Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Dynamic RP: Combat Thu Sep 02, 2010 4:18 am
"I have seen enough of war.." - Master K'Kruhd, Whipid Jedi
Combat in D-RP is actually quite simple, but has enough rules to make is as complicated or cinematic as needed.
THE BASICS
Before we go into detail and examples, here are the things you need to keep in mind when learning combat in D-RP
Time: How time moves in D-RP is not quite static, but is not as fluid as real-time either because each person in a group takes their turn to act, keeping the balance and the play-field fair. Obviously in a real life situation everyone would be working across one another, at different times or simultantiously. This is a game however, and for everyone to get their 'air-time' and to allow the Storyteller to keep up, time is regimented in combat, and fluid out of combat. Think of it like 'taking turns' in a board game.
How time works:
Turn / Action: Every time your character does something in combat, it is considered an 'action' and it makes up their 'turn'. Round: A Round is the term given to explain collectively when everyone has had a turn. Once everyone has had a 'turn' then the Round ends and moves on to a new Round. Unless stated otherwise, each character has 1 Turn per Round. A Round lasts exactly how long it takes for everyone to have their Turn. Encounter: An Encounter is the description we give for the entire of combat. Outside of combat Time moves fluidly and does not need to be monitored. Inside of combat time is more rigid and is monitored. From the first attack to the last, this time frame is called an Encounter. An Encounter can have as many Rounds as is needed to complete it.
Summary of Time in Combat:
* Each character has 1 turn per Round * A Round is made up of Turns. Once everyone has had their turn it is the end of the Round * An Encounter is made up of Rounds. Once combat has ended it is the end of the Encounter
Killing and Death: Players don't 'die' in D-RP, instead they are taken "out-of-play" for a while, where their characters rest and heal up. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is that nobody wants their character killed off before they can play TOR. In a similar way to mmo's where "death is not permanent", in D-RP you can be taken out of the fight, but you're never gone for good. (see 'Injury & Death' in the Game System section for more details) On the other hand, NPCs, Villains and innocents can and in many cases will die.
Summary of Death in Combat:
Players can be taken out of play through 'death' but will always come back, in time.
HOW COMBAT WORKS
As previously stated, Combat is actually pretty simple (though it might not seem it on the first couple of tries!). All combat, regardless of what it is - from a fist-fight to a star-ship dogfight - follows these same 3(4) steps:
COMBAT SEQUENCE:
(0. Surprise Round )(Optional): If the Storyteller grants that one side of the opponents 'gets the drop' on the other (as in, attacks without the other side being aware of their presence) then they get a 'suprise round' where only the attackers get to act, and the defenders are caught 'flat footed' (this is identical to being 'Prone' see Game System Section). At the end of this Round, move on to Step 1.
1. Initiative: At the start of the first round each player rolls to see who goes first. They roll a 20-sided dice on the dice roller and add their AGI score to the result. Highest goes first, then everyone takes turns. Example: Player 1 has an AGI score of 0. Player 2 has an AGI score of 2. Player 3 has AGI score of -1. Enemy 1 has an AGI score of 0. Player 1 rolls a d20 and gets 5 (5+his AGI of 0 = 6 for his Initiative) Player 2 rolls a d20 and gets 11 (11+his AGI of 2 = 13 for his Initiative) Player 3 rolls a d20 and gets 17 (17-his AGO of -1 = 16 for his Initiative) Storyteller rolls a d20 and gets 14 (14+his AGI of 0 = 14 for his Initative) Player 3 goes first, then Enemy 1, Player 2 and finally Player 1.
2. Act/React: Each character gets to act in Initiative order. Unless otherwise stated, each character has only 1 action per turn.
3. New Round: Once everyone has had a turn, the current Round ends and a new one begins, in the same Initiative order, with the highest Initiative going first.
HOW TO ATTACK:
To attack someone, do the following:
1. Declare what you are going to do. Example: "Gideon is going to shoot the scumbag from across the hall..."
2. Roll to see if you hit. [Skill]+[Abilily]+Other Modifiers + Roll d20 vs Opponents Reflex Defense (+/- modifiers) If the total result equals or is higher than the opponent's Reflex Defense, it is a 'hit' The TN to reach = the opponent's Reflex Defense. Example: Gideon Has Pistols (6) and DEX (1). Adding these together his total 'To Hit Bonus' = +7. The Storyteller says Gideon's opponent has a Reflex Defense of 12. This becomes Gideon's TN to hit his opponent. Gideon Rolls a d20 and gets a 6. Adding his To Hit Bonus of +7 to this he gets a total of 13, which beats the TN of 12. He hits!
3. Deal Damage. Each weapon has a Damage listed with it, and if you succeed in hitting your opponent this is the amount of dice your roll. The total that you roll is the amount your opponent takes in Hit Points (HP). Example: Gideon has successfully hit his opponent. He's using a Blaster Pistol, which does 3d6 Energy Damage. So, he rolls 3d6 getting a 6, a 6 and a 4. Adding them up totals 16 Damage, so his opponent takes 16 off of his HP total.
If he were using a melee weapon, he would also add his PHY score to the damage, because the strength of the swing effects how hard he hits. Say Gideon has 1 PHY and has just hit his opponent with a Vibroblade instead of the Blaster. Vibroblades do 2d6 Damage, so Gideon rolls 2d6. He gets a 4 and a 5 for a total of 9 Damage. Adding the +1 from his PHY Ability Score, he does a total of 10 Damage, so his opponent takes 10 off his HP total.
To Hit Summary:
* TN to hit someone is determined by Storyteller but is usually equal to opponent's Reflex Defense * Add Skill (eg: Pistols) to corresponding Ability Score (eg: DEX) to get "To Hit Bonus" * Roll d20 and add 'To Hit Bonus' to result. If this equals or beats TN, its a hit.
HOW TO DEFEND:
There are numerous ways to make yourself harder to injure...
1. Improve your Reflex Defense: You want to get your Reflex Defense as high as you can because the higher it is, the harder you are to hit in the first place. There are quite a few ways to do this: having a high AGI Ability Score helps, and some items add to your Reflex Defense. Try to get as many Ranks in the Reflex skill as you can too as well; this aids in your Reflex Defense. An effective way to increase it is with the use of Armour, but make sure you have the corresponding Armour Skill to go with it!
2. Personal Shields: Expensive, but excellent. A shield has an SR (Shield Rating) and this rating automatically soaks up an amount of damage equal to that rating. For example a shield with 10 SR allows you to ignore the first 10 points of Damage done to you with each attack. If someone hits you for 9 Damage or less when you have that shield equipped it just bounces off, doing no damage.
3. Get the 'Evasion' Feat: With some attacks, the Storyteller will allow you to make a Reflex check to see if you can get out of the way. If you can, you take only 1/2 damage (in the case of things like explosions). However, if you get the Evasion feat and succeed at one of these Reflex checks then you take NO damage.
REFLEX CHECKS: Some attacks - such as explosions, certain Force Powers, area-of-effect attacks etc - can be actively dodged. When one of these attacks occur your Storyteller might well ask you to make a Reflex Check and give you a TN to beat. Should you succeed in doing this you will be able to take only 1/2 damage as you were able to escape the majority of the effected area. Note however that your Storyteller will inform you of this - do not assume that just because they are asking you to make a Reflex Check that it is because you are about to avoid a wide-area effect attack!
ARMOUR- REFLEX & FORTITUDE:
You'll notice 2 distict scores with your Armour, Reflex Bonus and Fortitude Bonus.
Reflex Bonus adds directly on to your Reflex Defense, and your total Reflex Defense is the TN your opponent needs to reach to hit you in combat. If your Reflex Defense is 16, someone hitting you would have a TN16 to do so.
Fortitude Bonus is a tiny bit more complex because it has 2 uses. First, it adds directly onto your Fortitude Defense and secondly it allows you to sometimes 'shake off' or 'soak' some of the damage done to you. When you are hit in combat, and damage is done to you, make a Fortitude Check (TN15). If you succeed, you reduce the damage done to you equal to the Fort Bonus of the Armour (not your total Fortitude Defense). Failure means you take full damage.
For example: If your armour has +6 Fort Bonus and you are hit for 20 damage and you succeed a Fortitude Check, you would take 14 Damage (20-6). If you failed you would take the full 20 Damage.
POISONS, DISEASES & TOXINS:
Not all attacks do immediate, intense damage. Some take effect over time, causing more subtle but just as dangerous types of damage. All Poisons, Diseases and Toxins are slightly different, but each can be resisted at the point of contraction/administering. To resist one of these hazards, the Storyteller will give the player a TN they need to reach just like any other roll, but they use their Fortitude Defense to do so. Success means that the hazard has no effect, but each time the character comes into contact with it a new Fortitude Defense roll must be made.
OTHER COMBAT COMPLICATIONS:
Many other rules (such as cover/concealment, prone etc) are covered in the Game System Section because they can come into effect out-of-combat as well as during. Any other rules which come to light via playtesting will be added here - come back often to see if there have been any changes.