The White Box alternative combat system, the original basis for all the D20 mechanics which have followed, delivers a fast and exciting tabletop combat experience when used pretty much as written (it requires some interpretation). Roll, hit-or-miss, damage, next player... add some creative description of wounds and misses and you have combat that seems to move along at a most exciting pace, giving players little downtime to wonder what it all means. The abstract nature of the system works nicely to produce results quickly, while giving players the chance to notice if they are over-matched and an opportunity to do something about that.
By comparison, many of the later iterations of D20 have layered complexity onto the basic system, frequently in pursuit of bringing in more realism in the form of transparent detail. In preperation for a recent one-shot I took the alternative combat system of Volume 1, Men & Magic and added some modifications inspired by Kevin Siembieda's combat mechanic as described in Palladium Fantasy 1st Ed. I won't attempt to go over the rules as they are written in Palladium Fantasy (PF), but I do recommend the book(s) as I find Mr. Siembieda's fantasy publications all fascinating.
The changes I introduce are designed to give players who are all from the group I regularly play Pathfinder with, something a bit more crunchy than standard LBB D20. Borrowing from PF, I set any roll above a 4 on the D20 as a hit. I told them that an adjusted to-hit score less than or equal to their target's armor landed on armor and resulted in no damage to the creature. However an adjusted to-hit roll greater than the target's armor rating results in a D6 damage (plus modifiers if any). I see this as simply a variation on the to-hit die mechanic they are used to and the players seemed to make the adjustment without trouble.
I borrowed the armor values from the alternative combat system D20 table for character levels 1-3 (all my pregen PCs were 3rd lvl) so plate and shield is 17, chain and shield 15 and leather and shield 13. The various PCs have adds to their hitting D20 rolls. As I mentioned, a score of 1-4 on the D20 is a miss. Any higher score is a hit and the player adds any adjustment and announces the resulting attacking total. If it exceeds the target's armor value, the player rolls for damage which is deducted from the target's hit points. A magic user in robes has an armor value of 5, so a roll of a 5 hits, but gets tangled in the robes and does no damage. A shieldless character wearing armor deducts 1 from the armor rating, as does an armored character sans helmet. So a PC wearing chainmail (armor rating 15), but having no shield and no helm has an armor rating of 13.
For the one-shot (which is resulting in a two-shot thanks to some excellent role-play on the player's part and my misjudgment of time) I gave no explanation of why I determined those values for armor and no one asked, but I have given the system considerable thought and decided to share my rationale in this post.
The jump between a magic user of armor rating 5 in heavy robes to a fighting man, cleric or thief in leather armor's 13 seemed to require some explanation. My thought is that combat training accounts for the considerable difference. Those with combat training, all PCs except magic users, will know how to deflect blows and roll with the punches so as to make the most of their armor, shield and weapons. Being without a helmet or shield limits the defender in this task in some ways, but the biggest difference is having the suit of armor or not. Even with training, the fighting man who has nothing to work with (unarmored) is an easy target for someone with weapons who knows how to use them. After all, we are not talking about martial artists, monks and Bruce Lee.
No comments:
Post a Comment