Shardavaren el'Meschal de Torrays expected this to be an easy assignment. As a newly-elevated Queen's Own Shar, along with her mentor Eldavara el'Royans de Torrays, was sent to the neighboring Half-Ogre village of Slugfall (their quaint name for it) to escort home a Queen's Merchant. The Half-Ogers were a warlike people, barbarians really, but they had been at peace with the Realm for as long as anyone could remember. Lately Goblins had been spotted in the Shadow Forest near the village, so the Half-Ogers had been hunting their hated cousins in the woods - which left the roads open to bandits. No one expected there to be any trouble, and certinly trouble would stay away from two of the Queen's Own.
Of course, the road didn't turn out to be the problem - the village did. Unbeknownst to the Merchant his son was Mageborn, and of course the boy's latent magic decided that the middle of a village of creatures who feared and hated magic would be the ideal place to manifest themselves. The only sopt of fortune, if you could call it such, was that Sharn and Eldavara had arrived the evening after items had started moving on their own. It took some very fast talking to try to soothe the Half-Ogers, and the final decision was not exactly ideal - at least as far as Sharn was concerned.
The Half-Ogers killed any of their own with magic, which was what they wanted to do to the poor, frightened boy. They knew that the Realm used magic though, so Eldavara set out to convince them that the boy would be taken back and safely contained. That didn't quite work, there was some sort of behind-the-scenes maneuvering here that Sharn couldn't make out, and the Half-Ogers continued to press for killing the boy, and even started talking about adding his father for good measure. Finally, Eldavara appealed to their belief in their gods, and managed to arrange a duel. She argued that the gods (the Half-Oger's deities known for enjoying feats of prowess and contests of strength) must have brought the boy and the Queen's Own here at the same time to show the Half-Ogers that their allies could defeat any dark magic that might threaten both people. It was clever, and it worked.
Then, Eldavara sized up the Half-Oger's champion and declared that Sharn could handle the duel herself.
Thus, Sharn now found herself stripping off her mail armor in the dawn's light, breath steaming in the chill of autumn, hoping that she didn't either embarrass herself or get an innocent boy killed - and wasn't a hundred percent sure which scared her more. The fight itself was not going to be a problem, it was an honor-duel, to three touches and not blood. Stepping into the circle (which the half-Ogers kept permanently for such occasions) and facing off against the tall, twisted brute of a man-thing she said a silent prayer to The Lady and started formulating a plan...
The Combat Capabilities Map originally started as an idea for a party of characters - how to help show visually how each character fit into an overall strategy, and not just what specific actions they were taking. But I wanted the capabilities to cover broad, almost "universal," types of combat actions; so it seemed logical that you could also apply the CCM to a single character. Another thing was that I wanted this to be 'system neutral' at first, something that any game could use - but then I started thinking that most games are so focused on individual turn-based actions that it didn't seem like this was something you could just drop on top of an existing combat framework. So, I started thinking about how to create a simple set of rules to go with the CCM. I want something "rules-light" because most of the player's time should be spent considering what actions to take and not crunching numbers.
Here, then, is the next evolution in the CCM concept. It is still rough, horribly, embarrassingly rough - but I'm going to need to "think on paper" to develop this into something actually playable. Along those lines, I'm going to describe our heroine, Sharn, and "play out" her duel described above.
Making A Character
Sharn is going to be a new character, at a decent but lower power level. She's a "smart" fighter, one who uses insight and speed more than brute strength. So let's start making up some attributes and numbers and see what happens :)
Attributes
Physical:
Power +1 Finesse +2
Emotional:
Passion +2 Stability -1
Mental:
Focus +2 Coherence 0
Let's say that "average" is 0. Power is like strength, it's the ability to generate and direct raw physical force. Why not just call it 'strength'? Because I want to make things sound different for now (which will likely change as the idea evolves, fancy terms for fancy terms' sake is not a good design principle). At +1 Power Sharn is fit, athletic and in good shape. Finesse is dexterity and reflexes, with +2 she's very nimble.
I like the idea of separating emotional attributes from mental ones, heart and mind seem to be different forces on many people, and push them in different ways. With a Passion of +2 she's very volatile, with Stability -1 she sometimes goes too passionate, and her strong feelings can lead her to make poor choices.
Focus is mental power, the ability to concentrate and anaylze and deduce. Coherence is a general awareness, and the ability to recognize and react to things around the character. The high Focus means she has a laser-like awareness, but the average Coherence means she sometimes concentrates so much she gets blind-sided.
Capabilities
Fighting - 3 Combat Actions
d8: Tactician
d6: Protecting, Skirmishing
d4: Debuff, Striking
+1/CA (stacking) for any action
I'm thinking that we want default characters to be versatile, with at least a few capabilities. I'd say that all characters get 3 Combat Capabilities, one at d6 and 2 at d4. "Fighter" classes (or combat-focused characters) would get 5, 1 at d8, 2 at d6 and 2 at d4. This way everybody has something they are best at, but also some other options to prevent (hopefully) the "I hit it with my axe" syndrome.
Sharn is very much more a support character. Her Striking, to directly damage in melee, is only a d4. Skirmishing is about maneuver, getting in place to set up an attack or another action (like the Thief's iconic "sneak attack"), and at d6 it's respectable, so it can also be used offensively (I'm working on exactly how). Her defense, Protecting,is also a solid d6. Her best ability at d8 is Tactician, which helps her see how the battle is going to unfold. And her last minor ability is Debuff at d4, letting her reduce an enemy's effectiveness. Her blend of capabilities was meant to make a fighter who was not the stereotypical toe-to-toe slugger but someone who was smart and mobile.
Each turn you spend Combat Actions (CA) on what capabilities you want to use. 1 CA = 1 die of that capability's type, or you can spend 1 CA to get a single +1 to any capability (or stack it with an existing die or itself). The +1 default lets any character try anything, even though it might not be a lot (but hey, sometimes a fight comes down to just a point or two of difference).
Special Abilities
Passive:
Master Parry - reduce 1 Striking die by 2 pts each turn
Active:
Riposte - any Protection dice not countered become free attacks at -1 die type
Combo:
Wave-Rider - spending only Skirmishing and Protection dice for one round gives a bonus Striking die the same type as the Skirmishing die on the next round.
I was thinking there would be 3 kinds of abilities: Passive ones would be "always on," doing something each turn for free. "Active" abilities change how the dice normally work, giving the fighter's capabilities different effects from the default anyone can use (and while Active abilities are supposed to always be better, a character could always choose to just do the default if needed). "Combo" abilities would trigger something special if the dice were spent/used in a particular way.
Sharn's "Master Parry" passive show's how she's defense-minded, always keeping her guard up. The "Riposte" active ability means that if she has more Protection dice then the enemy's Striking attacks, she can turn the extras into attacks, but as smaller dice. So her base d6 Protecting dice become only d4 Striking Ripostes. "Wave-Rider" (from her 'Water-Form' school of fencing) let's her fall back, avoiding attacks and moving only, to gain an extra strike the next round (this bonus would be at d6 Striking, the same as her Skirmishing).
With those three things we now have a character. Let's play around with it and see what happens. First though, we need an opponent if we're going to have a duel...
Sizing up the opposition
Okay, so there's a big question in combat, and it is really important in a more tactical system like the one I'm trying to make here: how much is obvious and how much do you have to discover "in play"?
A big part of tactics is not just in the choices that one can make - but also in the information one has to base those choices on. If you knew everything you would have a huge tactical advantage, while knowing nothing makes every decision just a random throw of the dice (figuratively if not literally). In-between somewhere is the balance line of what seems reasonable. But how exactly to draw that line?
I'm thinking that there should be 2 things that are "free" information: the Physical stats and the highest Capability. Physically it doesn't seem to be unreasonable that you can look someone over and get a realistic feel for how powerful or nimble they are. This would be for the "base stats" only, and special modifiers like magic or cybernetics might be hidden. But I think each character should have at least a basic sense of other character's physical capabilities. I also want to say that the highest combat capability would also be something that could be observed and deduced. If a character's focus is Striking, well form follows function so they should have something about the way they stand, move, the weapons and armor and such they have, that would strongly suggest that. If a character had more than one capability at the same die type, then the character would choose just one to reveal.
These 2 things would also match the 2 points Sharn has in Focus, which matches with possibly making this Attribute-based, which I like the idea of - so let's see those 2 things about our enemy...
Half-Ogre Brute
Attributes
Physical:
Power +3 Finesse +1
Capabilities
d8: Striking
Being Half-Orge it's not much of a surprise that he has a high Power, he still looks pretty nimble with +1 Finesse - he's no slow, hulking brute. And his muscles and temperament make Striking a logical capability to be one of his highest.
Initiative
So who goes first? This is one of those foundational combat questions and sometimes a hard one to answer. Well, it's always a hard one to answer. There are so many ways to decide the turn order, and each adds a subtle to bold flavor to fighting. I don't like the individual initiative roll that D&D/ Pathfinder uses. I also don't really want to have different speeds for different weapons/ actions - that adds a lot of overhead tracking extra numbers. Instead, I want to use the Combat Capabilities Map itself to track initiative.
There are 2 types of initiative/ turn order, and they depend on how the fight starts. If a fight starts at close-quarters (both parties within just a few feet of each other, close enough they could make it to the other side in 1 round) then combat goes from the inside-out. First all Striking, Protecting and Grappling is resolved. Next all Skirmishing, Buff and Debuff. Last are Ranged, Leader, Tactician and Controller. Then the next turn starts and repeats the same order.
However, if a fight starts at a distance, or when both sides have time to see and prepare, then combat goes from the outside-in. First are Ranged, Leader, Tactician, Controller. Then Skirmishing, Buff and Debuff. Last Striking, Protecting and Grappling. Then the next turn goes in the same order.
I do have some other weird ideas for how to do initiative - but let's stick with this system for our brainstorm session here. And since this is a ritual fight between Sharn and the Brute, they both have plenty of time to size each other up so we're going to go from the outside-in.
Fight!
Okay, let's begin round 1 of combat.
First, everybody decides where they want to put their dice/ spend CAs. Sharn decides to put 1 die in Tactician, 1 in Protecting and 1 in Striking. She's hoping the Tactician re-rolls can let her lower the Brute's Striking or Protecting as needed. Once she and the GM indicate they're ready, they put down their dice on the appropriate boxes. The Brute is going to put 2 dice in Striking and 1 in Protecting. Sharn also discovers that he has d6s for Protecting. Placed dice have not been rolled, so they have no value yet.
Going outside-in initiative means Sharn rolls her Tactician d8 first. She gets a 3, and tactician uses her Focus, for a +2 and final score of 5. Every 2 points gives her 1 re-roll, and she has to select one character to target - which is easy since she's only fighting the one Brute.
Next, all the Striking and Protecting dice get rolled. Sharn gets a 3 Protecting and 2 Striking - both are modified by her Finesse (Protecting always is and her Striking is because she's using a rapier, a light sword) for totals of 5 Striking and 4 Protecting.
The Brute rolls 8 and 1 for Striking and 1 Protecting. His Striking is modified by Power (for his large club) and Protecting by Finesse; so his final totals are 11 and 4 Striking, 2 Protecting. Sharn decided to use one of her re-rolls on his highest Striking, which comes up a 6. she uses the last re-roll on it again, but it comes up another 6. So he has 9 and 4 Striking - then her Master Parry ability reduces those to 7 and 2. Her 4 Protecting isn't enough to stop the 7, however everybody gets a base "Dodge" equal to their Finesse (so even if you don't use any Protecting dice you still have a chance not to get hit). Shar's Finess of 2 matches the lower attack, so she'll Dodge it (have to roll over to hit). Normally her Protection of 4 would reduce the 7 Striking to just 3 damage, but we're not counting hits (both are fighting for honor so it's assumed they're pulling their blows). So Sharn is going to end up taking 1 hit, and the duel will end when someone takes 3.
Sharn, however, gets in a hit herself since her Striking of 5 beats the Brute's Protecting of 2. So they're tied at 1 hit each.
Round 2
Tied with hits, Sharn decides to go on the defensive and use her Combo ability. She's going to go 1 Skirmishing and 2 Protecting. Both sides place dice and the Brute is using his Combo as well, his All-Out Attack let's him place 2 dice together in a single attack (normally each die is a separate action) but he has to do all Striking for that turn, so he's going 3 Striking dice, confident that he can get in at least 1 hit.
Sharn's Skirmishing dice go first, she rolls a 5. Skirmishing dice work kind of like hybrid Protecting and Grappling dice, the number rolled is subtracted from any Striking dice, as evenly divided as possible across all the attacks. Skirmishing uses Coherence, which is a 0 for Sharn. Her Protection dice come up 1 and 4, with her finesse they're 3 and 6.
The Brute's first attack is 2 dice together, but still just once for her Power bonus, for rolls of 3 and 5, plus 3 Power makes 11 total. His second attack rolls a 7 for 10 total.
Sharn's Master Parry lowers his attacks to 9 and 8. Her Skirmishing of 5 divides into 3 and 2, lowering his attacks to 6 and 6. her Protecting of 6 will stop one attack, but her Protection of 3 isn't enough to stop the other, so she takes a second hit - the Brute still has only 1 hit.
Round 3
Sharn is now 1 hit away from losing, but after her last turn she gets a bonus Striking die at d6. She needs to get in 2 hits, and not take any, to win. So does she go aggressive, perhaps 2 Striking and 1 Protecting hoping to get in the hits and with some luck avoiding his attacks? Or play it more cautiously, 2 Protection to block his attacks and 1 Tactician to force some re-rolls to try and sneak in the bonus Striking? Or play it down the middle and go Tactician, Protection, and 2 Striking - really hoping for some lucky rolls or re-rolls?
In the end caution seems like her best bet, so she places 1 Tactician, 2 Protection and 1 Striking. The Brute decides to try and overwhelm her defenses with 3 Striking, sure he can land at least 1 blow and finish the duel.
Sharn's Tactician die comes up 3, for 5 total. Her Protection dice total 6 and 8. Her Striking totals 5. The Brute's Striking totals are 7, 6 and 9. She has him re-roll his highest Striking, but he rolls an 8 (11 total) and when she has him re-roll again it's another 8 (11). So Sharn stops 2 of his attacks, and gets in one of her own, but one of his attacks gets through and she loses 3 touches to 2.
[Okay, so I was literally making up these "rules" while I was writing this. It is a bad sketch, but there are a few things that came to me. While I like the simplicity of only 1 die per action, and small numbers, that does make them very swingy. I was actually rolling dice for all the examples, just to see how it would go. Also, having individual actions / attacks made it too easy to 'dog-pile' actions to get around your opponent's defenses - need to re-work that. In all I have to say that this is a mess (though I do like the random story and character that came from nowhere), but I still think there's something worthwhile in here. I'm going to keep playing around with the idea, this was just a little window into the random way my head works :) ]
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