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Re: (TFT) Random thoughts on rpg combat systems.



While we are on the subject...

Many years ago, I designed "My Ultimate Role Playing System" (MURPS?? Of course, this predates GURPS) that used what I thought were the best parts of TFT as its basis.

For weapons, I used a different tact than what I had seen in the past - I based the damage dice of the weapon on the ST required to wield it, so that weapons that required more ST to use did more damage - no surprise there. I then used a progression of dice for the actual damage rating, split up by damage type. I 'factored in' the idea of hit location by the number of dice thrown and any modifiers. All of the combinations were based on some simple statistical work ups I had done for minimums, averages and maximums. I have not seen those notes in years so no specific examples come to mind.

Missile weapons were basically a die (d2, d3, d4, d5, d6, d8, d10, d12) with some -1s thrown in for some types. So basically 0 to max damage. The idea is that the hit is either really good, or really bad or something in between. I allowed damage re-rolls for critical hits or aimed shots (essentially the same thing). It is easier to get a max damage result with a missile weapon (intentionally in my system).

Edged weapons were typically 2 dice (of the types listed above) in staggered combinations to control the increase of both the average damage and the max damage. Thus there were weapons that did d4+d6 (higher min than d10, lower average) or d3+d8-1. I rationalized the averaging because these weapons are used in direct combat, and you are typically hitting a major location (head, chest, arms, etc.) that will have a debilitating effect on your ability to function. Most edged weapons do not have a lot of mass behind them, though - as the damage is mostly imparted by cutting through the armor/tissue.

Hafted/crushing type weapons were combinations of dice, similar to edged weapons, but had more dice (for a higher minimum and average). Same rationalizations as edged weapons, but more damage energy is imparted.

The 0's represented glancing blows or incidental damage - I got tired of worrying about hit locations and tracking fatigue separately from HP (I was playing DragonQuest, TnT and TFT). I once toyed with rating each weapon for type of damage (piercing, slicing and crushing) and armor for protection rating against each type, but quickly abandoned that as more paperwork than I wanted (or my players, more importantly).

I gave bonuses for 'extra ST' but there were also penalties (weapons breaking, as usual).

I was really happy with the result, but my players hated it. They hated having to roll different sized dice for every roll in the game! There is also the problem that armor was not handled very realistically without the different protection ratings.

The quest continues...
--
Always in motion is the future.
    	   Yoda

I practice Ty-Fu, the art of slaughtering what I type.

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself."
             Unknown

There's always someone better than you, but you're never as bad as some think you are."
             Rip Torn
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