Eclipse: Combat Resolution Mechanics

[Ben O'Neal]

Thanks for the link Charles, I checked it out and it was indeed interesting. I haven't read all the articles, but I'll probably get around to that sooner or later. And thanks too for everyone else's contributions thus far!

One last comment about armor, I've read that chain mail was considered the most uncomfortable armor to wear, simply because all the weight is carried on the shoulders.

But as I've stated before, I'm not making "16th century England: The RPG", I'm simply using common and cool concepts to make Eclipse accessible and interesting, both for myself and any audience who plays it. Basically I think about it like this: if people in star wars can speak with british accents, Eclipse can have a timeline of weapons and armor development that does not mirror Earth's own history. Because it's a fantasy game, and it's meant to be fun, not studied and compared to scholarly accounts of an irrelevant history.

I've been moving house for the last few days, and will continue doing so for a day or two still. But whilst I'm moving I should be able to find time here and there to write up another post about either ranged combat or magic combat, so my question is: "Which would people prefer I write about next, Ranged combat or Magic combat?"

Or alternatively, has everyone lost interest in the mechanics?

[Bracken]

One last comment about armor, I've read that chain mail was considered the most uncomfortable armor to wear, simply because all the weight is carried on the shoulders.

This is true, chain was actually harder to wear than plate (at least the earlier century versions). Think of plate as individual pices of metal strapped to your body. Think of a chain Hauberk as a dress made out of metal, with most of the weight carried on both shoulders.

I've been moving house for the last few days, and will continue doing so for a day or two still. But whilst I'm moving I should be able to find time here and there to write up another post about either ranged combat or magic combat, so my question is: "Which would people prefer I write about next, Ranged combat or Magic combat?"

Or alternatively, has everyone lost interest in the mechanics?

Not lost interest, just not much else to say at the moment. I'd suggest you finish combat before moving to magic, that's what I'd prefer to see.

Bracken

[Ben O'Neal]

Ranged Combat

Ranged combat works on the same principles as melee combat, but instead of attack speed and attack power, you have accuracy. Accuracy = d20 + agility modifier + power modifier + weapon accuracy +your Sniper skill if you have the Marksman ability. The logic behind Accuracy is that it is a combination of your dexterity and coordination and your physical strength to draw a bow/hold a crossbow steady/throw an item. Firing a longbow is inherently more accurate than throwing an axe, due to design and weight and stuff. So all ranged weapons have an accuracy modifier and a range increment. A musket has high accuracy but short accurate range, a throwing axe has short range and poor accuracy, and a longbow has high accuracy and high range. I am considering splitting accuracy into two types, one for ranged weapons such as bows and thrown weapons, and the other for ranged weapons such as crossbows and firearms, because as it stands now, firearms and crossbows still rely on the agility and power of a user, whereas it may be more conceptually accurate if they only used d20 +weapon accuracy +Sniper skill, making them ideal for beginners, but not-so-hot for more skilled characters. I dunno, what do you guys think? Are two different accuracy scores for different ranged weapon types too much?

So the accuracy roll combines whether you hit your target or not, and how hard you hit them. Here's how:

You make your accuracy check, and the difficulty of the shot is assessed by the GM. The GM looks at the Range Increment TNs table and determines how your target is moving relative to you, and how far away they are in terms of range increments for your weapon. This will give them a number, which they subtract from your accuracy roll. If the result is still positive, then you have hit the target and the result is basically treated exactly like attack power in comparing it to the target's toughness to determine damage. So in a way, where attack speed is used to determine "hit or no-hit" in melee, the agility modifier part of the accuracy roll might serve that function for ranged (because without the agility modifier part, the accuracy roll looks just like attack power). In practise, it will be fairly rare to completely miss a target that is unaware of your shot, but might be more common to hit them at an odd angle such that you don't pierce their armor. Whilst this might arguably be less realistic than is possible, I personally think it's nicer to hear that "your shot glanced their armor" than "you completely missed them altogether". If I ever decide that I want to make it harder to hit a target, all I have to do is scale up the TNs in the Range Increment table.

So how does this look in practise? Glad you asked, 'cos I love generating examples!

Rylae sits perched high in the huge redwood tree, her skin and hair shades of brown and green in a motley pattern. From below, she would be virtually indistinguishable from the tree in which she sat. The morning is cool and wet, the breeze and rain chilling the end of her tail, which she is using to hold a small branch over her head to keep the rain-drops out of her eyes.
The GM calls for Rylae's player to make a Listen check, and she rolls 17, and adds her Listen skill for a total of 28. The GM secretly rolls the Sneak check for the scout, and rolls 14 for a total of 23. Rylae's ears twitch as she picks up the sounds of someone attempting to sneak through the forest. Minutes pass, and Rylae can hear the person getting closer. Rylae's player asks to make a Spot check, and the GM nods. She rolls 8 for a total of 18, and the GM rolls the Hide check for the scout, and rolls a 1, for a total of 12. Immediately after, he rolls the Spot check for the scout, and gets 23. Decent, but not good enough to spot Rylae (her Hide check was 32). Rylae spots the scout trying hard but unsuccessfully to move without being seen or heard, and she watches as he moves on. He is not her target. A few minutes later, Rylae hears a procession of horses, and it sounds like the riders are armoured. Eventually, they come into focus about 600ft away, and she sees five armoured soldiers surrounding a woman in full-plate. This is her target.
Rylae's player decides to use her Patient Sniper ability to increase her accuracy, and she will be aiming for the ladies head, even though she is wearing a steel half helm (18). She asks how long until the party just passes the tree she is in, and the GM tells her about 40 seconds, or 10 rounds. Rylae's player decides to wait for twenty seconds, then draw her bow and use her Patient Sniper ability for 5 rounds to increase her accuracy by a total of +10 (+2 for each round). Also, because she is going to be firing when her target is within the first range increment of her longbow, she gets the +6 bonus to accuracy afforded by the Point Blank Shot ability.
As the party draws near, the GM doesn't bother making Spot checks for any of them because he knows that none of them have enough skill ranks to see Rylae even if they all rolled natural 20's. Rylae draws her arrow, lines up her target, and tracks her, ensuring she will not miss. As the lady passes 60ft below, Rylae gets ready to loose just before her target passes into the next range increment for her weapon. The GM asks her to roll her accuracy, and she rolls an 11, adds her accuracy (26), the +10 from her Patient Sniper special ability, and the +6 from her Point Blank Shot ability, for a total of 53. The GM looks at the Range Increment TNs table and decides that the target is walking away from Rylae within the 1st range increment of her weapon, and so subtracts 14 from Rylae's Accuracy. The GM compares this result to her target's Toughness, which is 28. Rylae's accuracy check beat her target's Toughness by 11. Looking at the damage table this tells the GM that the hit is instantly fatal. Rylae's arrow flies true, and the force of the arrow snaps the ladies neck and knocks her off her horse, and her body sploshes in the muddy leaves of the forest floor.
The soldiers immediately begin shouting and searching the area frantically, drawing horse-bows and swords, as Rylae nocks another arrow. Unless a character has the Rapid Shot ability, drawing an arrow and nocking it are one action, and aiming and firing are another. If she is lucky and plays her cards right, with the rain and dim morning light, she might be able to take out 2, maybe even 4 of the soldiers before they discover her location.

So there you go, I hope that was all clear and easy to follow, because that's a draft of the example I'll include in the finished rulebook. If you have any questions or concerns, I'd love to hear them so I can tweak the example to make more sense. Obviously an explanation of the abilities Rylae used (Point Blank Shot and Patient Sniper) will be in the rulebook. Oh, and Rylae is an elyrial, which is why she can camouflage her skin and hair and has a tail. She can also jump a minimum of twice her height, which is how she got in the tree, and she never takes falling damage if she can move, which is why she doesn't mind being so high up (60ft high).

It is possible for a target of a ranged attack to actively avoid that attack if they are aware of it and can see the firer at the time of the shot. To do so, the GM ignores the Range Increment TNs table, and instead rolls a dodge check for the target, opposed directly against the accuracy of the firer. Mechanically, the dodge check replaces the Range Increment TN, in subtracting from the accuracy to leave what is essentially attack power. Make sense?

Finally, size matters. Smaller creatures are harder to hit and larger creatures are easier. The Range Increment TNs to hit a creature increase by +4 for every size category smaller than your own, and decrease by -4 for every size category larger than your own. The rules for dealing with multiple opponents are identical to with melee, but with one extra... KEEP MOVING!!! You DO NOT want to be standing still firing at a group of archers on a hill who are firing at you. You want to run and you want to find cover. When you are firing from cover you suffer -1d6 to your Accuracy rolls but opponents firing at you suffer -2d6 to their accuracy rolls (to simulate that "surprise" factor of you popping out at random intervals to take a shot).

To reiterate the question I raised earlier, what do you guys think of having two seperate conceptually different accuracy scores for weapons that require physical prowess like bows and weapons that are pretty much self-sufficient?

I'll be happy to answer any questions or hear any criticisms!

[Alf_the_Often_Incorrect]

Well, I am blown away. Finally; a combat system that is actually GOOD without being minimalist or imbalanced! My only concern is that it may take too much time to resolve (even more than d20!). All things considered, this is a great system which still has room for improvement.