Author Topic: Alternate Combat Systems  (Read 993 times)

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Offline Tywyll

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Alternate Combat Systems
« on: February 09, 2017, 02:39:11 PM »
So, nostalgia made me dig up my RMX and Express Additions and I reread the Alternate Combat system in EA3. It made me wish I were playing a game so I could try it out and see how it handles for speeds sake.

But I noticed a problem, it does away with criticals (mostly) but doesn't talk about how to address the Ambush skill. Thinking about it, since it was very similar to the old system in the RMC3 for RM2, I dug that up and had a look. This was a system I had actually used, back in the day, but no one was playing rogue-ish type characters. Since it was similar to the EA one, I thought I would see for idea fodder...

And of course, Ambush wasn't mentioned.

So...if you were using either of these systems or something similar... where Crit charts aren't used, how would you address Ambush?

Offline Peter R

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Re: Alternate Combat Systems
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2017, 01:24:09 PM »
I cannot conceive why anyone would want to get rid of criticals. That is the one and only part of rolemaster I could not do without!
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Offline Tywyll

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Re: Alternate Combat Systems
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2017, 02:46:25 PM »
Several reasons actually. Speed is the main one. Doing away with, or minimizing, the whole rigamarole that comes with crits Bleeding/Stun/Stun No Parry/etc...especially when you are trying to run a large combat is very appealing. When I game I only usually get around 3 hours thanks to adult life and kids and I would rather run more than a single combat a session. That's why I moved away from 3.X D&D and 4th Ed.

In a one on one fight or something, they can be fun. But I also don't like how they change the fiction... "I swing at him from behind!" ...um, "You stab him in the toe"... "What?"

What I love about RM is the customization options for characters and the myriad systems to adjust and/or add to your game thanks to things like the Companions and the Express Additions. I like that far more than the combat system.

Anyway, that's not really relevant. If you know what I am talking about, do you have any suggestions for how to handle Ambush?

Offline jdale

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Re: Alternate Combat Systems
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2017, 03:46:04 PM »
RoCo 3 has the Superfast Hits Multiplier Chart. You could add the number of Ambush ranks (or maybe 2x or 3x Ambush ranks?) to the number you look up on that chart. That increases the chance of doing double, triple, etc damage.

You could also, say, divide the number of Ambush ranks by 5 and inflict that many extra d10's of damage, plus the remainder. E.g. if you have 22 ranks, add 2d10+2 damage. This means it always helps but takes away some excitement.

You could roll an Ambush maneuver and on success give x2 damage, absolute success x3 or x4.

You could forget the damage and focus on the chance of instant death. Roll an Ambush maneuver, on success the target makes an RR or dies. Not my preference but just tossing some ideas out there.

Also, I'll just note that personally I use software to track combat. Keeps the detail, speeds things up probably more than switching to a system like this. If that's your primary concern it might be worth looking at one of those options as well.
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Offline Tywyll

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Re: Alternate Combat Systems
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2017, 07:33:42 PM »
Thank you! Those are some good ideas.

The EA system does damage by size of weapon (so Medium attacks do 1d10). You need 101 to hit and every 20 points results in an extra die of damage. You roll d100+50+OB-DB. Armor Type is subtracted from the hits. For critical like effects, if you roll the max on a die, it causes a round of stun. If you roll more than one damage die, each over the first causes 1 bleeding, and every 10 points of damage results a -5 modifier to actions.

I'm not entirely sure how that would work in play but it feels like it would be pretty comparable.

I'd considered adding Ambush ranks or Ambush ranks x2 to the damage so we are on the same page. Though granting an extra die per 5 ranks is also pretty good!