Simulationist Combat

[chaochou]

I'd like combat to flow like this, very descriptive: "I attempt to duck under my foe's flat swing, crouching at the knees, swinging with all my might to drive my axe into his hip."

And, I'd like the players to have mechancial choices for different maneuvers that they can pull off. If I do this...then I get that...but at the expense of this...but the other alternative is to do this...

That sort of thing.

I think this type of combat is as heavily influenced by the damage modelling of the system as the combat options.

You may want to work backwards from modelling the effects of an axe blow to the hip to the maneouvres. Because if it just does d8+2 to a guy with 100hp, then all that extra work picking options is fluff. It could just be narrated that way without all the fiddling around.

Systems don't tend to put people through duelling with detailed combat options and then present them with an abstract, attritional damage model. A system which makes me work for an opening also lets me kill the guy when I get one. Not 94hp left.

Runequest, Riddle of Steel and Burning Wheel will all do the kind of combat you're after imo, but I can't think of a combat system which is 'modular' in the way you seem to want to import it wholesale into d20.

 

[nightwind1]

HERO System