In message <eslq6c$ft$3@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
mkkuhner@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Mary K. Kuhner) wrote:
> In article <5e7su2hrgo91e61d5di2vafk73d57t5791@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> Erol K. Bayburt <ErolB1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >Has anyone played, or even heard of, a combat system where "studying
> >an opponent" works as a short term combat tactic? Where the longer a
> >character fights an opponent (or observes an opponent being fought)
> >the bigger the bonus the character has to hit that opponent?
>
> Torg:Orrorsh had the "Perseverence" mechanic but it was for a bit
> longer timescale than what you're describing here. You gained
> points by researching a monster or by having inconclusive encounters
> with it, and eventually ac***ulated enough points to buy your way
> to a combat victory. I don't know how well it worked in play as
> our encounter with the basic Torg mechanics was disasterous.
>
> >This could also reduce the power of surprise, and might encourage the
> >sort of "omega strike" tactics seen in cinematic combats. Instead of
> >leading off with their best attacks as "alpha strikes," combatants
> >would exchange shots while saving their best, "special" attacks for as
> >long as possible to maximize their effectiveness - using them as what
> >I call "omega strikes" by analogy to the standard real-world tactic of
> >opening with alpha strikes.
>
> >Thoughts?
>
> Nice idea! It would seem a natural fit with Feng Shui.
>
> You'd have to be very careful to make sure all characters need this
> kind of ramp-up, because anyone who could find a way to be fully
> effective early on would go through the opposition like a hot
> knife through butter.
My Star Wars D6 duelling rules achieve a similar end.
So as an alternative example of how to tone down the initial lethality of
a
fight, here's a brief summary:
A typical starting character with melee skills will have an attack skill
of
X, a defence skill varying from X to X-2, and a damage value ranging from
X-2 to X+1. A skill advantage of 2-3 points over an opponent gives a
sufficient margin that you would expect to beat them; (master vs pro; pro
vs
novice). In order to hit an opponent, you just have to roll higher than
their defence roll. X will typically be in the range of 4D6 to 6D6.
The intent of the system was always to allow characters to sacrifice
attack effectiveness in order to increase survivability. The stroke of
inspiration that made the system work best was when I decided to allow
characters to reduce their /damage/ and increase defence by an equivalent
amount, rather than manipulating their attack skill.
The way characters and NPCs are supposed to use the system is to start out
with all or most of their damage dice added to defence. This means any
attack by either side that does get through will only do minor damage. As
the two sides become more confident of their relative abilities, they can
increasingly press the attack. You want to arrange things so that your
defence skill is 2-3 points higher than your opponent's attack skill. This
gives optimum damage with an acceptable level of personal risk. Because
your
attack skill does not change whether you're fighting offensively or
defensively, there's no particular incentive to try to go all-out at the
start of a fight for an increased chance of a hit. a) It's bad tactics
against an unknown opponent, and b) you can assume your opponent will be
on
full defence, so it's more likely that you'll take a (minor) hit than that
you'll get a good hit of your own. Unless you're a hero and the other
guy's just a mook, and even then a trained swordsmook (say, attack 4,
defence 3-4, damage 3, against your attack 6, defence 5, damage 5) may
just
about be able to hold you off. When fighting a series of similar
opponents,
you'll gradually gain a better idea of how best to allocate your defences
without several rounds of probing.
This system allows cautious duelling characters to wear each other down by
attrition, while berserks can be more gung-ho. Lightsaber duels, which
can be one-hit kills if the two sides go all-out, become possible again.
(Attack 7, defence 5, damage 8 for a reasonably skilled jedi). In our
games
we found that lightsaber duels ended with victory for the character
with most Force points; characters would spend one a round, and whoever
ran
out first was toast.
Because in D6 Star Wars a 'point' is a D6, the points ranges for to-hit
rolls, defence rolls and damage are all quite similar. In other systems
you
might need a more sophisticated conversion factor for damage to defence.
You
also need to ensure that there's always a chance of a hit unless one side
grossly outmatches the other. (12D skill versus 2D skill; in D&D terms,
12th
level versus 0th level, ish)
--
Simon Smith
When emailing me, please use my preferred email address, which is on my
web
site at http://www.simon-smith.org
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