for other uses. There's no reason not to counter whenever you're trading blows in melee.

And then at higher levels it becomes very weak. A martial classes are trading as many as 4 attacks for one counter, and spellcasters are throwing a cast away. All characters are trading a dodge (defense against multiattacks and crowfd) to avoid just one strikem

[clash]

At low levels it is balanced by the fact that you are counting on getting attacked. If you dont get attacked then straight attacking was a much better option. The higher levels and multiattack is something to consider. Dodge and attack actions both automatically are balanced against this. I'm not sure how to account for that.

[GalacticAxekick]

So what if attacking was the better option of you don't get attacked? It's not as though you're losing anything by countering. You can counter and counter and counter until the enemy decides to attack you, and if they dont, this isnt a combat encounter, is it?

[clash]

Well he may just decide to go kill your teamates, or he might just pelt you with arrows, or he might cast a spell at you. There are lots of other things that happen in a fight besides you specifically getting attacked with a melee attack

[GalacticAxekick]

Well he may just decide to go kill your teamates, or he might just pelt you with arrows, or he might cast a spell at you. There are lots of other things that happen in a fight besides you specifically getting attacked with a melee attackPresumably everyone can counter? So targeting a teammate isn't really an option.

I concede that ranged weapons and spells mean the counter can't totally monopolize the early game, but it does trivialize any sort of melee threat.

[Grey Watcher]

Setting aside balance concerns for a moment, I think it's a bit overly complicated for one of the basic "even a generic Human Commoner can do this" action: with very few exceptions, even class powers and other high-end specialty stuff doesn't involve using your action and not seeing some immediate effect. Dodge is just about the only thing I can think of, which is pretty much a last resort "There's absolutely no way I can actually contribute so I'm just gonna focus on not dying."

Plus the only existing of "do nothing now in order to do a thing off-turn at a more opportune time" is to hold your action, and that has the versatility of being anything you can do with your action: a spell, cool class powers, the works.

On the subject of action economy, I think just having Riposte be a reaction is fine: there's plenty of things competing for your reaction (opportunity attacks, Uncanny Dodge, Cutting Words, Counterspell, etc.) that the opportunity cost involved in Riposting is plenty of downside.