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The bare bones of a melee system

Started by MatteoN, November 27, 2014, 03:55:04 AM

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MatteoN

In a thread at rpg.net an user asked for advice on how to develop their ideas for a simple melee system for a low fantasy RPG set in the Dark Ages. This was my suggestion for a stripped down combat system that tries to retain some detail: the basic ideas here are that a fighter has the upper hand on their opponent if they have a higher initiative score, and that an attack is successul if it targets an unprotected part of the defender's body. I'd like to know what people here think of it; feel free to contribute ideas to add flesh to these bones.

At the start of each new round of a fight every player draw their fighting skill (the skill with the weapon/armor combo they are currently using) rating in playing cards from a deck made only of pip cards without revealing them to the other players, order them from highest to lowest, and use them as their "initiative cards".

During each round turns are ordered from 10 to 1 (ace). When the GM calls the turn corresponding to a player's highest initiative card, the player puts the card upturned on the table and their character (attacker) can attack another character (defender) that is within the range of their weapon (short weapon = short range; medium weapon = medium range; long weapon = long range). If the defender is near to the attacker but not within the attacker's weapon range, the attacker must discard the one, two, or three highest initiative cards still in their hand to move closer to the defender (one card to move from out of range to long range, or from long range to medium range, or from medium range to short range; two cards to move from out of range to medium range, or from long range to short range; three cards to move from out of range to short range). After attacking, the attacker can discard again one or more of their highest initiative cards in order to move away from the defender.

When the defender is within the attacker's weapon range, if the defender's current highest initiative card is equal to the attacker's (this can happen if the defender has already made their attack in a previous turn), the defender can evade out of the attacker's weapon range (only from close range to medium range, or from medium range to long range, or from long range to out of range) by discarding their highest initiative card.

Besides the initiative cards, each player also has a permanent hand of four face cards: two black ones and two red ones (e.g. the four kings etc.). When the attacker is in a position to make an attack, the player places on the table two black cards if the character's attack targets the defender's lower limbs, two red cards if the attack targets the upper limbs, and a black and a red card if the attack targets the main body. The cards must be downturned if the attacker's current highest initiative card is higher than the defender's, or upturned if it isn't. Then the other player declares what general zone (upper limbs, lower limbs, main body) their character tries to protect. Then the attacker reveals what general zone is targeted by their attack (if the cards were downturned), and both the attacker and the defender roll 3d6: a low attack targets (and a low defense protects) the particular body part indicated by the number shown on the lowest d6, a middle attack targets (and a middle defense protects) the part indicated by the middle d6, and a high attack targets (and a high defense protects) the part indicated by the highest d6. The body parts are:

1 - Left (or right, if the attacker is lefthanded) leg
2 - Right (or left, if the attacker is lefthanded) leg
3 - Torso
4 - Head
5 - Right (or left, if the attacker is lefthanded) arm
6 - Left (or right, if the attacker is lefthanded) arm

You can think of a low attack that hits an arm or of a high attack that hits a leg as a feint.

When the defender is under attack, they can either try to block the attack, or sustain the attack.

The defender can only try to block an attack if they have a weapon that can block the attacker's weapon, or a shield. Short weapons cannot block long weapons, and viceversa; medium weapons can block weapons of any size.

Shields make it easier to block attacks aimed at certain body zones: the main body for small shields, both the upper limbs and the main body for medium shields, all zones for large shields. That is, the defender can add 1 to (or subtract 1 from) the middle d6 if the shield is small, to (or from) the highest and the middle d6 if the shield is medium, and to (or from) any die if the shield is large. The defender can also add 1 to (or subtract 1 from) any die if they discard their current highest initiative card.

A character has to sustain an attack if they can neither try to block it nor evade it, or if they want to counterattack. That a character sustains an attack means that they let the opponent hit them. This can happen when two characters have the same initiative score. In such a case, in fact, the order in which actions are declared is determined by the suit of the highest initiative card: clubs goes first, then diamonds, then hearts, then spades. So, if it's a character's turn to act, but in the same turn the character is attacked by a more brash character, the more cautious character can either sustain the brasher character's attack and almost simultaneously counterattack, or give up attacking the brasher character in order to evade or try to block their attack (if the cautious character evades the brash character's attack, the former cannot afterwards attack the latter, even if the latter now is within the former's weapon range). Counterattacks however are not perfectly simultaneous with sustained attacks: this means that a character can only counterattack if the attack they chose to sustain didn't disable or kill them.

If the defense protects the same body part that is targeted by the attack, the defender blocks the attack; in this case both the attacker's weapon and the defender's weapon or shield might be damaged or removed, and some damage might still be applied to the part of the body targeted by the attack. If the defender doesn't block the attack damage is applied to the targeted body part.

jibbajibba

Quote from: MatteoN;801115In a thread at rpg.net an user asked for advice on how to develop their ideas for a simple melee system for a low fantasy RPG set in the Dark Ages. This was my suggestion for a stripped down combat system that tries to retain some detail: the basic ideas here are that a fighter has the upper hand on their opponent if they have a higher initiative score, and that an attack is successul if it targets an unprotected part of the defender's body. I'd like to know what people here think of it; feel free to contribute ideas to add flesh to these bones.


At the start of each new round of a fight every player draw their fighting skill (the skill with the weapon/armor combo they are currently using) rating in playing cards from a deck made only of pip cards, and use their highest "initiative card" as their initiative score.

Besides the initiative cards, each player also has a permanent hand of four cards: two black ones and two red ones (e.g. the four aces, the four kings etc.). When a character makes an attack, the player places on the table two black cards if the character's attack targets the defender's lower limbs, two red cards if the attack targets the upper limbs, and a black and a red card if the attack targets the main body. The cards must be downturned if the attacker's initiative score is higher than the defender's, or upturned in the opposite case. Then the other player declares what general zone (upper limbs, lower limbs, main body) their character tries to protect. Then the attacker reveals what general zone is targeted by their attack (if the cards were downturned), and both the attacker and the defender roll 3d6: a low attack targets (and a low defense protects) the particular body part indicated by the number shown on the lowest d6, a middle attack targets (and a middle defense protects) the part indicated by the middle d6, and a high attack targets (and a high defense protects) the part indicated by the highest d6. The body parts are:

1 - Left (or right, if the attacker is lefthanded) leg
2 - Right (or left, if the attacker is lefthanded) leg
3 - Torso
4 - Head
5 - Right (or left, if the attacker is lefthanded) arm
6 - Left (or right, if the attacker is lefthanded) arm

You can think of a low attack that hits an arm or of a high attack that hits a leg as a feint.

If the attacker is using a long weapon they can add 1 to (or subtract 1 from) the highest and the lowest d6; if the attacker is using a short weapon they can add 1 to (or subtract 1 from) the middle d6.

When one is targeted by an attack, they can either try to block the attack, dodge the attack, or sustain the attack.

One can only try to block an attack if they have a weapon that can block the attacker's weapon, or a shield. Small weapons cannot block large weapons, and viceversa; medium weapons can block weapons of any size. Shields make it easier to block an attack aimed at the certain body zones: the main body for small shields, both the upper limbs and the main body for medium shields, all zones for large shields. That is, the defender can add 1 to (or subtract 1 from) the middle d6 if the shield is small, to (or from) the highest and the middle d6 if the shield is medium, and to (or from) any die if the shield is large. (This means that any shield's modifier and a small weapon's modifier for an attack aimed to the main body cancel out, a medium shield's modifier and a long weapon's modifier for an attack aimed at the upper limbs cancel out, and a large shield's modifier and a long weapon's modifier for an attack aimed at the upper or lower limbs cancel out; in other words, when the attacker says "I can modify the result", if the defender replies "I too can", neither gets to use their modifier).

One can only dodge an attack if they still have at least one initiative card in their hand. Dodging an attack (like all non-automatic actions that aren't attacks or parries) in fact requires that the player discards an initiative card, so that their new initiative score becomes that shown on their remaining highest card (or 0, if the player has no remaining initiative cards).

One has to sustain an attack if they can neither try to block it nor dodge it, or if they want to counterattack. That one sustains an attack means that they let the attacker hit them. This can happen when two characters have the same initiative score. In such a case, in fact, the order in which actions are declared is determined by the suit of the highest initiative card: clubs goes first, then diamonds, then hearts, then spades. So, if it's a character's turn to act, but in the same turn the character is attacked by a more brash character, the more cautious character can either sustain the brasher character's attack and almost simultaneously counterattack, or give up attacking the brasher character in order to dodge or try to block their attack. Counterattacks however are not perfectly simulataneous to sustained attacks: this means that a character can only counterattack if the attack they chose to sustain didn't disable or kill them.

If the defense protects the same body part that is targeted by the attack, the defender blocks the attack; in this case both the attacker's weapon and the defender's weapon or shield might be damaged or removed, and some damage might still be applied to the part of the body targeted by the attack. If the defender doesn't block the attack damage is applied to the targeted body part.

Would be easier to follow if you created a target card with the hit locations and the players just picked one of those. Would take you 10 minutes to knock on up on a PC and then put them in opaque backed card sleeves.
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MatteoN

Quote from: jibbajibba;801126Would be easier to follow if you created a target card with the hit locations and the players just picked one of those. Would take you 10 minutes to knock on up on a PC and then put them in opaque backed card sleeves.

Sorry, I don't get what you mean (language barrier). The point of this system would be that if your opponent's initiative score is higher than yours, you aren't able to "read" their movements and can only try to guess where they are going to hit you (probably based on where you are wearing armor, and whether you are using a shield); on the other hand, if your initiative score matches or exceeds the attacker's, you read their movements and see where they are going to hit you, and so you have a higher chance to intercept their attack.

MatteoN

Uh, sorry, you meant instead of using the face cards to determine where one wants to attack? Yes, but why you think using face cards for that purpose is particularly cumbersome?

MatteoN

Uh, sorry, you meant instead of using face cards to determine where one wants to attack? Yes, but why you think using face cards for that purpose is particularly cumbersome?

MatteoN

#5
I've heavily edited the first post. Then I decided to rewrite it, hopefully a bit more clearly.

-----

At the start of the fight each player picks four face cards, two red and two black. They'll keep these cards for the duration of the whole fight.

At the start of each new combat round each player draws as many pips cards as the rating their character has in the relevant fighting style skill, and keeps them in their hand, hidden from the other players.

The GM calls turns, going from 10 to 0. When the GM calls the turn corresponding to the highest pip card a player has in their hand, the player must put the card upturned in front of them on the table, and their character gets to act.

Before or after their turn a character can be attacked by faster or slower opponents. The character might be able to defend from the attacks of faster opponents by trying to block them, but cannot evade them. The character is only able to block an attack if they have a shield or if the (natural or artificial) weapon they're using is not much longer or shorter than the one used by the attacker (a medium weapon can be used to parry weapons of any length). On the other hand, the character can defend from the attacks of slower opponents either by trying to block them, or by evading them. For the character to evade an attack, the  highest pip card in the player's hand must be of a value equal to, or higher than the pip card the attacker put on the table when the GM called their turn, and the player must discard it.

When it's a character's turn to act, the character can move towards or away from the opponent they want to attack, so that the opponent be within the character's weapon range. Short weapons and unarmed attacks attack at short range, medium weapons at medium range, and long weapons at long range; no weapon can attack at "out of range". The player must discard the highest pip card they have in their hand for their character to move from out of range to long range, from long range to medium range, or from medium range to short range. This can be done several times if the character needs to move, for example, from long range to short range; and can also be done after the character has attacked, in order for the character to move away from the opponent.

When the opponent is within the character's weapon range, the opponent can evade the attack. If this doesn't happen, the character can make their attack. The player of the attacker must use two of their four face cards to indicate what general zone of the defender's body will be targeted by their character's attack. The player will choose two red cards if the attack will target the upper limbs, a red and a black card if the attack will target the main body, and two black cards if the attack will target the lower limbs. The player must put the two cards on the table in front of them, upturned if the defender has already acted during the round (i.e. is faster than the attacker), or downturned if the defender hasn't already acted (i.e. is slower than the attacker).

After the attacker has put the two face cards on the table, the player of the defender may declare that the defender doesn't try to block the attack and sustains it, that is, that they let the attacker hit them. This can happen when the defender is not able to block the attack or when the two characters get to act in the same turn. In such a case, in fact, the order in which actions are declared is determined by the suit of the pip cards the players put on the table: clubs goes first, then diamonds, then hearts, then spades. So, if it's a character's turn to act, but in the same turn the character is attacked by a more brash character, the more cautious character can either sustain the brasher character's attack and almost simultaneously counterattack, or give up attacking the brasher character in order to dodge  (if they have another pip card of the same value as that the opponent just put on the table) or try to block their attack. Counterattacks however are not perfectly simulataneous to sustained attacks: this means that a character can only counterattack if the attack they chose to sustain didn't disable, knock out or kill them.

If on the contrary the defender tries to block the attack, the player declares whether their character is going to protect their upper limbs, main body, or lower limbs.

Then both players roll 3d6. Each one picks their lowest result if their character is targeting or protecting the lower limbs, their middle result if the character is targeting or protecting the main body, or their highest result if the character is targeting or protecting the higher limbs. The results they pick indicate more precisely what specific body parts are being targeted and protected:

1 - Left (or right, if the attacker is lefthanded) leg
2 - Right (or left, if the attacker is lefthanded) leg
3 - Torso
4 - Head
5 - Right (or left, if the attacker is lefthanded) arm
6 - Left (or right, if the attacker is lefthanded) arm

If the defender's result matches the attacker's result, the defender protected the same body part that was targeted by the attack, and therefore blocked the attack. Otherwise, in order to match the attacker's result the defender can add or subtract 1 to their own result both if they're wearing a shield that covers the general zone they were protecting (a small shield protects the main body, a medium shield protects the main body and the upper limbs, and a large shield covers the whole body), and if the player discards the highest pip card still in their hand (the two modifiers are cumulative).

If the defender blocked the attack, it's possible that either the attacker's or the defender's - or possibly both characters' - weapons or shields be removed or broken. The player of the character that does the largest total damage (i.e. including the character's physical modifier) with their weapon or shield must check what is the highest pip card still in their hand. If the value of the card is higher than that of the opponent's total damage, the character can discard it in order for their character to disarm the opponent or to break their weapon. If the two characters do the same amount of total damage, each one can disarm the other (but only one can break the other's weapon). A character can only break the opponent's weapon or shield if the base damage of their weapon or shield is higher than the base damage of the opponent's weapon or shield. If a character was fighting unarmed, they obviously cannot be disarmed, but they can get the body part they were using to block be disabled.

When an attack hits the targeted body part, the defender's total protection (i.e. the sum of the armor's base protection and the defender's physical modifier) is subtracted from attacker's total damage (i.e. the sum of the weapon's base damage and the defender's physical modifier) and the difference, only if it is positive, is incremented by a fixed amount, based on what the targeted body part was, and then subtracted from either the defender's Vitality or Endurance.

The defender loses Vitality if their armor's base protection is lower than the base damage of the attacker's weapon; they lose Endurance if the armor's base protection is equal to, or higher than the weapon's base damage. When Vitality is reduced to 0 a character is temporarily disabled and permanently maimed (all further attacks reduce Endurance); when Endurance is reduced to 0 a character is knocked out (all further attacks reduce Vitality); and when both Vitality and Endurance are reduced to 0 a character is dead.

If the difference between the attacker's total damage and the defender's total protection is 0 or negative but the attacker's physical modifier is higher than the defender's physical modifier, the defender still loses 1 point of Endurance.