Combat Generator?

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Would it be possible/feasible to make a combat generator to test encounters? You could plug in all the abilities, HD, numbers of combatants, etc., and then create a % chance of one side winning over the other and what the casualities would be (sorta like the odds of winning a hand on the TV poker shows).

It wouldn't be easy and I doubt you'd have a 100% foolproof system, but it might be realistic something like 75% of the time.

What's the point you ask? For one, DMs could use it to gauge encounters - not only to see who would win, but to see how close it would be and maybe how long it would last. It could also be used for mass encounters or secondary encounters that you don't want to actually play out.

I know it would difficult and would require some ad hoc rulings (especially concerning the use of magic or magic items), but since CR and EL already exist I would think it must be possible...

Thoughts?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Would it be possible/feasible to make a combat generator to test encounters? You could plug in all the abilities, HD, numbers of combatants, etc., and then create a % chance of one side winning over the other and what the casualities would be (sorta like the odds of winning a hand on the TV poker shows).

It wouldn't be easy and I doubt you'd have a 100% foolproof system, but it might be realistic something like 75% of the time.

What's the point you ask? For one, DMs could use it to gauge encounters - not only to see who would win, but to see how close it would be and maybe how long it would last. It could also be used for mass encounters or secondary encounters that you don't want to actually play out.

I know it would difficult and would require some ad hoc rulings (especially concerning the use of magic or magic items), but since CR and EL already exist I would think it must be possible...

Thoughts?

It would be too difficult, IMO. I've never been impressed by the AI of creatures, especially spellcasters, in DnD-based video games. I think the sample party or creature might make "bad decisions" and skew the results.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Maybe, but it isn't so much to determine round by round tactics (which I would expect wouldn't even be given) as it is to determine the ultimate victor(s) and casualties.

 

[Babylon Knight]

Don't forget enviroment too, that opens up a whole other can o worms'

 

[Silveras]

It wouldn't be easy and I doubt you'd have a 100% foolproof system, but it might be realistic something like 75% of the time.

What's the point you ask? For one, DMs could use it to gauge encounters - not only to see who would win, but to see how close it would be and maybe how long it would last. It could also be used for mass encounters or secondary encounters that you don't want to actually play out.

I know it would difficult and would require some ad hoc rulings (especially concerning the use of magic or magic items), but since CR and EL already exist I would think it must be possible...

Thoughts?

1. I believe that is how Grim Tales Mass Combat system works, based on the EL of the opposing forces.

2. What you are describing is exactly what the EL is. The EL is a guide for the DM to gauge, approximately, how likely it is for the party to win and how many resources would be exhausted in the process. It is not 100% accurate, but it is a reasonable base guideline.

 

[shilsen]

Not a chance. CR already does (supposedly) what you're hoping for and it does so with a large number of variables pre-set (number of PCs, assumptions about classes present stat creation method, wealth & equipment per level, etc.). As soon as you start moving away from those pre-set assumptions, CR begins to break down. For the kind of program you describe, the variables are astronomical.