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<blockquote data-quote="SavageCole" data-source="post: 8075518" data-attributes="member: 6750284">The role of combat plays in the sort of narrative you’re aiming to co-create leads to “better” answers.&nbsp; And of course personal taste trumps everything.&nbsp;&nbsp; For over the top combat, I like what Feng Shui/Wuxia can do.&nbsp; D&amp;D and Pathfinder have their place, for sure.&nbsp; And while I’m sorta tired of them both, I know I’ll use them to sell heroic saga type stories. But where I am these days, these are the things I’m trying to do with games and what systems work well for those .Combat Invites Disaster&nbsp;Personally, I’ve grown tired of games dominated by heroic/super heroic combatants.&nbsp;&nbsp; I totally get the appeal of cinematic and stylized&nbsp; violence in gaming, but I’m bigger at the moment on how brutal and dangerous fights can be.&nbsp; Entering combat is inviting risk of disaster and any scrap is meaningful and potentially deadly.&nbsp; So, we eschew attrition/hit points and embrace vulnerable characters and critical hit mechanics.&nbsp; BRP-derived games give that sense of vulnerability.&nbsp; I’ll include Warhammer FRP in there, but I’m talking Call of Cthulhu and Mythras/RuneQuest primarily.Fighting is not Passive (Offense and Defense)Combat systems where you wait your turn to attack leave me cold.&nbsp; Whether you’re going on offense or defending against an attack, you should be&nbsp; always on — in my mind that means testing your combat skill.&nbsp;&nbsp; Parrying, dodging, “fighting back”.&nbsp; So you roll when you attack and when you are attacked.&nbsp;&nbsp; Making fights opposed checks where you compare the quality of the attacker and defenders results feels good.&nbsp; My players love this vs. waiting until it’s your turn again.&nbsp;&nbsp; Again, Warhammer, Mythras, CoC.Soak/Armor Points vs. ACGetting hit and getting hurt are two different things.&nbsp; Armor’s more about the latter than the former, so I love systems where armor just means your suit of mail absorbs some of the damage dealt to you.&nbsp;&nbsp; This matters to me more than it should, but it is very intuitive and again players grok it and never look the same at AC after playing in a game with sensible armor rules.&nbsp; WFRP and Mythras.&nbsp; BRP.None of this is really any more complicated than what people do in “accessible” games like 5e, just different.&nbsp; I like few and brutal fights where every scrap is memorable.&nbsp; Quality vs. quantity of fights.&nbsp; Mythas and Warhammer right now are giving us exciting/terrifying fights — and ultimately that’s what I want an RPG combat system to deliver.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="SavageCole, post: 8075518, member: 6750284"] The role of combat plays in the sort of narrative you’re aiming to co-create leads to “better” answers. And of course personal taste trumps everything. For over the top combat, I like what Feng Shui/Wuxia can do. D&D and Pathfinder have their place, for sure. And while I’m sorta tired of them both, I know I’ll use them to sell heroic saga type stories. But where I am these days, these are the things I’m trying to do with games and what systems work well for those . [B]Combat Invites Disaster[/B] Personally, I’ve grown tired of games dominated by heroic/super heroic combatants. I totally get the appeal of cinematic and stylized violence in gaming, but I’m bigger at the moment on how brutal and dangerous fights can be. Entering combat is inviting risk of disaster and any scrap is meaningful and potentially deadly. So, we eschew attrition/hit points and embrace vulnerable characters and critical hit mechanics. BRP-derived games give that sense of vulnerability. I’ll include Warhammer FRP in there, but I’m talking Call of Cthulhu and Mythras/RuneQuest primarily. [B]Fighting is not Passive (Offense and Defense)[/B] Combat systems where you wait your turn to attack leave me cold. Whether you’re going on offense or defending against an attack, you should be always on — in my mind that means testing your combat skill. Parrying, dodging, “fighting back”. So you roll when you attack and when you are attacked. Making fights opposed checks where you compare the quality of the attacker and defenders results feels good. My players love this vs. waiting until it’s your turn again. Again, Warhammer, Mythras, CoC. [B]Soak/Armor Points vs. AC[/B] Getting hit and getting hurt are two different things. Armor’s more about the latter than the former, so I love systems where armor just means your suit of mail absorbs some of the damage dealt to you. This matters to me more than it should, but it is very intuitive and again players grok it and never look the same at AC after playing in a game with sensible armor rules. WFRP and Mythras. BRP. None of this is really any more complicated than what people do in “accessible” games like 5e, just different. I like few and brutal fights where every scrap is memorable. Quality vs. quantity of fights. Mythas and Warhammer right now are giving us exciting/terrifying fights — and ultimately that’s what I want an RPG combat system to deliver. [/QUOTE]

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