Murphy or Yet Another Die Roll, which is worse?

[Dogbrain]

Playing around at adding fatigue effects to an alternative combat system I'm working on (one that completely disposes of "hit points"). It struck me. I've seen it over and over in dojos and in salles, it is not necessarily the fittest who avoid fatigue but the most highly skilled. Masters learn to conserve their energy and to improve their economy of motion. Thus, I considered the following:


Whenever an attack roll exceeds Basic Attack Bonus + X (X being a number I haven't decided upon), then a character suffers a penalty of -Y due to fatigue, each penalty being cumulative until the character rests.

Now, this is fairly elegant. A single roll takes care of both attack or and fatigue and the greater the BAB, the lower the chance of fatigue setting in. However, it's also a Murphy!

Since, in d20, high rolls are "good", that means that, if your rolling stinks on ice, you'll never get fatigued.

So, which is worse, introducing a Murphy up front and admitting that yes, it's a bit silly in implementation or throwing YASDR (yet another steeenkeeeng die roll) into the game?

 

[Aaron2]

An easier way would just be to say that you can fight a number of rounds equal to Con plus Level (or some such) before being fatigued.

I'm not a big fan of effect numbers (the difference between the number rolled and the number needed) since I can't do math fast in my head and I normally only need calculate the actual roll result if its close to the DC.

Aaron

 

[Nifft]

Switch to WP/VP, and charge 1 VP per round of combat over your Con value.

Or, treat combat as heavy activity leading to Fatigue after some time span.

-- N

 

[Dogbrain]

Both of these attempts COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY FAIL in what I wish to do:

Eliminate hit points altogether.
Model the observed fact that skill has a great deal to do with avoiding fatigue.

 

[Nifft]

VP/WP is not HP. Shouting is not polite.

Despite this, here's yet another mechanic:

You can fight for (BAB + Dex bonus - Armor Check Penalty) rounds before you start taking VP "damage". When you're out of VP, you're Fatigued, and hits go straight to WP.

-- N

 

[Enkhidu]

Both of these attempts COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY FAIL in what I wish to do:

Eliminate hit points altogether.
Model the observed fact that skill has a great deal to do with avoiding fatigue.

I second the idea that shouting is unnecessary. You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar any day of the week.

In any event, what you are looking for is you may fight for (x + BAB) rounds before becoming fatigued. Continuing to fight while fatigued for another (x+ BAB) causes exhaustion.

 

[SylverFlame]

I'd say that you should factor constitution in there somewhere, and make a similar effect for wizards and clerics.

The thing I see with your roll right now is this: any fighters (regardless of level)will inherently be less effective at staying in combat than any wizard. The reason is that the wizard can sling spells all day and never be fatigued, while the fighters will eventually roll over their fatigue limits.

If you factor in constitution you give a nod to the fact that stamina still matters, and by adding fatigue for spell casting you keep the wizard on its toes a little. Also, by adding the constitution bonus a raging barbarian is even more fearsome, because their increased constitution really shines by keeping them ahead in the fatigue race.

I'd just go with a static number, some equation based on level and constitution that you feel fits. Barbarians would obviously use their increased constitution while raged and their base con before and after rage (another little problem for the barbarian aside from losing dex and hp). Any round the person takes strenuous activity (attacking, casting, or moving more than their base speed) incurs fatigue, which will not be regained until they rest (one nights sleep should give back a fair bit of fatigue, IMHO). And you can even limit their fatigue points by saying any decreases in stats or BAB or whatever that were caused by being tired or whatever (like sleeping in certain armour) also apply to fatigue points.

You still have your problem with HP, only now you lose one point most every combat round. Easier since it's a bit of a timer system, and all Barbarians already have to track rage rounds so it's not as hard as one may think.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dogbrain]

VP/WP is not HP. Shouting is not polite.

They're hit points. Just hit points with added mechanics. They are points that are subtracted and you go phut when they're all gone.