I apologise if I've posted this in the wrong forum, not sure where this would belong, but this idea I had is almost abstract. Its perhaps more contemplative than theoretical but here we go.
For the whole time I've been gaming - I'll specify this as pencil and paper RPGs to differentiate from a topic I'll be touching on - which is on and off for over ten years, I've always wondered about a more real time combat resolution system. Of course this is impossible in a tabletop game. Chaos would ensue, and initiative would be determined by the player able to throw dice and move miniatures the fastest (and this in turn would be determined by the comparative wrist muscle strength of each player, and lets face it, in the roleplaying community everyone's a strong competitor here).
There are virtual tabletops, but apart from allowing players to link up and game from separate locations, the use of such software only allows for ease of map and combatant visualisation. But on this train of thought, what if an action rpg engine, like the one used for Skyrim, could be used for combat resolution in roleplaying games?
You're all sat around the table, dice in hand as usual, the GM's maps and notes covered by a screen. The rogue rolls a listen check to see if he can hear anything. He does: primitive, animalistic grunts in some orcish dialect. The party prepares for action and the fighter opens the door...and then it happens: 'You open the wooden door to be greeted by the sight of a savage looking band of orcs and goblins brandishing spears, javelins and shortbows. What do you do?'
Well firstly, the players' answer is to whip out their ipads (a financial and physical drawback which will be added to the list of pros and cons I hope to initiate). Perhaps initiative is rolled and everyone, players and GM alike, begin controlling their respective players or groups of monsters in that order (I thought I'd add this feature to my theoretical software to accentuate the fact that the players reactions should always differ from his/her character's, at least to a degree). Battle is fought out blow by blow, by all combatants at the same time, with all the immediacy and swiftness of real life skirmishes.
As I said, this is mostly contemplative, and I have neither the knowledge nor the means to facilitate such a vision. But what, in theory, could be done with this idea? What would the drawbacks be? What would the benefits be?
I can think of a few points: For combat to work like battles in Skyrim and other such action rpg games, players and GM alike would have to be connected to computers or some kind of tablet device. Or maybe such a piece of software could be constructed for use as an app via an iphone or something? That would be more convenient. Still, this enforces a minimum cost on gaming, and I dislike anything that denies a player his right to come to the gaming table armed with only a pencil, a sheet of paper and a handful of oddly shaped dice.
And more so, with computers comes the risk of freezing, bugs, lagging, and a plethora of other technological headaches roleplayers are traditionally free from.
But what about the benefits? Fast, real-time combat, just as if you were really there. Just picture it: The minotaur knocks the wizard to the ground, raises his axe to finish the job, but the fighter jumps in to the rescue, swiping at the monster with his two-handed sword while the cleric casts recuperative magic on the fallen mage; all this happening before your eyes.
Or would it? Of course, unconventional tactics such as sliding down a banister to land a heel kick to the face of a bugbear while throwing your precious, bejeweled quarry to the good aligned halfling near the exit would be out of the question. The computerised combat would have to be paused in this instance, and picked back up again after such actions have been resolved.
But could this ever work? What if we did have a computer system sophisticated enough to facilitate live, multiplayer combat in this manner? We practically do anyway with MMORPGS. But do the likes of WoW and Age of Conan have any place in the world of tabletop gaming?
Lets be open minded here...
For the whole time I've been gaming - I'll specify this as pencil and paper RPGs to differentiate from a topic I'll be touching on - which is on and off for over ten years, I've always wondered about a more real time combat resolution system. Of course this is impossible in a tabletop game. Chaos would ensue, and initiative would be determined by the player able to throw dice and move miniatures the fastest (and this in turn would be determined by the comparative wrist muscle strength of each player, and lets face it, in the roleplaying community everyone's a strong competitor here).
There are virtual tabletops, but apart from allowing players to link up and game from separate locations, the use of such software only allows for ease of map and combatant visualisation. But on this train of thought, what if an action rpg engine, like the one used for Skyrim, could be used for combat resolution in roleplaying games?
You're all sat around the table, dice in hand as usual, the GM's maps and notes covered by a screen. The rogue rolls a listen check to see if he can hear anything. He does: primitive, animalistic grunts in some orcish dialect. The party prepares for action and the fighter opens the door...and then it happens: 'You open the wooden door to be greeted by the sight of a savage looking band of orcs and goblins brandishing spears, javelins and shortbows. What do you do?'
Well firstly, the players' answer is to whip out their ipads (a financial and physical drawback which will be added to the list of pros and cons I hope to initiate). Perhaps initiative is rolled and everyone, players and GM alike, begin controlling their respective players or groups of monsters in that order (I thought I'd add this feature to my theoretical software to accentuate the fact that the players reactions should always differ from his/her character's, at least to a degree). Battle is fought out blow by blow, by all combatants at the same time, with all the immediacy and swiftness of real life skirmishes.
As I said, this is mostly contemplative, and I have neither the knowledge nor the means to facilitate such a vision. But what, in theory, could be done with this idea? What would the drawbacks be? What would the benefits be?
I can think of a few points: For combat to work like battles in Skyrim and other such action rpg games, players and GM alike would have to be connected to computers or some kind of tablet device. Or maybe such a piece of software could be constructed for use as an app via an iphone or something? That would be more convenient. Still, this enforces a minimum cost on gaming, and I dislike anything that denies a player his right to come to the gaming table armed with only a pencil, a sheet of paper and a handful of oddly shaped dice.
And more so, with computers comes the risk of freezing, bugs, lagging, and a plethora of other technological headaches roleplayers are traditionally free from.
But what about the benefits? Fast, real-time combat, just as if you were really there. Just picture it: The minotaur knocks the wizard to the ground, raises his axe to finish the job, but the fighter jumps in to the rescue, swiping at the monster with his two-handed sword while the cleric casts recuperative magic on the fallen mage; all this happening before your eyes.
Or would it? Of course, unconventional tactics such as sliding down a banister to land a heel kick to the face of a bugbear while throwing your precious, bejeweled quarry to the good aligned halfling near the exit would be out of the question. The computerised combat would have to be paused in this instance, and picked back up again after such actions have been resolved.
But could this ever work? What if we did have a computer system sophisticated enough to facilitate live, multiplayer combat in this manner? We practically do anyway with MMORPGS. But do the likes of WoW and Age of Conan have any place in the world of tabletop gaming?
Lets be open minded here...
