Combat Examples of an Engine without Hit Points

[Ar Kayon]

King Arthur and Lancelot circle each other, preparing to duel. They are both wearing armour and fighting with sword and shield. After his knights were soundly beaten by the graceful warrior, Arthur knew Lancelot would be more than a challenge for him (composure checked: passed).

Round 1<Round 2<Notes

[Ar Kayon]

Question 1
Do you find the combat engine to be engaging?

Question 2
Does the example make sense to you at first glance?

Question 3
Are there any flaws you can point out that need to be addressed?

Question 4
Would you enjoy outwitting the GM with such a system?

[whoknowswhynot]

Question 1
Do you find the combat engine to be engaging?

This system requires more of the player than just rolling the dice and has a very good feel to it.  It encourages you to make decisions and actually role play a combat scenario instead of just saying "I'm attacking [so-and-so]" and rolling dice.


Yes.  Good enough example.

Question 3
Are there any flaws you can point out that need to be addressed?

I would only be afraid of the skills list being big, but I have always been afraid of long skill lists.  This is not really a flaw, though.

Question 4
Would you enjoy outwitting the GM with such a system?

Absorutely!

[Ar Kayon]

/i

[Callan S.]

Just seems like having actions instead of hitpoints.

The real change I'd say is that you seem to have a 'one must pass' system, unlike in traditional games where both guys can swing and miss and...nothing happens. Here you set it that even if one guy rolls a 2, if the other guy rolls a 1, one of them connects and hits and something actually happens. I'd say that's the strength of your idea here - not the hitpoints thing.

[Ar Kayon]

[Ar Kayon]

I]

VS

The opponent hits you for (rolls dice, and adds modifiers) x amount of damage.  Hold on a second, I need to look up the effects for tha

VS

The opponent hits you for (rolls dice, and adds modifiers) x amount of damage.  Hold on a second, I need to look up the effects for that.[/I

VS

The opponent hits you for (rolls dice, and adds modifiers) x amount of damage.  Hold on a second, I need to look up the effects for tha

VS

The opponent hits you for (rolls dice, and adds modifiers) x amount of damage.  Hold on a second, I need to look up the effects for that.

[contracycle]

Hit point based and wound based systems are definitely very different in feel.  In a ahit point system, even when hit points are in a small range, the expectation is that you will be hit and wittled down.  That informs the way you play.  Wound effect systems do not have this assumption, and everyone tries to avoid being hit at all.  Things do play out quite differently as a result.

[dindenver]

Ar,
  The mechanics are a bit obscured by the narrative, so I just want to ask some questions:

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	Logged

Dave M
Author of Legends of Lanasia RPG (Still in beta)
My blog
Free Demo

[Ar Kayon]

[Ar Kayon]

Reversals
A reversal is when you turn a successful defensive maneuver into an offensive maneuver. For example, when an opponent tries to take you down by the legs, you sprawl and catch him in a headlock, or you parry an opponent's punch and turn the parry into an arm lock.
As opposed to a counterattack, a reversal is executed as one fluid action, rather than two individual actions in succession. Also, most reversals cannot be actively defended against and require the usage of Concentration to pull off. These techniques require that you use your Concentration effort pool in order to use because perfect timing is such an important factor.  To maximize realism and to highlight how difficult it really is to time these things, I'm currently debating on whether or not I will require a high Concentration use roll (scoring a 4 on a d4 roll) in order to successfully pull off a reversal. In which case, every time you level up your reversal technique, your chances will improve by 25% (pending: your reversal success rate based off of your Reflex attribute instead).

[leodegrance]

Ok its enough for me.... I want those rules :-) Do you have a website or .pdf hosted somewhere with them?
M.

[Ar Kayon]

Unfortunately, I'm not web savvy.  I also move at a snail's pace, and the bare bones of the system isn't yet complete - once it is I'll release them here.  In the meantime, I am more than willing to comprehensively answer any questions you may have.

[horomancer]

I like your combat story boarding system. I too am working on a system without HP but have gone the opposite route of generalizing combat to a point where you declare your intentions, then story board what happened after the dice have revealed the conclusion.
I was wondering, in your system how would a 'fumble' arise and be interpreted? In the above example, something such as one character loosing their footing and failing to perform the action they intended. A more clear example, if we use a more modern setting, is what if you are in a gun fight and your gun jams at a crucial moment? How would that risk exist in your system? When would it come about if ever and how would it effect the flow of combat?

[Ar Kayon]

I like your combat story boarding system. I too am working on a system without HP but have gone the opposite route of generalizing combat to a point where you declare your intentions, then story board what happened after the dice have revealed the conclusion.
I was wondering, in your system how would a 'fumble' arise and be interpreted? In the above example, something such as one character loosing their footing and failing to perform the action they intended. A more clear example, if we use a more modern setting, is what if you are in a gun fight and your gun jams at a crucial moment? How would that risk exist in your system? When would it come about if ever and how would it effect the flow of combat?

When your character uses effort, the randomizer is implemented and you suffer a critical failure when your roll comes out to zero two or more times (the dice explodes every time you roll zero).  The severity of the failure is equal to the number of zeroes you roll.  So, let's say you try desperately to punch an elusive boxer: when you roll a double zero (1 in 16), you lose balance from extending too far, and when you roll a triple zero (1 in 64), you fall.
In high-variability circumstances, the randomizer is always used - like if you were shooting a gun.  In that case, the critical failure rule applies with differing critical failure rates based upon the weapon's quality.  A shitty gun might have a jam on double zeroes, a dud on triple and weapon failure on a quadruple (1 in 256).