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Any good morale systems for 3.x/Pathfinder?
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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 5598186" data-attributes="member: 1645"><p>I have long felt that <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/186860-realistic-combat.html" target="_blank">posturing</a> should hold a major place in "combat" -- with <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/186860-realistic-combat-9.html#post3332388" target="_blank">cool-looking combat gear</a> -- plumed helms, war standards, etc. -- made cool-looking specifically in order to be literally awesome.</p><p>I keep returning to the idea of zombies taking "critical hits" when they "should" die -- but they keep coming, minus an arm, or while advancing up the shaft of the spear, etc.</p><p></p><p>Really, anything that keeps fighting <em>at all</em> after getting wounded, when it could slink off, is pretty unusual. Berserkers should be scary not because they're using a special berserk-rage power, but because they're trying to kill you more than they're trying to stay alive.</p><p></p><p>If we take this outside our gaming experience, and we totally remove the expectation of a fight to the death, it's not clear that the orcs even attack in the first place. What do they think they're going to get out of it? And who wants to be the first orc to charge the great elf champion with the glowing sword?</p><p></p><p>In the source material (<em>Lord of the Rings</em>), the orcs cower in fear of a single (assumed) great elf champion, a simple hobbit with a magic sword -- and, unknown to them, at least not consciously, a ring of power.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, if their sergeant yells, "C'mon you apes, you wanna live forever?" it's not clear that they then attack in good order. They probably start posturing -- yelling, smacking their shields with their weapons, stomping their feet, etc. If the other side doesn't turn and run, then they might start to wonder, "Who are these guys?"</p><p></p><p>If their leader motivates them, and they do charge, they expect the enemy to drop their shields, turn, and run. That's how you win a battle. If that doesn't happen, they might start wondering, "Are we going to win?" Guys in the back might be happy to stay there, and losing the front line without pushing the enemy back would be <em>bad news</em>.</p><p></p><p>You wouldn't need anywhere near 50 percent casualties to trigger a rout. (I suppose proportions get a bit weird with only five or ten guys on a side though.)</p><p></p><p>So, I suspect you'd be best served by a morale system with <em>some</em> numbers -- like an Intimidate skill with bonuses for cool-looking gear -- but with checks not-so-rigidly defined and results not so binary. Under 3E's rules, for instance, a successful intimidate check leaves the target <em>shaken</em> for 1 round, when it should probably leave them <em>shaken</em> indefinitely, potentially <em>frightened</em>, and even <em>panicked</em>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 5598186, member: 1645"] I have long felt that [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/186860-realistic-combat.html]posturing[/url] should hold a major place in "combat" -- with [url=http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/186860-realistic-combat-9.html#post3332388]cool-looking combat gear[/url] -- plumed helms, war standards, etc. -- made cool-looking specifically in order to be literally awesome. I keep returning to the idea of zombies taking "critical hits" when they "should" die -- but they keep coming, minus an arm, or while advancing up the shaft of the spear, etc. Really, anything that keeps fighting [i]at all[/i] after getting wounded, when it could slink off, is pretty unusual. Berserkers should be scary not because they're using a special berserk-rage power, but because they're trying to kill you more than they're trying to stay alive. If we take this outside our gaming experience, and we totally remove the expectation of a fight to the death, it's not clear that the orcs even attack in the first place. What do they think they're going to get out of it? And who wants to be the first orc to charge the great elf champion with the glowing sword? In the source material ([i]Lord of the Rings[/i]), the orcs cower in fear of a single (assumed) great elf champion, a simple hobbit with a magic sword -- and, unknown to them, at least not consciously, a ring of power. Anyway, if their sergeant yells, "C'mon you apes, you wanna live forever?" it's not clear that they then attack in good order. They probably start posturing -- yelling, smacking their shields with their weapons, stomping their feet, etc. If the other side doesn't turn and run, then they might start to wonder, "Who are these guys?" If their leader motivates them, and they do charge, they expect the enemy to drop their shields, turn, and run. That's how you win a battle. If that doesn't happen, they might start wondering, "Are we going to win?" Guys in the back might be happy to stay there, and losing the front line without pushing the enemy back would be [i]bad news[/i]. You wouldn't need anywhere near 50 percent casualties to trigger a rout. (I suppose proportions get a bit weird with only five or ten guys on a side though.) So, I suspect you'd be best served by a morale system with [i]some[/i] numbers -- like an Intimidate skill with bonuses for cool-looking gear -- but with checks not-so-rigidly defined and results not so binary. Under 3E's rules, for instance, a successful intimidate check leaves the target [i]shaken[/i] for 1 round, when it should probably leave them [i]shaken[/i] indefinitely, potentially [i]frightened[/i], and even [i]panicked[/i]. [/QUOTE]
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Any good morale systems for 3.x/Pathfinder?
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