The important elements of combat...

Okay, continuing from my last post, I - for my own benefit really - am going to list what I think the important elements of combat are, and what a good combat system should endeavour to achieve.  I still think I might be trying to reinvent the wheel, as I expect smart people have already done this, and I should just get out there and try some new game systems.  (Have I mentioned the D6 system yet?  Must try the D6 system... I've got a thing for d10s though.  Maybe I'll just read the D6 system, and turn it into the D10 system, to make use of the 126 d10s I have lying about).

So, what must a combat system cater for?

• The skill of the attacker
• The skill of the defender
• Situational modifiers like weather, position, surprise etc.
• Multiple attackers or defenders
• Speed of resolution
• Bleeding rules
• Stun rules
• KO rules
• Death rules
• The random element
• Luck of the Gods (bonuses added by the players when they need them most)
• Armour
• Targeted strikes ("I'm aiming for his legs")

Now, firstly, can all these be distilled (read: simplified) into a single roll?  Probably, yes.  (Note to self: must check out the D6 system).  But if so, how do we cater for complex mechanics like bleeding and stuns?

Okay, for the sake of exploring this notion, I'm going to go out on a limb here.  I'm itching to try a new system (D6! D6!).  And I'm liking the sound of these systems that use multiple dice.  Like.  You have six skills ranks in something, and so you roll six dice. Maybe luck of the gods, can add some extra dice into the mix.  So say you roll eight dice.  Maybe you need to get higher than a 4 to succeed, on any one of them.  For a flat skill check like climbing a wall.  But in combat damage is being dealt.  Hit points are being lost.  Extreme successes should result in criticals - criticals can be extra damage, but they can also be bleeding or stuns.  Screw this post.  I'm going in to town tomorrow and I'm going to buy the D6 system.

And I'm also going to talk to the geeks behing the desk about combat, and see if they suggest any other systems which deal with combat well.

In the meantime, I'm going to find some geeky RPG forum and ask what other people think are good combat systems.

I feel a change coming on.