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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emberashh" data-source="post: 9479766" data-attributes="member: 7040941">Going off the definitions provided, my system in Labyrinthian is a little bit of both (or all three, if we also include [USER=7044197]@RenleyRenfield[/USER] automatic option). Note that this will be a bit long as its rather a lot to cover and its important to cover how all of these things fit together. ====To start and to give context, one should be aware of how character progression works. Characters have available to them 32 Skills which they can advance to a maximum of +30 by using them throughout their adventures. Advancement is based on Dragonbanes method, where you mark that a Skill has been used, up to 3x, and whenever your character sleeps for at least 6 hours or the session ends, you can make checks for every Mark to see if that Skill advances. As a Skill advances, characters gain access to a Skill Die, from a d4 to a d12. This Skill die can be utilized during checks as a bonus die, but can, during Exploration, also be used to make a simultaneous second Action to your main one. For example if you're the Party Navigator, you would make 1d20 check utilizing Pathfinding to set the party's Pacing and keep them on course. If you're already happy with your result, you could then take a Skill die you've unlocked, and use it as the base roll for another Action, such as Scouting with Perception. Characters also have 9 "Talents" (Attributes), which are derived from the average of a pairing of 4 Skills associated with that Talent, like Agility being derived from Sneak, Coordination, Sleight of Hand, and Athletics. Players during chargen will be selecting 3 Talents to set as their "primary" Talents, which will allow them to add to their Composure, which is basically HP. Talents and Skills meanwhile are unified by the same modifier, the Talent Modifier, which is in effect equal to the Talent. The Talent Mod is used for any check made using its associated Skills or the Talent itself. As such, it should be noted that the Talent Mod at a base level grows up to +30, to be typically added to a 1d20 roll. This is very intentional and goes to making the game simpler at high level play, and also handily emphasizes progression as well as redefining what the 1d20 is even for, as it now represents your extra efforts beyond your Skill. Throughout play, you'll only be obligated to make a roll if the thing in question is genuinely challenging relative to your abilities. ====Currently, combat can happen in one of two ways. First, during Exploration, low stakes encounters can be resolved entirely within the Exploration round, with no explicit transition to combat. This is due to such encounters being generally weak and players being generally strong enough to end them that decisively. But with higher stakes encounters, Combat will obligate the transition onto the Combat Grid, a concise Chess like mapping system I have adapted from another game, which in turn signals the full use of the Combat system and its mechanics and procedures. To begin, all participants roll 2d20. This is the Combat Roll, and can be thought of as the same 1d20 check they'd do during Exploration, just rolled twice. The CR determines first each participants base Movement for the round, as well as their Actions depending on what they want to attempt with the results. But, the CR also determines who siezes the Initiative first on either side of the fight. Once the CR is made, everyone calls out their total as they add it to know their Movement. Whomever has the highest takes the Initiative and can take their turn. Who takes the Initiative next depends. If the current holder performs their Actions, and is not Reacted against, then they can pass it on to any other Combatant. If they are Reacted against, however, then that combatant will take the Initiative from them, putting Initiative Holders other action on hold if they havent used it already; they will have to either take or be given the Initiative again to finish their Turn. As part of their Turn, combatants have two Actions available to them (corresponding to the d20s they rolled), but can only take a specific kind of Action once during the Round. Their options are to Attack, React, Use an Ability, or make a Skill Action. Attack is straightforward; pick a target and roll your Skill Die for the kind of attack you do to deal damage. When doing so, they should call out the total of their d20+mod (the mod used depends on their attack), which will tell their target if they can React. If they cannot React then they simply take the Damage. Any Momentum you generate can be used to reroll for more damage, or used offensively to Inflict Wounds or break their Stances. (Players can also use Momentum they generate to Hold Fast, letting them roll that die as a bonus to their CR on the next Round) Reacting is how combatants defend themselves or their allies (or their enemies if they are so inclined). Their base Reaction is their roll, but they can also add their passive Reaction to it, which is derived from the average of 3 specific Talents (Agility, Wisdom, and Intuition). When being attacked, they will compare their total Reaction to their attackers called out Action. If they match or beat it, they can react, and thus begin rolling their Skill Dice, corresponding to whatever kind of Defense they attempt (eg Athletics for Dodging, Guarding for using armor/shields, etc). The total of their Skill dice from doing so is subtracted from their attackers damage. Like attacking, Defense generates Momentum as well and is used the same way to generate extra Defense, or enable new options like establishing Stances. The resulting coming of blows is called a Clash, and players and GMs are encouraged to collaborate on what these look like depending on the roll. Eg, a final result being low or even negated entirely would have the Clash depicting the defender skilfully blocking the blow, while a high damage roll still occurring would be a devastating hit, and so on for everything inbetween. When using an Ability, generally the Ability just works, and does nothing further than its effects, but Abilities do have Threshold mechanics, which means their effectiveness depends on the die result. A Skill Action meanwhile is a means to allow players to first try any improvised maneuver, stunt, or action during Combat, utilizing one of the 32 skills. As such, this also allows them to attempt another Attack or Reaction, if they were already used, by using a corresponding Skill. Overall, Combat is designed as a tactical experience, and in high stakes encounters players will be engaging with enemies that will have specific mechanics that need to be defeated in specific ways. Most often players will need to utilize the Tactics skill to learn these mechanics on the fly, but adept explorers can discover these outside of Combat as well. At the highest level, extremely powerful enemies will need a combination of Wounds, Stance Breaking, and Skill action use, in addition to the usual Damage/Defense, to be defeated, and the most powerful will need different combinations of each during different phases of their fights. To this end, players will have a large variety of options available to diversify not just how they fight but also how they defeat their enemies, including non-violent (or at least, non-deadly) options. This is expressed first and foremost in the Tactical Improv system that governs both Martials and Mages, giving them Techniques and Spells, respectively, that not only act as explicit buttons to press, but also as prompts with which to improvise additional effects. This is based on the Mighty Deed mechanic of DCC, but elaborated on considerably, and rebalanced given the inclusion of magic, as now your improvised deed, stunt, or spell can only deal direct damage up to the limit of the dice you rolled. As most often this will be happening through Momentum, this fundamentally prevents people from being able to cheese the game and abuse the improv mechanics. But beyond that, players will also have available to them a very indepth and highly customizable equipment system (through the games Crafting and Gathering mechanics) which will further diversify how they fight. And as its related, Ill also note that Class Design is being set up to deemphasize its prevalance as the source of a players overall power. While Classes will set up specific playstyles for players, especially with Multiclassing and Multisubclassing being available, these will only account for a handful of direct Abilities, and some passive benefits, all of which will evolve with Skill Advancement. Players will need to also diversify their Equipment, and become well versed in the base combat systems in order to reach their full potential in combat.</blockquote>

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