Sword dueling

[Thief of Always]

Does anybody know of a good sword dueling combat system? Any kind will do, although I'm mainly looking for something oriental. It doesn't matter the flavor, theme, etc. as long as it's not complicated.

 

[Vaxalon]

You mean, like, aside from the D20 combat system? Because this site is, like, well, a seriously D20-oriented place, you know.

 

[Thief of Always]

You mean, like, aside from the D20 combat system? Because this site is, like, well, a seriously D20-oriented place, you know.

I was hoping for something compatible with d20, but really anything will work for me. I need something that sets dueling apart from other forms of combat, a way to reinforce the intimacy and atmosphere of dueling.

 

[jinx crossbow]

The best sword dueling system i know ist the one from the "original 7th Sea" (not the d20 swashbuckling). You have got swordschools with necks like fint, riposte....Rearly great for sword duels man to man. But its no d20.

 

[Henry]

If you are looking outside the realm of d20, there is a system called The Riddle of Steel that is pretty neat - I've had it demoed to me once, but several people on ENWorld swear by it if you want fast and slightly more realistic than a hit point model for one-on-one combats.

If d20 is only what floats your boat, however, I would suggest checking out some of the offerings at RPGNow.com, which has a number of d20 enhancements for free or cheap, including some sword dueling systems, I understand.

 

[Henry]

I was hoping for something compatible with d20, but really anything will work for me. I need something that sets dueling apart from other forms of combat, a way to reinforce the intimacy and atmosphere of dueling.

In this case, Riddle of Steel may be worth researching.

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/reviews/4

http://www.thegamekeep.com/riddle_of_steel.html

http://www.theriddleofsteel.net/about/

 

[diaglo]

rats Henry beat me to it
edit: twice even.

 

[Henry]

rats Henry beat me to it
edit: twice even.

Just 'cause you're a genius, doesn't mean you're fast.

 

[durin]

Does anybody know of a good sword dueling combat system? Any kind will do, although I'm mainly looking for something oriental. It doesn't matter the flavor, theme, etc. as long as it's not complicated.

You could use the system from Neverwinter Nights. Introduce a Parry Skill. When a parry is made, its attacker's Attack Bonus +d20 vs. defender's Parry Skill +d20. It's simple, but it's also a lot more complicated.

If you are worried about everyone under the sun taking this and bogging down your combat terribly you could try a number of different options...
-- Restrict the parry to certain kinds of swords that it makes sense for.
-- Restrict the kind of weapons one can parry. (A rapier blocks a great axe? um, no)
-- Add a feat called Parry, make Expertise and Combat Reflexes prereqs.
(Heck, for that matter you could just use Expertise as your Parrying mechanic. --> more on this below)
-- Require the parrying character to give up his next move action because he is now too occupied with finishing the parry.
-- Restrict the number of blows one can parry in a turn to the number of attacks one's BAB provides.

Now that I look at it all again, Expertise might be the least complicated way to go. As a DM, you simply describe any roll that would normally have hit, but not with expertise, as being parried. That might be the simpest way to go.
ex. Durin's AC is 18. He is wielding a longsword and declares Expertise of +4 for the round. Durin's AC is now 22.
Thief of Always rolls a 14 plus his Attack bonus of +6, which results in a 20.
Normally this would hit Durin's AC, but not at the moment because of his Expertise. Durin parries Thief of Always' attack.

Another idea might be to make a Parry Feat that reads like this:

PARRY [GENERAL]
You are adept at blocking strikes from your opponents while using a one-handed sword.
Prerequisite: BAB +6/+1, Proficiency with one-handed swords.
Benefit: As a standard action you may attempt to parry any one melee attack. To accomplish this, roll d20 + your attack bonus with the parrying weapon against the attacker's roll to hit. If your roll equals or exceeds the rollto hit you, the attack is parried.
As a portion of a full round action, any single attack can be sacrificed to parry any one melee attack against you. Therefore, if you have three attacks per round, you may attack once and parry twice, etc.

Still another idea might be to make a Parry skill that simply adds to armor class and handle it like Tumble is treated in Neverwinter Nights. Every five ranks in one's Parry skill adds a competence bonus of +1 to one's AC, but only while wielding a one handed sword. Anything that causes one to lose one's Dex bonus to AC also causes one to lose this competence bonus.

Hope this helps,
durin

P.S. I mentioned one handed swords a lot. I am only referring to a class of weapons. I meant it has to be a sword that can be wielded one handed. I did not mean the character must use it one handed. If the character wants to use a one handed sword in two hands, that's perfectly fine.

 

[Driddle]

I suggest giving two of your players swords, assigning roles ("You're the ogre; you're the paladin."), and letting them work out the scene.