GMMichael
Guide of Modos
Watching this duel recently . . .
. . . reminded me of @Mercurius 's Realistic Combat thread. Can it be done in Modos RPG? While differentiating between parrying and damage reduction? Here's how it might look:
Would you call this a Realistic Combat?
What fight scenes made you wonder how they'd look when role-played with a certain game?
. . . reminded me of @Mercurius 's Realistic Combat thread. Can it be done in Modos RPG? While differentiating between parrying and damage reduction? Here's how it might look:
Guide of Modos (GM): Around mid-day, the road bends through the trees and leads to a stone bridge, covered in dirt, with grass and weeds pushing out of every crack. The river rumbles over some rapids here, but you don't hear sounds of Lannister forces.
Brienne (B): This will have to do. We cross the bridge quickly, but without running.
Jaime (J): Oh, no we don't! I have a seat on the side of the bridge.
B: "Get up!" I double check that there's no one around to see us.
GM: There's no one around. At the moment.
J: "No, I need feet. What do you call them? Corns. I never used to get corns . . ."
B: "Get up, now!"
J: "Because I used to ride everywhere. Not march around like a common foot soldier."
B: Ugh, fine. I pull Jaime to his feet.
J: I draw one of the swords she's wearing when her hands are busy.
B: What? No!
GM: Jaime, roll Meta(physical) with Deception (skill). Brienne, roll Mental with Detect.
B: How about with Armed? Since I'm trying to avoid being disarmed?
GM: Since you haven't joined battle yet, let's stick to Detect.
Jaime gets 15 and Brienne gets 4.
GM: Jaime pulls the sword free from your belt, and you two begin battle at the distance of Jaime's tether. Winter is Coming!
Brienne and Jaime roll initiative contests on cue. Jaime gets the higher result.
J: I'll start, and I don't want my hands tied in this fight, so I cut the tether.
B: I react by drawing my sword.
GM: Sorry Jaime, but your wrists are still bound in iron. However, Brienne can no longer pull you along.
J: I see. "I never understood why some knights carry two swords." I laugh, and test the balance of the sword. Brienne needs me alive, right? Can I scare her a bit, by walking away and spinning back to see how she reacts?
B: Good luck.
GM: Yes, but if you're not going to seize the initiative, your turn will end. Roll Meta again. Brienne, this time you can roll Mental with Armed. If you wait or Con, he'll get a short intimidation bonus.
Jaime gets 11, Brienne gets 13.
J: "You move well. For a great beast of a woman." Okay, I seize the initiative and attack!
B: I'm parrying. Until I know what he's up to. Plus, I wear the armor here.
Jaime rolls 15, Brienne rolls 12.
GM: Jaime, your shackles apply a level of Difficulty, 4 points, since you're not used to wearing them in combat.
J: Aw! On top of my Physical penalty for starvation?
GM: Unfortunately, yes.
J: Then I only got 11.
GM: You bat swords around a bit, but Brienne takes no damage. Brienne, your turn.
B: I'm out of actions.
GM: Then, no turn for you. Next round.
J: "You shouldn't grimace before you lunge. It gives away the game." I attack again, combining my actions.
GM: Brienne, you can attempt to parry the whole combo, or just let your armor absorb the damage and take your three actions later.
Jaime rolls 14 for his first result, but wants to end the combo on a higher roll, so he tries again and gets 12. Unsatisfied, he rolls the third contest and gets 12 again.
J: I should have kept the 14. I got 12, with several attacks trying to weaken Brienne's resolve, if not wound her.
Brienne parries, and gets 13, taking no damage with the higher contest.
B: I think he means it! I attack with my last two actions. But I'll halfmax the damage, so I don't accidentally break my oath.
Brienne automatically damages Jaime because he's out of actions. Each action does half of a full damage die, for a total of 8 damage.
J: Hey, don't kill me!
B: Oh, my last swing was at your head, but I let you duck under it.
GM: Next round. Jaime?
J: "A bit of a quandary for you. If you kill me, you fail lady Stark. But if you don't kill me, I'm going to kill you!" I grimace and attack again.
Jaime gets 12, Brienne gets 10 to parry. Jaime rolls 5 damage, which Brienne's armor reduces to 1.
J: Attack again.
B: I'm parrying, but no action.
Jaime gets 0 after his difficulty penalty, which is an auto-Con.
J: Ha! I just swing at air. But one good hit is all I need. Attack again!
B: That's all I need too. I'm counterattacking.
Both Jaime and Brienne get 13 results.
GM: You clash swords, both leaning into your weapons, looking for a chance to stab or to back away without getting stabbed. Your turn, Brienne.
B: I need an edge, here. I delay my turn to get the initiative.
GM: You know that's end-of-round, right? You'll lose your action.
B: Yes, but I'll start with three more. I give Jaime a shoulder to mark my advantage as we get out of the tie.
J: "Abrasive, but good."
GM: Okay Brienne. You're up.
B: One attack, I don't think he can handle much more than that.
Brienne gets 10, Jaime parries with 8, so Brienne halfmaxes her damage again for 4.
B: That should get my point across. I'll save my last two actions.
GM: Your turn, Jaime.
J: "See? If you were willing to hurt me, you might have had me there." I'm attacking.
Jaime gets 5, Brienne parries with 16.
B: I give him a kick for good measure.
J: I'm not done!
Jaime attacks again with 7, and Brienne attacks with an 18 result. Brienne rolls damage for 2, and takes 3 damage from Jaime, after protection (armor).
GM: That's all of your actions. New turn. Brienne?
B: How is Jaime holding up?
J: Breathing heavy, kind of struggling.
B: Okay, I'll end this by breaking your sword.
GM: Hmm. Small target, and he's trying to kill you? Let's call that two levels of difficulty, -8.
B: Fine. It's worth it if it works.
J: I'm still trying to "kill" her.
Brienne gets -2, an auto-Con, so Jaime can still attack despite ignoring her attempt to break his sword. He gets 9, and rolls 3 damage which Brienne's armor reduces to 1 point.
GM: Auto-Con, Brienne. What happened?
B: I tried to chop up his sword, and just smacked the rail of the bridge instead. I'm tired. I start grunting while I attack. Which is what I do.
J: Uh oh. Now she is trying to kill me! I don't think I can take another hit, so I parry!
Brienne gets 11, Jaime gets 12.
GM: Pro, Jaime. Are you gonna make it?
J: I'm trying! I'd save an action for my turn and delay for better initiative, but one more attack might do me in.
B: One good hit, and I'll just drag you the Red Keep. I'm attacking with my last action.
Brienne attacks and Jaime attempts to parry, but fails. Brienne rolls 6 damage.
J: Ow! That's 5 more damage than I can take! Am I dead?
GM: You don't take more damage than your Physical pool can store, Jaime. But you are Disabled, so your fight's over.
B: I just bat your sword away and let you fall.
GM: Probably a good idea, since you're no longer alone . . .
Brienne (B): This will have to do. We cross the bridge quickly, but without running.
Jaime (J): Oh, no we don't! I have a seat on the side of the bridge.
B: "Get up!" I double check that there's no one around to see us.
GM: There's no one around. At the moment.
J: "No, I need feet. What do you call them? Corns. I never used to get corns . . ."
B: "Get up, now!"
J: "Because I used to ride everywhere. Not march around like a common foot soldier."
B: Ugh, fine. I pull Jaime to his feet.
J: I draw one of the swords she's wearing when her hands are busy.
B: What? No!
GM: Jaime, roll Meta(physical) with Deception (skill). Brienne, roll Mental with Detect.
B: How about with Armed? Since I'm trying to avoid being disarmed?
GM: Since you haven't joined battle yet, let's stick to Detect.
Jaime gets 15 and Brienne gets 4.
GM: Jaime pulls the sword free from your belt, and you two begin battle at the distance of Jaime's tether. Winter is Coming!
Brienne and Jaime roll initiative contests on cue. Jaime gets the higher result.
J: I'll start, and I don't want my hands tied in this fight, so I cut the tether.
B: I react by drawing my sword.
GM: Sorry Jaime, but your wrists are still bound in iron. However, Brienne can no longer pull you along.
J: I see. "I never understood why some knights carry two swords." I laugh, and test the balance of the sword. Brienne needs me alive, right? Can I scare her a bit, by walking away and spinning back to see how she reacts?
B: Good luck.
GM: Yes, but if you're not going to seize the initiative, your turn will end. Roll Meta again. Brienne, this time you can roll Mental with Armed. If you wait or Con, he'll get a short intimidation bonus.
Jaime gets 11, Brienne gets 13.
J: "You move well. For a great beast of a woman." Okay, I seize the initiative and attack!
B: I'm parrying. Until I know what he's up to. Plus, I wear the armor here.
Jaime rolls 15, Brienne rolls 12.
GM: Jaime, your shackles apply a level of Difficulty, 4 points, since you're not used to wearing them in combat.
J: Aw! On top of my Physical penalty for starvation?
GM: Unfortunately, yes.
J: Then I only got 11.
GM: You bat swords around a bit, but Brienne takes no damage. Brienne, your turn.
B: I'm out of actions.
GM: Then, no turn for you. Next round.
J: "You shouldn't grimace before you lunge. It gives away the game." I attack again, combining my actions.
GM: Brienne, you can attempt to parry the whole combo, or just let your armor absorb the damage and take your three actions later.
Jaime rolls 14 for his first result, but wants to end the combo on a higher roll, so he tries again and gets 12. Unsatisfied, he rolls the third contest and gets 12 again.
J: I should have kept the 14. I got 12, with several attacks trying to weaken Brienne's resolve, if not wound her.
Brienne parries, and gets 13, taking no damage with the higher contest.
B: I think he means it! I attack with my last two actions. But I'll halfmax the damage, so I don't accidentally break my oath.
Brienne automatically damages Jaime because he's out of actions. Each action does half of a full damage die, for a total of 8 damage.
J: Hey, don't kill me!
B: Oh, my last swing was at your head, but I let you duck under it.
GM: Next round. Jaime?
J: "A bit of a quandary for you. If you kill me, you fail lady Stark. But if you don't kill me, I'm going to kill you!" I grimace and attack again.
Jaime gets 12, Brienne gets 10 to parry. Jaime rolls 5 damage, which Brienne's armor reduces to 1.
J: Attack again.
B: I'm parrying, but no action.
Jaime gets 0 after his difficulty penalty, which is an auto-Con.
J: Ha! I just swing at air. But one good hit is all I need. Attack again!
B: That's all I need too. I'm counterattacking.
Both Jaime and Brienne get 13 results.
GM: You clash swords, both leaning into your weapons, looking for a chance to stab or to back away without getting stabbed. Your turn, Brienne.
B: I need an edge, here. I delay my turn to get the initiative.
GM: You know that's end-of-round, right? You'll lose your action.
B: Yes, but I'll start with three more. I give Jaime a shoulder to mark my advantage as we get out of the tie.
J: "Abrasive, but good."
GM: Okay Brienne. You're up.
B: One attack, I don't think he can handle much more than that.
Brienne gets 10, Jaime parries with 8, so Brienne halfmaxes her damage again for 4.
B: That should get my point across. I'll save my last two actions.
GM: Your turn, Jaime.
J: "See? If you were willing to hurt me, you might have had me there." I'm attacking.
Jaime gets 5, Brienne parries with 16.
B: I give him a kick for good measure.
J: I'm not done!
Jaime attacks again with 7, and Brienne attacks with an 18 result. Brienne rolls damage for 2, and takes 3 damage from Jaime, after protection (armor).
GM: That's all of your actions. New turn. Brienne?
B: How is Jaime holding up?
J: Breathing heavy, kind of struggling.
B: Okay, I'll end this by breaking your sword.
GM: Hmm. Small target, and he's trying to kill you? Let's call that two levels of difficulty, -8.
B: Fine. It's worth it if it works.
J: I'm still trying to "kill" her.
Brienne gets -2, an auto-Con, so Jaime can still attack despite ignoring her attempt to break his sword. He gets 9, and rolls 3 damage which Brienne's armor reduces to 1 point.
GM: Auto-Con, Brienne. What happened?
B: I tried to chop up his sword, and just smacked the rail of the bridge instead. I'm tired. I start grunting while I attack. Which is what I do.
J: Uh oh. Now she is trying to kill me! I don't think I can take another hit, so I parry!
Brienne gets 11, Jaime gets 12.
GM: Pro, Jaime. Are you gonna make it?
J: I'm trying! I'd save an action for my turn and delay for better initiative, but one more attack might do me in.
B: One good hit, and I'll just drag you the Red Keep. I'm attacking with my last action.
Brienne attacks and Jaime attempts to parry, but fails. Brienne rolls 6 damage.
J: Ow! That's 5 more damage than I can take! Am I dead?
GM: You don't take more damage than your Physical pool can store, Jaime. But you are Disabled, so your fight's over.
B: I just bat your sword away and let you fall.
GM: Probably a good idea, since you're no longer alone . . .
Would you call this a Realistic Combat?
What fight scenes made you wonder how they'd look when role-played with a certain game?
