A New Look at Combat (Part 11): Simplified Tactical Methods

For some people, the tactics presented in previous posts (Defining a System for Tactical Methods and Interaction of Tactical Methods) may be too detailed, or they may want a simpler way to transition into thinking about tactics from the character’s point-of-view, or understanding how they work. With that in mind, I decided it would be a good idea to post a simplification – it pares nine tactics down into five easy-to-understand categories and alleviates the need to cross-reference a table for bonuses.

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 7): Building a Combat System From the Ground Up

When designing a system for combat, the most important thing to keep in mind is the overall style of the game.  You want combat to seamlessly integrate with the narrative and keep the same mood.  If the game is gritty, combat should be harsh, with lasting consequences.  In a heroic game, combat may need to be more forgiving, while in a cinematic game, drama will dictate the magnitude of the combat effects.  This next series of posts will give some options for modeling the ideas of the previous posts for a generic system, along with some advice on how to adjust for other styles.

A New Look at Combat (Part 3): Considerations of Range and Movement

The concept of ‘turns’ in combat allows for actions to be taken while everyone else stands still; when this is removed, the ideas of range and movement need to be reconsidered.  Range, the distance between combatants, can’t be expressed in precise distances; ranges are dynamic, changing with the movement of the combatants.  What becomes important, then, is the relative range that each combatant is trying to maintain.  If one wants to be at a closer range than the other, then there may be a lot of movement as the former attempts to close while the latter tries to back up or circle to keep the other one away.