Facing: Cool or Lame?

In your ideal rpg, would you like rules for facing?


the Jester

Legend
In your ideal rpg, would you like rules for facing? Do you think they are lame and add unnecessary tracking, or is not having them lame and unrealistic?

Vote and discuss!
 

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Completely depends on the system. It works well for things like Space Hulk.

So the answer is it all depends on if the system is balanced around it.

If I were designing my own from scratch, I would opt to have facing exist, if only to make it different from the standard fare.
 


I think facing is unrealistic in any system where rounds > 1 second. Turning around doesn't take that long.
 

I would vote for the mobius strip, as well as the non facing option.
Facing is a wargame artifact and represents that close order infantry points in one direction and does not re-orient with any degree of quickness.

I have never come across any rpg combat rules (admitedly, I have not explored many new rules sets recently - at least outside the D&D family - I do not have the time or really the interest) that model combat in a 'realistic' manner. They are all to some degree fairly abstract and so so I do not see facing as having any real purpose in an rpg context.
 



Oddly enough, I find facing easier to track down when not using miniatures or a battle grid.

Facing counts during the surprise rounds of combat and when a character is "engaged" in combat and therefore can't turn around so easily, and my system of choice already covers those two situations without needing more complex facing rules.

OTOH, I have fond memories of heavily tactical games where it was very different attacking someone from the front, behind, flanks (shield and non-shield)... So, if the rules are well written, I can go either way.
 

Facing is important and usually needed in boardgames. In an RPG facing becomes an annoyance and pulls attention away from the 'scene' and focuses it on a miniature.
 

I think facing works poorly for personal combat, but can be useful in vehicle combat, where movement is more restricted and has a direct bearing upon which weapons you can bring to bear on a target.
 

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