Truly Original Combat Systems

[hawkeyefan]

The One Roll Engine from Godlike is pretty different. Players roll pools of d10s. You’re looking for matches. The number of the greatest match is the Height of the roll, the number of dice in the match is the Width. So if you roll 5d10 and get three 7s, it’s 7 Height and 3 Width.

This single roll is used to determine what order you act in, the quality of what you’re trying, and the outcome. So in combat, it’s initiative, attack roll, and damage roll all in one.

Pretty interesting.

 

[zarionofarabel]

WEG Star Wars 1e did Initiative = Success Roll... back in 1987.

For me, the most innovative is Burning Wheel... script 3 actions each, then resolve with the opposed actions grid. Mouse Guard is a simplified variation....
It's convoluted... and uses a table. But it works really well for certain kinds of melees.

Burning Wheel has a whole rock paper scissor on crqck where you go through rounds of simultaneous exchanges. It's called Fight!.

They happen to have similar but different systems for ranged fights (ships, ranged exchanges, etc) and a social combat system called Duel of Wits.

All three are an interesting read if you're looking to shake your brain muscles and see something a bit different.

There are refined versions in Torchbearer and Mouse Guard, too, if the complexity of BW's iteration is unappealing. Personally, I love it, but worth mentioning the iterating. I can't remember if Burning Empires made any changes to Range and Cover, and Miseries and Misfortunes has its own social combat system rather than a straight port of DoW.

Ninja'd by these jokers. It was my first thought as soon as I saw the thread title.

 

[aramis erak]

There are refined versions in Torchbearer and Mouse Guard, too, if the complexity of BW's iteration is unappealing. Personally, I love it, but worth mentioning the iterating. I can't remember if Burning Empires made any changes to Range and Cover, and Miseries and Misfortunes has its own social combat system rather than a straight port of DoW.

Neither Fight nor R&C are in BE. It has a mass combat ruleset instead, Firefight, and I Corner Him and Stab Him With My Knife.
And I wouldn't call MG nor TB versions "Refined" - just massively simplified. The reduction from 8 choices to 4 is blunting the precision of Fight.
Also worth noting: MG uses its one system for all extended resolutions...
Where
BW: Fight, Range and Cover, Duel of Wits, (in Jihad) Invasion
BE: Duel of Wits, Firefight, mini-Firefight, I Corner Him and Stab Him with My Knife, Infection
MG: Conflict

Note: Infection and Invasion are not resolved all at once, but are handled as long term conflicts, and scene framing in play contributes highly to the rolling.

I'll note as well: MG Conflict is much simpler and designed to be reskinned. I've used it for crossing a plane in a blizzard, moving a beehive, fighting, social conflicts (both debates in front of an audience and direct social conflicts), and even science. I even used it as an extended seasonal in the manner of BE Infection or Jihad Invasion.

Jihad is essentially BW does Dune...

 

[zarionofarabel]

Neither Fight nor R&C are in BE. It has a mass combat ruleset instead, Firefight, and I Corner Him and Stab Him With My Knife.
And I wouldn't call MG nor TB versions "Refined" - just massively simplified. The reduction from 8 choices to 4 is blunting the precision of Fight.
Also worth noting: MG uses its one system for all extended resolutions...
Where
BW: Fight, Range and Cover, Duel of Wits, (in Jihad) Invasion
BE: Duel of Wits, Firefight, mini-Firefight, I Corner Him and Stab Him with My Knife, Infection
MG: Conflict

Note: Infection and Invasion are not resolved all at once, but are handled as long term conflicts, and scene framing in play contributes highly to the rolling.

I'll note as well: MG Conflict is much simpler and designed to be reskinned. I've used it for crossing a plane in a blizzard, moving a beehive, fighting, social conflicts (both debates in front of an audience and direct social conflicts), and even science. I even used it as an extended seasonal in the manner of BE Infection or Jihad Invasion.

Jihad is essentially BW does Dune...

The Blossoms Are Falling is BW in feudal Japan. [Chef's Kiss]

 

[Old Fezziwig]

And I wouldn't call MG nor TB versions "Refined" - just massively simplified. The reduction from 8 choices to 4 is blunting the precision of Fight.

I think they're a little more elegant than BW's Fight, which is delightfully messy in terms of options (I think the matrix has 12 options for actions in Fight, this screenshot from BWGR is more thorough and covers everything you can do in a volley). They're not a substitute -- I don't think the MG/TB systems would be enjoyable in BW -- but it is nice to see what a stripped down design that maintains some of the base idea.

 

[AlexofBarbaria]

Tinkering with unusual (if not truly original) combat systems is an interest of mine. I've been experimenting with hidden information and simultaneous choice to bring the yomi/guessing game feel to the RPG attack roll.

I have a system inspired by Riddle of Steel that is d6 dicepool-based. An exchange begins by selecting how many dice to commit to your attack/defense. Attack and Parry are more powerful with more dice committed, but Feint and Dodge work better with smaller commitments (in a Feint your dice are a sacrificial decoy; in a Dodge they're the measure/proximity you've decided to escape from). Commitment is open and maneuver choice is simultaneous, so you use your opponent's dice to guess their maneuver. It works pretty well but does take effort from the players to wrap their heads around.

I've recently developed another one which is much lighter. It's actually a small mod to the Dragonbane single-action economy (which is excellent). The attacker gets to choose to be truthful or lie about whether their attack roll succeeded. Calling a hit a miss is a Deceptive Attack, calling a miss a hit is a Feint. The defender must choose whether to spend their action to Parry based on the claim. If they guess wrong they waste their action or eat undefended damage, but if they catch a lie they counterattack with a bonus. It's pretty cute and captures the yomi feel without any new widgets or procedures to handle simultaneous reveals. I don't much like cards or tokens when RPGing--another mod I've made to Dragonbane is to replace the initiative cards with zipper initiative.

 

[Thondor]

Fight to Survive: Martial Arts Meets Heart
medium-crunch, muti-generational, diceless.
Your rank in Moves increases both your Martial technique and a social aspect (Punch is also Heart, Kick is also Flash). In fights certain moves trump other moves while some tie, rank in technique wins ties. You secretly select 3 moves (usually) and then try to trump each other.
The only way to gain training points is by watching other skilled martial arts fight - so you have an excuse as a player to sit back and watch your buddy fight someone he has a vendetta against.
It works great. Most sessions you'll play through a year or two of the characters lives.

This and James Kerr's Solo Martial Blues (same engine as Fight to Survive) are available here: composedreamgames.com/marketplace/radio-james-games-publisher

Hackmaster 5e
Has a really neat count up system, where you can change what you are doing any second.
Shields are important especially against missiles), it has knock backs and threshold of pain checks, and shield breakage. It takes a bit to get used to (and as GM make yourself a "hacktrack") but man it is dynamic.
Illustrated examples of play here are pretty great: HackMaster Free Downloads! - Kenzer & Company

 

[aramis erak]

I think they're a little more elegant than BW's Fight, which is delightfully messy in terms of options (I think the matrix has 12 options for actions in Fight, this screenshot from BWGR is more thorough and covers everything you can do in a volley). They're not a substitute -- I don't think the MG/TB systems would be enjoyable in BW -- but it is nice to see what a stripped down design that maintains some of the base idea.

I've used MG Conflict in BWG. It worked fine for off the cuff "not a fight" but "This needs more interest than a single roll" ... what it doesn't do is replace fight.
Also, my experience is mostly BWR and a little BWG - the BWGR has options I've not seen before.
Fight in BWR has only 8 actions.

 

[zarionofarabel]

I've used MG Conflict in BWG. It worked fine for off the cuff "not a fight" but "This needs more interest than a single roll" ... what it doesn't do is replace fight.
Also, my experience is mostly BWR and a little BWG - the BWGR has options I've not seen before.
Fight in BWR has only 8 actions.

There was also the option in one of the Burning family for Bloody Versus, I think maybe BE. Bloody Versus was basically just a simple opposed roll, winner hits, combat alternate. It was meant for "throwaway" combats that weren't dramatically important but important enough that a single check was deemed too simple.

 

[aramis erak]

There was also the option in one of the Burning family for Bloody Versus, I think maybe BE. Bloody Versus was basically just a simple opposed roll, winner hits, combat alternate. It was meant for "throwaway" combats that weren't dramatically important but important enough that a single check was deemed too simple.

it's in BW and BE both.