The First Rule of Combat #ttrpg
Practically speaking, the goal in combat is to inflict as much damage as you can on your opponents, while mitigating the damage your side will take. You don't enter a combat you don't think you'll win, and you try to gauge how much it'll 'cost'.
Some games are designed to allow for this kind of mentality (Shadowun as an example, 2e Legend of the Five Rings as another). Range, cover, and the sheer damage output the character can unleash can end a combat in a single round.
Other games don't consider this, and you're expected to whittle each other down until one falls or the other - and it's expected that both sides are going to suffer damage in the process.
Some GMs argue that it's to create a 'challenge' for the players to overcome. But here's the thing, is that, then, saying L5R and Shadowrun don't give challenging combat, simply because it's possible to 'win' without being hurt? Of course, it can swing the other way as well.
A lucky roll from an opponent can drop a PC just as fast as the PC dropping the opponent - that tension is still there. So why not allow such in games like D&D - where instead of whittling down each other over time, you can get the job done quickly.
To that extent, there are means to do so in games like Pathfinder 1e, D&D 3.5, and even D&D 5e. We have had characters in 5e do things like 2d10+3d6+X damage in a single shot, and in Pathfinder, 2d6+17 (at 8th level). We've got a character with an AC of 27 (at 8th level).
The goal isn't 'a challenging combat', the goal is the more realistic goal people have of 'defeat your opponent with as little harm to your side as possible'. And honestly, there shouldn't be anything wrong with this.
Does it make sense to stand your ground and swing at your opponent again and again, taking hits yourself until one of you falls down? Of course not. You don't go toe to toe until you absolutely have to.
You can, however, try to overwhelm your opponent immediately and apply the pressure so they can't hit you back. Though we don't think there's any games out there that allow for that: 'you got hit, make a save or you can't attack on your turn'.
So, that really leaves limited options: "hit the person so hard they stop moving." or "hit from range and make sure they can't hit back". Anticlimactic? Yes. But the *characters* probably don't WANT a dramatic fight with a good chance of being hurt or killed.
The best we've ever seen was a group of adventurers take down a dragon without a single injury. It involved 30 NPCs, layers of traps, an ambush, and a lot of spells and ranged attacks under cover. It took a few rounds, but the dragon didn't stand a chance.
A complete victory for the PCs. A celebration afterwards, money spent like water. Why 30 NPCs? This was 1e AD&D, you didn't do things without a small mob of NPCs to help out.
(Next post!)
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
The Importance of NPCs. #ttrpg
Long, long ago, PC parties didn't travel by themselves in groups of 4-5. Not often. It simply wasn't practical. The AD&D books included lists of henchmen and hirelings, and it was reasonably expected you'd have a few - more so when you hit 'name'.
Basically, around level 10 or so, you attracted followers. A lot of followers. You basically became a mobile army. But this made sense, and here's why:
A PC party. 5 members. With camping gear, horses, perhaps a wagon. You're going into the dungeons. Are you taking your horses, camping gear, and wagon with you? What about the 800 pounds of loot you've picked up so far? Is that going down there with you?
The Unique Beast.
We find it interesting, and frustrating, that unique creatures from our mythology become just generic creatures when they show up in a #ttrpg. Something gets lost when this happens.
First, and foremost, they always stop being mythological. By this, we mean such creatures can't only be taken down by 'a hero'. They're not as terrifying as they were in mythology - because it's expected a PC party should be able to beat them.
You don't have to be particularly heroic or special to take down the creature - and they lose impact when they become part of a species. For example, a town may say, "within the swamp lurks a hydra, it's killed 20 of our men."
#ttrpg "Too Generic"
There's some RPGs out there that have gone minimalist, and that works for them. Then there's others that go that route, and we're wondering what they're thinking.
Pick a genre or movie where 'getting better' - either linearly or laterally, is a thing.
For example, Star Wars. Luke's journey into learning how to use the Force. Any number of anime where the main character develops and grows. Superhero comics where the character has their origin and grows. You get the idea.
Now, imagine an RPG which completely throws that out to give you the most basic traits to cover the character's abilities.
For example, "The Force". If you're playing a Jedi, you get 'The Force'. Any challenge the GM throws at you, you can solve with 'The Force'.
@DymonStorage
So, you're planning to build at Baseline and Clyde. The local community fought you on this and lost. You plan on building a large building - taller than pretty much any other building in the area. Something that's going to blot out the view of a chunk of the area.
You plan to tear down the woods in the area, that houses wildlife. That people walk through and enjoy. Trees that the community get to watch change with the seasons. Where rabbits live. Where cats wander.
So. Here's the thing.
What are you going to give to replace this? What will you give to the community that replaces the trees, the wildlife, the serenity of that small patch between Merivale, Baseline, and Clyde?
#ttrpg#ttrpgredlist
Culture. Faith. Education.
This, we think, should be what determines what kind of magic a character has access to in games where magic exists. Rather than having magic be an open book where all spells are available to choose from,
where your character is from, where they were trained, and what beliefs exist should determine what's available and what isn't. You follow the Goddess of Peace, you don't get harmful spells. You're from a desert region, you might get a lot of fire, sand, and wind spells.
We had a character from an Arabian-like kingdom, so when we made a magus, we restricted elemental spells to fire and wind. The character had a few other spells to round things out (extra movement, buffs), but we decided that most of the spell list was out-of-bounds.
#ttrpg#ttrpgredlist
For us, a good RPG is one that allows you to explore the setting, in any way you wish, and support you in that goal. The mechanics should be able to support this desire, and the characters you want to make within the confines of the setting.
If the game doesn't have a setting, it needs to support the players (and game master) in the genre of the game - a fantasy RPG supports playing in a fantasy world, a cyberpunk RPG supports playing in a cyberpunk world.
And we believe, a good RPG needs to be able to provide the group options. For example, a cyberpunk game should provide support for street level, corporate, military, gang, media, entertainment, or sport-star characters. (Cyberpunk 2020, and Shadowrun, are excellent for this).