"Tick" based combat

[Cowboy]

So, I missed the old tick-based combat system from Ringworld and wanted to reconstruct it.

However, I couldn't quite remember how it worked and ended up putting one together that should suit me well (although I haven't had a chance to actually take it for a spin yet as I'm currently running campaigns in two other systems). Anyway, I thought I'd post it up and give everyone here a chance to shoot it down ().

I implemented a few ideas from MRQ as well and kept the concept of rounds mainly so it would still be fully compatible with all subsystems dealing with rounds (durations for spells etc.)

Here's a link to the PDF.

A few notes: The constant added to the DEX-based SR can be changed to make DEX more or less important. If it's increased, DEX becomes less critical. If it's reduced, DEX becomes super-critical.

Let me know what you think.

[Mike844]

Anyone else come in here expecting "Spoon!"?

[Harshax]

Anyone else come in here expecting "Spoon!"?

:thumb:

But the initiative system seems pretty good. Not sure I'd use it, in settings where DEX enhancement could push most combatants into the SR0 Rank, but it reads well.

[Aycorn]

Anyone else come in here expecting "Spoon!"?

:lol:Yes, me. I was trying to think what that would look like - rules for getting smashed into a building and leaving a man-shaped hole in the side? Rules for throwing stiletto heels?

[deleriad]

So, I missed the old tick-based combat system from Ringworld and wanted to reconstruct it.

[snip]

Let me know what you think.

At the risk of sounding overly critical, I don't think that what you have written achieves anything other than to say "your SR is different every round." This would add a lot of overhead for little obvious gain.

I did run a few Ringworld scenarios back in the time and the reason the impulse system worked was that you almost never used it. When you did use it, normally it finished before more than a few things had happened. It always seemed like such a good idea until you actually tried to play it.

It looks to me that your system takes all the worst aspects of a tick-based system (tracking) and loses all the benefits in order to fit it into rounds.

As I said this probably sounds over-critical: playing with rules ideas is always fun it's just that this one looks like a dead end to me.

[Cowboy]

At the risk of sounding overly critical, I don't think that what you have written achieves anything other than to say "your SR is different every round." This would add a lot of overhead for little obvious gain.

I did run a few Ringworld scenarios back in the time and the reason the impulse system worked was that you almost never used it. When you did use it, normally it finished before more than a few things had happened. It always seemed like such a good idea until you actually tried to play it.

It looks to me that your system takes all the worst aspects of a tick-based system (tracking) and loses all the benefits in order to fit it into rounds.

As I said this probably sounds over-critical: playing with rules ideas is always fun it's just that this one looks like a dead end to me.

There's actually fewer variables to track than in any of the default initiative systems since you only need to track a single variable per character (initiative) instead of two (DEX rank and accumulated penalty to defense skill).

The rounds I added mainly to be able to keep it compatible with durations from the powers systems. In a game with now powers, the rounds could be jettisoned entirely.