Jim1and6
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Registered: 01-2013
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An idea for a combat system....
So I played Warhammer Quest for the first time in many years the other day and the same old annoyances I remember from way-back-when popped back in to my head again:
*Combat feels like 2 people taking it in turns to swing at each other.
So what about a "Parry, Riposte" rule? Perhaps if an attacker rolls a natural 1, then the defender gets to instantly make a counter attack?
*How well you hit your opponent bears no relation to the damage you do. ie: A To Hit roll of 6 can lead to a measly flesh wound, or nothing at all if you roll a 1 for wounds.
Using a single dice roll for both Hit and Damage would be quick and easy, but would eliminate small wounds altogether. So I had an idea for a new Dice system. I'm going to call it "Inverted". Bear with me....
Change the To Hit roll required on the tables to its equal probability but always starting with 1 as successful (like I said, Bear with me)
A "4 or more" to hit (50/50 odds on hitting) becomes "3 or less" (Still 50/50) - So in this case a 1, 2 or 3 would be a hit, and a 4,5 or 6 would be a miss. (obviously, the 1and6 rule would have to be reversed for combat)
You can then use this number and add to it by rolling a 1D4-1 (an easily modified D4 changed to 0,1,2,3), add any Strength-Toughness modifiers and you have your Damage total.
I've done the maths and the final results are the same but the odds are slightly more in favour of Mid range Damage (but anything must be better than the old 16.67% chance of everything you get with 1D6!)
This way, a good hit will more likely produce greater damage.....
Still working on the Dwarf's Great Axe Damage system to fit, but I think something should be possible....
Any Thoughts?
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15/Feb/2013, 11:08 pm
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Littlemonk
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Registered: 07-2008
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Re: An idea for a combat system....
Hi Jim,
A couple of things to consider:
1. The Monsters and the Warriors gain new abilities as they progress in level, some of which involve Parrying, avoiding blows, Dodging, etc.
2. The Monsters and the Warriors gain new skills which involve greater Damage as they progress in level.
3. Changing the To Hit method will not only affect the Dwarf, but many, many other Expansion Warriors' weapons and abilities as well. You might be opening up a big can of worms here.
4. Your method also becomes far less important when the Warriors advance in Level or when they use Runes, special abilities etc., since they roll more Damage dice, and add Strength bonuses.
5. Check out the Deathblow Magazine #2 “Aaargh, Me Spleen!” article which introduces Critical Hits for rolling a '6' in Combat.
It seems to me that you might be very satisfied with the Advanced Game, if you haven't done that already. It pretty much gives you everything that you're trying to accomplish.
Last edited by Littlemonk, 17/Feb/2013, 10:43 am
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16/Feb/2013, 3:06 pm
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OldWarrior
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Registered: 04-2006
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Re: An idea for a combat system....
As much as I like to experiment -- ask those who play in games I GM -- I have to agree with Littlemonk. You would pretty much have to revamp many of the existing rules and complicate all sorts of skills, treasure items and even some common weapons to implement this type of change.
On the other hand, if you really want to make the combat more realistic -- if the critical hits tables that Littlemonk suggests doesn't do it for you -- then you might want to read through my Very Advanced WHQ wiki (work in progress -- not quite finished).
There, I introduce the concept of each Warrior (and monsters too, through a monster random behavior table), choosing a fighting stance for each turn, of the Warriors and monsters rolling Initiative tests for the Combat Order (at beginning of each combat). Admittedly, my system is much more complicated than the original, but some feedback from play-testers indicates it does add to the realism and some to the tension of the game. I think some of my ideas -- and they are not all original with me -- could be used without using all of them. I think of them as sort of modular.
I certainly do NOT recommend using my full Very Advanced rules for your boys though. I just mention it here as something you could use as an idea generator.
Last edited by OldWarrior, 17/Feb/2013, 1:45 am
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17/Feb/2013, 1:20 am
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Jim1and6
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Re: An idea for a combat system....
Thank you for the feedback. I think I may be over thinking the issue. The basic game is just that, the basic game!
I have read through the role play book and can see what you mean by complicating things later by making a small change at the start.
Having said that, I can't get over the Parry ability being an advanced skill. Reacting to your opponents mistakes is a fundamental of any combat. I going to have to add a penalty for rolling a 1 To Hit!
I like the idea of the critical hit table, but it feels a little clunky. Will try to think of something simpler and quicker....
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18/Feb/2013, 12:20 am
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OldWarrior
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Re: An idea for a combat system....
quote:
Jim1and6 wrote:
Thank you for the feedback. I think I may be over thinking the issue. The basic game is just that, the basic game!
I have read through the role play book and can see what you mean by complicating things later by making a small change at the start.
Having said that, I can't get over the Parry ability being an advanced skill. Reacting to your opponents mistakes is a fundamental of any combat. I going to have to add a penalty for rolling a 1 To Hit!
I like the idea of the critical hit table, but it feels a little clunky. Will try to think of something simpler and quicker....
There is a very simple critical hit concept in use by some of my acquaintances. Maybe you could use it, or modify it to your purposes.
Whenever a combatant rolls a natural 6 to hit, then the target suffers a minimum of 1 wound per damage dice of the attacker with no modifiers for anything.
A critical hit from a Minotaur with two damage dice would cause one more wound than a critical hit from an Orc or Goblin, both which only have one damage dice.
This rule also then would make rolling a 6 to hit with a Warhammer extra special, because the Warhammer already uses an extra damage dice whenever rolling a 6 to hit.
For a Dwarf's Great Axe, I would probably interpret it that it only causes 2 unmodified wounds IF the Dwarf rolls two matching dice (the only case in which he can count both damage dice for damage).
One way to spice this up a bit would be to say that the critical hit minimum wounds would be treated as additional wounds, if normal damage also wounds the target.
I think a simple way to include the parry option would be to let all combatants (both Warriors AND monsters -- so as not to unbalance the game) have Parry 6+ (not sure why they used the "+" there, unless they are taking into account the rare occasion that a combatant might bet a +1 to their dice roll) -- the same as the monster special rule.
Then, once you get more into the advanced rules, you could just give monsters which have the Parry rule a Parry value of +1. So, for example, Parry 5+ would become Parry 4+, since everyone can parry.
Last edited by OldWarrior, 18/Feb/2013, 1:15 am
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18/Feb/2013, 1:13 am
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