shadow
First Post
A while back I had inquired on the forums about the Codex Martialis combat rules when the author was nice enough to send me a copy of the rules.
Having read through the rules, I am impressed by the system, although I must mention with a caveat that they are not suited for all gaming groups or play styles.
First Impressions
The PDF is a 100 pages with some illustrations. Many of the illustrations are culled historical public domain artwork, which actually fits the theme very nicely. There are also some original black and white pieces that are fairly well done.
The actual presentation is fairly plain. Unlike most professional, modern RPG books, there are no borders, backgrounds, or shading. This, however, can be a good thing when it comes to printing out the PDF.
The text is fairly clear and easy to understand. I noticed a few typos here and there, but nothing that detracts from understanding the text.
A Deeper Look
The PDF starts with an overview of the Martial Pool, a mechanic that completely replaces the standard d20 combat system. Instead of getting a standard number of attacks or move actions per round, each round a player gets a number of dice (based on the Base Attack Bonus) that can be spent on attacks and movement. Players can spend dice making multiple attacks, or they can spend multiple dice to make a single attack (taking the highest roll). Dice can be saved to make an Active Defense (giving you a bonus to your opposed defense role) or an attack of opportunity should the opportunity arise. I really like this system because it gives players a lot of control over combat; a player can try to make multiple attacks, make a single accurate attack, or focus primarily on defense. That said, however, the Martial Pool system can make combat very dangerous when there are multiple opponents since players are limited to four dice. A DM could increase the maximum number of dice, but that would rapidly lead to very powerful characters.
The next section is the combat rules themselves. Besides the Martial Pool, one of the biggest changes is the range and weapon rules. Weapons are given a reach bonus (for initial attacks against an opponent), a speed bonus (for subsequent attacks against the opponent), and a defense bonus (when fighting defensively). In other words, each weapon is unique. Polearms are good for fighting at a range, but are useless when close up. Because of their speed, daggers can be deadly if you can get close enough to your opponent. Since weapons have different bonuses depending on the range, these rules require that players keep track of whether their characters are in onset range, melee range, or grapple range. On one hand, these rules make combat a lot more tactical - weapon choice and range become extremely important. On the other hand, more bookkeeping is required. Although, nowhere near the amount of bookkeeping required for some tactical wargames, the extra complexity make these rules poorly suited for groups wanting fast paced combat.
The next two chapters deal with feats developed for the system. The feats are intended to emulate actual historical fighting styles. Most of the feats are given the names of the actual historical fighting maneuvers. The feats themselves are pretty well done and dovetail with the rest of the system fairly well. If I have a complaint with the feats, it's the foreign/historic naming of the feats. While I'm somewhat of a history and language buff, the way the feats are named makes it hard to know what the feats do with an initial glance. I suppose it's a minor complaint, but I would rather have more generic names for the feats.
In the version 23 of the rules, we also have an appendices for magic, OGL feats, warhorses, and animals.
The magic section is an incomplete, one page supplement that will be expanded in future supplements. Here magic users can cast above their level or use spells that are not memorized if they read out of their books, but doing so has a chance of failure. This appendix seemed really out of place and incomplete to me. I would have rather seen the space used to detail how all the d20 spells worked in the Codex rules.
The OGL feat appendix explained how standard feats from the SRD work under the Codex rules. Not surprisingly, a large number of the feats are either modified or discarded. Given that the Codex is supposed to be a complete combat system in itself, one may wonder why the feats from the SRD are necessary. Still, this appendix does a good job of allowing DMs to incorporate standard d20 feats into the Codex system.
The appendix on warhorses corrects one glaring problem with standard d20 rules. Other than transportation, characters have little reason to ever use a mount in the standard d20 rules. Even the paladin's special mount rarely came into play in any games that I ever played in. With the Codex rules, "deluxe" warhorses add their strength to the rider's attack and damage roles during a charge.
The appendix on animals explains how to generate statistics for animals using the Codex rules as well as providing thirteen pregenerated animals. This section does a good job explaining how to generate statistics and the rules mesh well with the rest of the system. My only complaint is that this appendix focuses only real world animals without any rules for the extraordinary or supernatural attacks found with many of the creatures from the SRD.
Overall, I was quite impressed by the Codex combat rules. I have always felt that combat using standard d20 rules was fairly lackluster. Combat using the Codex rules is tactical, making different weapons and maneuvers actually mean something. However, combat in Codex Martialis can be quite deadly, making it best suited for "low fantasy" and "grim and gritty" games. This is not to say that a high fantasy game can not use the rules, but the rules lean toward the "simulationist" end of the spectrum which might not work well with groups wanting fast paced, cinematic combat.
The usefulness of the Codex Martialis for your games will depend largely on your play style. Groups wanting more "realistic" and tactical combat will benefit greatly from the rules. Groups looking for over the top, cinematic or legendary heroes probably should look elsewhere.
Having read through the rules, I am impressed by the system, although I must mention with a caveat that they are not suited for all gaming groups or play styles.
First Impressions
The PDF is a 100 pages with some illustrations. Many of the illustrations are culled historical public domain artwork, which actually fits the theme very nicely. There are also some original black and white pieces that are fairly well done.
The actual presentation is fairly plain. Unlike most professional, modern RPG books, there are no borders, backgrounds, or shading. This, however, can be a good thing when it comes to printing out the PDF.
The text is fairly clear and easy to understand. I noticed a few typos here and there, but nothing that detracts from understanding the text.
A Deeper Look
The PDF starts with an overview of the Martial Pool, a mechanic that completely replaces the standard d20 combat system. Instead of getting a standard number of attacks or move actions per round, each round a player gets a number of dice (based on the Base Attack Bonus) that can be spent on attacks and movement. Players can spend dice making multiple attacks, or they can spend multiple dice to make a single attack (taking the highest roll). Dice can be saved to make an Active Defense (giving you a bonus to your opposed defense role) or an attack of opportunity should the opportunity arise. I really like this system because it gives players a lot of control over combat; a player can try to make multiple attacks, make a single accurate attack, or focus primarily on defense. That said, however, the Martial Pool system can make combat very dangerous when there are multiple opponents since players are limited to four dice. A DM could increase the maximum number of dice, but that would rapidly lead to very powerful characters.
The next section is the combat rules themselves. Besides the Martial Pool, one of the biggest changes is the range and weapon rules. Weapons are given a reach bonus (for initial attacks against an opponent), a speed bonus (for subsequent attacks against the opponent), and a defense bonus (when fighting defensively). In other words, each weapon is unique. Polearms are good for fighting at a range, but are useless when close up. Because of their speed, daggers can be deadly if you can get close enough to your opponent. Since weapons have different bonuses depending on the range, these rules require that players keep track of whether their characters are in onset range, melee range, or grapple range. On one hand, these rules make combat a lot more tactical - weapon choice and range become extremely important. On the other hand, more bookkeeping is required. Although, nowhere near the amount of bookkeeping required for some tactical wargames, the extra complexity make these rules poorly suited for groups wanting fast paced combat.
The next two chapters deal with feats developed for the system. The feats are intended to emulate actual historical fighting styles. Most of the feats are given the names of the actual historical fighting maneuvers. The feats themselves are pretty well done and dovetail with the rest of the system fairly well. If I have a complaint with the feats, it's the foreign/historic naming of the feats. While I'm somewhat of a history and language buff, the way the feats are named makes it hard to know what the feats do with an initial glance. I suppose it's a minor complaint, but I would rather have more generic names for the feats.
In the version 23 of the rules, we also have an appendices for magic, OGL feats, warhorses, and animals.
The magic section is an incomplete, one page supplement that will be expanded in future supplements. Here magic users can cast above their level or use spells that are not memorized if they read out of their books, but doing so has a chance of failure. This appendix seemed really out of place and incomplete to me. I would have rather seen the space used to detail how all the d20 spells worked in the Codex rules.
The OGL feat appendix explained how standard feats from the SRD work under the Codex rules. Not surprisingly, a large number of the feats are either modified or discarded. Given that the Codex is supposed to be a complete combat system in itself, one may wonder why the feats from the SRD are necessary. Still, this appendix does a good job of allowing DMs to incorporate standard d20 feats into the Codex system.
The appendix on warhorses corrects one glaring problem with standard d20 rules. Other than transportation, characters have little reason to ever use a mount in the standard d20 rules. Even the paladin's special mount rarely came into play in any games that I ever played in. With the Codex rules, "deluxe" warhorses add their strength to the rider's attack and damage roles during a charge.
The appendix on animals explains how to generate statistics for animals using the Codex rules as well as providing thirteen pregenerated animals. This section does a good job explaining how to generate statistics and the rules mesh well with the rest of the system. My only complaint is that this appendix focuses only real world animals without any rules for the extraordinary or supernatural attacks found with many of the creatures from the SRD.
Overall, I was quite impressed by the Codex combat rules. I have always felt that combat using standard d20 rules was fairly lackluster. Combat using the Codex rules is tactical, making different weapons and maneuvers actually mean something. However, combat in Codex Martialis can be quite deadly, making it best suited for "low fantasy" and "grim and gritty" games. This is not to say that a high fantasy game can not use the rules, but the rules lean toward the "simulationist" end of the spectrum which might not work well with groups wanting fast paced, cinematic combat.
The usefulness of the Codex Martialis for your games will depend largely on your play style. Groups wanting more "realistic" and tactical combat will benefit greatly from the rules. Groups looking for over the top, cinematic or legendary heroes probably should look elsewhere.
Last edited:
