It's a tossup between Rolemaster and Scion. I like them both for the same reason: they're cinematic and make for exciting fights.

Rolemaster's cinematics come from the tables, and are enforced by the system. Scion's cinematics come from the players and GM, and are encouraged.

The combat system in RPGObject's Modern20 is my favorite.  It uses hit points, it has critial hits, hit locations, supports different combat maneuveres (including real world martial arts), has damage reducing armor, and is quick and easy to use.

Kerry

I remember liking rolemaster when I was into MERP.  The combined skill and table references aid with the combat description.  I also like the Street Fighter Roleplaying game for its use of cards and grouping of combat moves into different martial arts.  It took a bit to figure out the stats but once the cards were made, it saved a lot of time and combat seemed to flow because there was little need for book flipping.

Strange but true: Sorcerer.
I like the fact that you have to declare your action before you know how fast your character acts, making you think which action you take (because some might be only feasible if you score a higher initiative than your opponent). The oWoD tried to do something similar, but there it was a big pita and in all my time playing WoD I only met one GM, who actually used this rule (it worked for him though, because he was a genius).

Also the fact that when you are attacked you have to choose between taking the attack (and possible impairment) or abandoning your action for an active defense was a nice touch and certainly added some grittiness to the game.

A damn shame a combat system that good was "wasted" on a game that is billed as an intellectual study about the concepts of power and morality.

Quote from: kryystOf existing systems I'd have to say Warhammer 2nd end comes pretty damn close.  It doesn't try to model reality.  But it does keep the combat mechanics with the same feeling that the rest of the setting keeps.  It also does deliver a very comfortable feeling of risk in the mechanics.   Additionally the choices you can make, have a good feeling to them, they don't feel arbitrary and combats don't play out the same based on simple choices made by players or NPC's it can quickly change the dynamic of a battle which makes it exciting.  Ultimately it doesn't have that Whack-a-mole feel to it that I get from Say D20.  The combats feel involved.

As far as the mechanics go it's pretty simple.  Roll under your weapon skill on a percentile you score a hit, unless your opponent tries to dodge, or parry.  If you hit roll damage, hope you kill him.  That's the core.  You have a few varriations to change up your actions with disarms, maneuvering, grappling, swift actions etc... All fairly standard and nothing new.  But each choice is can be effective and each attack can kill you, so it keeps you feeling pretty grounded.  There is no case of wading into combat and not having to worry about it because you know you have more then enough Health to live through it, or even guarantee to live half way through it.  The game is geared enough that you could be seriously taken out on the first hit and that keeps it feeling pretty real.

Indeed.

What I also love about WFRP is how it rewards 'dirty' fighting. Ambush, surprise, judicious use of ranged weapons, ganging up on a single opponent -- they all contribute towards ending a combat swiftly and decisively. Newcomers to the game often complain about the low power of starting characters, but a quick glance at the maneuvers section shows exactly how you can stack the odds in your favour.

It feels very much like how I imagine fights occur in the real world, where lethal pragmatism and a thorough knowledge of what works and what doesn't is worth any amount of heroism or bravado. In Warhammer that shit will kill you quicker than dysentry.

Quote from: DrewIndeed.

It feels very much like how I imagine fights occur in the real world, where lethal pragmatism and a thorough knowledge of what works and what doesn't is worth any amount of heroism or bravado. In Warhammer that shit will kill you quicker than dysentry.

Very good point.  Tactics are what allows an entery level PC to survive long enough to be the hero.  You charge into battle head first and balls forward and it'll only be luck that saves your ass.  You and your buddies dogpile the enemies and you can tell your own heroics however you like because you'll all have survived to tell the day.   I can't count the number of battles we've had in the game anymore.  But I can say with confidence that not a single one of them felt phoned in or not worth while.  There has never been a need to put in filler fights to whittle down the pc's resources so that the boss fight felt more significant.  Each fight, and the survival there of was a rewarding session and important in it's own right.  I have yet felt a case of going through the motions in a WFRP combat.