Last Saga preview: what's D&D's Starship Combat?

[Ranger REG]

The genius of D&D was to take its root from wargames.

 

[Frostmarrow]

The genius of D&D was to keep the controversy around. There are better games out there but none that offers a meta-game this much fun!

 

[Plane Sailing]

Indeed, it's even more than that: it doesn't happen because it changes the game from a RPG to a wargame, and they're two utterly separate things.

I wonder whether it reflects a difference between those that used to read Conan (etc) before coming to D&D and so were comfortable with the concept of heroes rising to become leaders of armies etc. and those who came straight to D&D, or whose background doesn't include those Conan-like fantasies?

I wonder because I'm from the former camp, and in my whole RP-ing life for myself and my friends, the RPG has been about empire building in one form or another, and not just dungeon crawling. It is interesting to meet so many people who have a different (and equally valid) conceptual approach to the game.

Back in 1e, our high level campaigns often involved large scale battles, but at no stage did the whole thing turn from an RPG into a wargame for instance.

Cheers

 

[Ranger REG]

Back in 1e, our high level campaigns often involved large scale battles, but at no stage did the whole thing turn from an RPG into a wargame for instance.

Cheers

Which is why the mass combat rules are in a separate book, apart from the core rules. There are those who want mass combat which is part of their "Lord-n-Land" type campaign, and there are those who just want the "intimate" (and I say that loosely) party atmosphere.

Anyhoo, if there's one gripe I do have of SECR starship and vehicle combat rules is the absence of facing. Of course, it's not that big of a deal if you're employing the narrative combat rules from Stormwrack other than know which heading you're taking -- toward your opponent or away from.

OBTW, I'm incorrect about the proficiency in my earlier post. There is a Ballista Proficiency feat in Heroes of Battle book. It just a separate proficiency not belonging to any of the other weapon proficiency category (simple, martial, and exotic).

Though not related to D&D, one could use the Heavy Weapon Proficiency feat from d20 Modern to operate (as a crew chief) pre-modern ballista, catapult, and trebuchet (plus other similar weapons I fail to mention).

 

[robberbaron]

Magic Carpets and Wands of Scorching Ray/Lightning Bolt sounds like Star Wars to me.

Add in unarmoured types with glowing swords and the image is almost complete.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Which is why the mass combat rules are in a separate book, apart from the core rules. There are those who want mass combat which is part of their "Lord-n-Land" type campaign, and there are those who just want the "intimate" (and I say that loosely) party atmosphere.

I can see your point, but at the same time, I think that the mass combat rules should be in the SRD.

I wonder whether it reflects a difference between those that used to read Conan (etc) before coming to D&D and so were comfortable with the concept of heroes rising to become leaders of armies etc. and those who came straight to D&D, or whose background doesn't include those Conan-like fantasies?

Same here. My 1st ed AD&D days involved more time influencing the course of a nation (first as guys that "took care" of minor problems for the crown and moved up to advising the nation). The occassional large army was involved and the DM admitted that he would've done more with that if there was a better way of handling such a large combat.

More recent times, I ran an Exalted game for 2 years and draw much influence from movies like Troy and 300. Now I'm back to D&D and I do kind of feel that a certain sense has been lost. (My DM is using only the Core 3 books, the psionics books, the complete books, and Living Greyhawk Gazetter.)

 

[MrFilthyIke]

The genius of D&D was to take its root from wargames.

I prefer my D&D more tactical than roleplaying, but I tend to game with rolepalyers exclusively. :\

 

[jgbrowning]

The genius of D&D was to keep the controversy around. There are better games out there but none that offers a meta-game this much fun!

LOL

joe b.

 

[The_Gneech]

So, what's the equivalent of starship combat in D&D? Those cool, dramatic situations that don't come up often, and when they do, in 3.5 they all too often merely showcase the mechanical inadequacies of the PCs?

I'd say that grappling is the obvious choice, except for the "don't come up often" part -- every other monster has "Grapple +647".

-The Gneech

 

[Ranger REG]

I can see your point, but at the same time, I think that the mass combat rules should be in the SRD.

I think a lot of material should be in the SRD, even if they're 3.0e material.