In actual play RQG combat just works!

[smiorgan]

Just a short actual play report. New RQ game on Roll20. Four players three of which are relative newbies - two have D&D5 are their only ttrpg experience, the third has played a bit of RQ6/Mythras but never RQ2 or RQ3. We had the first BIG combat: arrows flying, sable riders charging, a shaman evoking a fire elemental, lots of spells cast, pikes sets against charge, impala rider chasing a smuggler who had cast mobility on himself, a good bit of melee attack and parry, Yelorna cultist attempting in vain to control the fire elemental, which was eventually torn to shreds with pikes.

It took a long time because players are still learning, but it all worked. Strike ranks and declarations of intent were not a problem and players always wanted to squeeze as many actions as possible in their round. Sometimes declared actions had to be aborted/ changed due to stuff happening. I basically did everything by the rules but without sweating the minutiae: there were probably one or two occasions were I played fast and loose with SR accounting erring in favor of the players. It all felt very dynamic.

Attack and parry exchanges were more fluid than I expected, but I kept the matrix in front of me on the GM's screen. Damage to parrying weapons created color that was appreciated by players. 

The main slowing factor was the players not knowing their spells, which is not really something specific to RQG.

My players are more storytellers than tacticians, but enjoy a good bit of dice rolling and ass kicking. They were thinking in terms of the fictional weorld and not of, say, the D&D rules and that helped a lot. In retrospect, they were the right types for RQ.

PS. Everyone, me included, was surprised that the salamander was killed with pikes. But that's according to the rules. I have played/ run so much Stormbringer in my life that the idea that salamanders are immune to normal weapons is deeply ingrained in me.   

 

  

[soltakss]

Yes, combat works well.

With two evenly-matched opponents things can get a bit dull, or you can frame it as two heroes slugging it out and it becomes exciting again.

What really slows it down is when Players don't make quick decisions as to what their Adventurers are doing.