Melee Combat is an Aura

[Yakk]

Melee Threat
Creatures equipped with melee weapons who are not incapacitated threaten everyone in their reach.

The first time on a turn a creature enters a threatened region, or starts their turn there, the threatening creature may make a melee weapon attack on them.

After they have made such an attack, attacks on other creatures triggered by Melee Threat are at disadvantage until the start of their next turn.

Creatures with the Extra Attack or Multiattack features can make multiple attacks as part of Melee Threat. In addition, they only suffer disadvantage after attacking as many creatures as they have attacks in their Extra Attack or Multiattack features.

Two Weapon Fighting
Grants an extra Melee Threat attack if you are wielding two light weapons. Does not use your bonus action, and it doesn't add another target without disadvantage.

Unarmed
Monks generate Melee Threat even when unarmed, as do creatures with the Unarmed combat style.

Attack or Multiattack Action:
If you take the Attack Action, your Melee Threat is reduced by the number of attacks you make during it. Note that by default this is the only way to make unarmed attacks.

Taking the Attack action for melee weapons is relatively suboptimal, as if you don't do it you get it for "free" due to Melee Threat.

Brawling:
You can take the Push or Grab actions as an action. If you have the Extra Attack feature, you can do extra Pushes or Grabs as if it was the Attack action.

Casting a Spell:
If you cast a spell as an action, you are unable to do Melee Threat attacks until the start of your next turn.

Dodge:
If you dodge as an action, all of your Melee Threat attacks are at disadvantage until the start of your next turn.

Ready:
If you ready one or more attacks, your Melee Threat attack count is reduced by as many attacks as you ready.

Engage:
As an action you can engage up to your Extra Attack or Multiattack count creatures within range of your weapons until the start of your next turn (even if they leave range). Creatures that are Engaged suffer disadvantage attacking creatures who aren't Engaged to them. This applies to both you and the creatures you have Engaged.

Disengage:
Instead of ignoring opportunity attacks, when you Disengage you can choose to end the Engaged state.

Haste:
You can make a single attack as an action on your turn without reducing your Melee Threat. Extra Attack does not apply.

Reckless Attack:
The advantage applies to Melee Threat attacks.
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The goal here is to make melee PCs turn more engaging.

You should only take the Attack Action if you are (a) in a real hurry, or (b) using a ranged weapon, or (c) making unarmed attacks without any feature support.

The Melee Threat is strictly better than the Attack Action most of the time, and isn't compatible.

Against a single big foe, Melee Threat acts very similar to Attack action. Against swarms of foes, it is much better.

If 10 orcs charge a level 11 fighter, the first 3 suffer 3 attacks each, and the remaining 7 suffer 3 attacks at disadvantage. They could all die before they get to strike the fighter.

A TRex gets to bite its first foe, tail slap the 2nd, and then each foe afterwards is bitten at disadvantage (if the mouth isn't full) or slapped with disadvantage (if it is).

Melee types on their turn can do the Help action, shove foes around, trip them, grab them to keep them from getting away, dodge, disengage, engage, or whatever. The goal is that their action isn't "I do the action which, if I don't do, I am not contributing to combat significantly, because most of my class features focus on making it more effective".

[Rilmani]

Edit: I misunderstood how you limited unarmed attacks. Fixed.

I’ve thought about this a bit, and I wonder how exactly creatures with natural weapons should be handled. Possibly by having different categories for natural weapons, but let’s put that off for now. Imagine a tabaxi wizard. Obviously a squishy ranged attacker/controller. With these changes the wizard (with one hand free) will always be able to make a melee attack when a creature closes in on them. If they don’t need a spell foci and have a melee weapon in hand.

Actually wait, does the Melee Threat attack require a Reaction? Because if so, then the Extra Attack caveat for multiple incoming enemies doesn’t quite work, since each attack would require a reaction.


Anyway, back to the wizard. Making one attack with claws a dagger or club isn’t a huge deal. Clearly the wizard would be able to accomplish the same thing if they were wielding a dagger without needing a free hand if had the War Caster feat. But. You’ve included this bit about “The first time on a turn a creature enters a threatened region, or starts their turn there, the threatening creature may make a melee weapon attack on them.”

That’s fine on a martial character. That’s a serious boost on a spellcaster or Gish character. So we have to consider whether this Melee Threat concept should be a class ability (on multiple classes, like extra attack) rather than a default rule. Yes, I can see what you’ve written for the Casting a Spell action. But spellcasters don’t cast every turn. A wizard might have mirror image on themselves and manipulate an existing Concentration spell each round, like Dragon’s Breath or Flaming Sphere. Half the reason I’m concerned about this sort of setup is that the same option would apply to enemies, if Melee Threat is a default ability. Ogres or Giants getting extra attacks on charging melee is… frustrating. On the other hand, it HIGHLY incentivizes squishy PCs to take the Disengage action before they find themselves in the scary monster’s Melee Threat range on their next turn.


I really like this concept. I’m not sure how well it fits DnD, but I could see a neat homebrew supplement coming from it. I feel like there’s a potential way for it to interact with Tome of Battle (Book of Nine Swords) maneuvers too… or Battlemaster superiority dice.


Finally I think your answer for Haste is okay, but could be improved. My gut says that this Action attack doesn’t get advantage, but it auto-cancels Disadvantage. Or perhaps if you make a new Action type for fighting a condition/effect (like dousing a fire on yourself), then a hasted creature could also make one attack during that action.

[Yakk]

So, melee threat is cancelled if you (a) take the attack action, or (b) cast a spell as an action.

A spellcaster who casts a spell as an action? Cantrip or otherwise? Has 0 melee threat.

The melee threat attack does not require a reaction. Just not incapacitated. The point is it is dangerous to get in melee range of a melee combatant.

Yes, this makes melee deadlier, as with extra attack(1) you get to make 2 attacks on 2 targets without disadvantage, and then an unlimited 2 attacks with disadvantage.

The same is true of a dragon. It gets to claw/claw/bite 3 foes that approach it without disadvantage, then start doing it at disadvantage for an unlimited number.

I do think it could use more things melee PCs can do with their action. Engage is an example of that. The enemy can disengage, but then moving away creates opportunity attacks (as you can't both disengage to avoid OAs and disengage to break engage). And if they don't break engage, they have disadvantage on foes that they aren't engaged with.

This goes both ways; a PC engaged with a foe has disadvantage on other foes if they rush that PCs. Which includes melee threat attacks.

Other fun things are the grab action. Using a weapon to grab means it can't attack anyone without releasing the grab, which is a serious cost with melee threat, but it does lock a foe down. A free hand is another option. If you can pin someone against a wall with a shield (aka, grab with the shield) then your shield is useless for defending against other people (naturally, as it is in use). I would personally rule that grabbing with a shield without something to push against isn't going to work well (disadvantage maybe?)

The help action becomes quite solid for melee PCs; it is one of the few damage boosting options you have (as an action).

The unlimited-target threat is intentional, as it makes melee characters a zone of control in themselves. You can both act as a member of a shield wall (anyone who approaches gets cut up), or jump right into the middle of foes (barbarian style), and both are effective (if you can drop foes and survive that is). Forced movement is also great, as pushing foes into a blender of 1 or more PCs is free damage (the push action might deal a lot of damage if you push a foe into a reckless raging barbarian's reach).

Reach weapons are also really good, as they get their free attack at 10'. Approaching monsters with reach is scary, as they get to attack first no matter what. So while this buffs melee damage output and options, it also makes melee against tough foes more dangerous.

I'd expect the fighter type to close first, engage the dragon. Then this makes a rogue sneaking in for a backstab nastier.

Sneak Attack is brutal, if you can do the proper positioning or arrange for advantage. Like, an invisible rogue in the middle of 6 foes... ouch.

[Notafish]

Sneak Attack is brutal, if you can do the proper positioning or arrange for advantage. Like, an invisible rogue in the middle of 6 foes... ouch.

Doesn't Sneak Attack only apply once/turn? Would this change in a melee threat system?

[Yakk]

Doesn't Sneak Attack only apply once/turn? Would this change in a melee threat system?

Melee Threat causes an attack on the opponents turn.

Surrounded by 6 foes while invisible? At the start of each of their turns you get an attack on each.

Ok, actually, the disadvantage (on 2nd and later attack) rules get in the way here. So it isn't crazy broken. That wasn't intentional, more of an accident.