Re: Studying an opponent and Omega Strikes

Erol K. Bayburt wrote:
> 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. 

Two of the campaigns I ran ended in omega strikes. The reasons for that 
were that both sides were uncertain going in. The arch-villains were 
making the PCs offers they couldn't refuse; the PCs had to listen to the 
offers before refusing them anyway. Neither side knew the other's full 
capability; the PCs didn't even know their _own_ full capability, they 
had mystical powers they were still figuring out the full extent of, it 
took them some time to work up to their omega strike, figure out exactly 
what it was going to be.

And that rocked. I thought - and I think the players would agree - it 
was far more powerful that way than if it had just been "well the rules 
say I can gain +2 to hit if I make a Study Opponent action, so I'll do 
that this round and save my Ultimate Power Blast action for next round".

Sure, if it's a fight where you know the exact score in advance, you 
know both intellectually and emotionally that it's a fight to the death, 
there's no more negotiating to be done, you have an exact inventory of 
your own capabilities and those of the enemy - then there's no reason to 
do anything other than open with an alpha strike, _and I expect no less 
from the PCs_. To me, jiggling the rules around to make _every_ combat 
an omega strike because you get the most +'s that way would cheapen the 
occasions on which it _really did_ happen because of the logic of the 
setting and the knowledge and motives of the characters - those are the 
things that matter as far as I'm concerned.

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