A New Look at Combat (Part 10): Interaction of Tactical Methods

The tactics discussed in the preceding post (Defining a System for Tactical Methods) are the basics which give up some measure of offense or defense in order to gain the other. Previous posts (see Specialized Tactics, and More Specialized Tactics) introduced some tactics that are employed specifically to exploit others. These have no system effect on their own; instead, they give an unbalanced bonus (or penalty) only when employed against the correct (or incorrect) tactical method. This allows a smart combatant to take advantage of one who is less savvy.

A New Look at Combat (Part 9): Defining a System for Tactical Methods

While the preceding articles contain enough guidelines to create or modify a combat system for quick and light combat that is still engaging, many games require a system with more depth to make combat more interesting and to give combat-savvy characters a chance to shine. The idea of tactics that was introduced in Part 4 (Introduction to Tactical Methods) allows us to focus on how exactly a combatant is fighting, and the interplay between tactics, range, and effects (damage, disarms, forced movement, studying the enemy) creates an incredibly wide variety of situations that will make each fight distinctive, and differentiate enemies by more than just which special powers they have.

A New Look at Combat (Part 6): More Specialized Tactics

This is a continuation of Part 5 of this series (Specialized Tactics).  These last two tactical methods illustrate some of the depth of the interactions between these and previous tactics.  With these basic concepts explained, the next post will look at ideas for building these concepts into an actual system.

A New Look at Combat (Part 5): Specialized Tactics

Part 4 of this series (Introduction to Tactical Methods) discussed the fundamental categories of tactics – how precisely a character intends to accomplish his goal in combat.  The four described previously are the ones that are most generally applicable; the ones that follow are used to exploit particular tactics, and in turn have their own weaknesses.  The interplay of the various methods are what will help to bring your combats to life and engage the players.