Compromise and Conceit

Having described the imbalances between the combat and skill systems in the d20 system, I here present my proposal for an alternative combat system which combines them properly. This description relies on use of my proposal for ability scores which are represented entirely in the form of the ability modifiers; and it should be assumed that all skill checks are conducted with 2d10 (much better probabilistically; I may have something to say about this at the end).

The requisite skills: Under this system saving throws are developed as skills, labelled Fortitude, Reflexes and Will, and the Fortitude skill total also indicates the total number of wounds a PC can sustain (lethal or non-lethal). The base attack bonus is also developed separately as two skills (Melee and Missile). 

 Wounds: Health is measured not in hit points but as a total number of wounds which can be sustained, equal to the Fortitude skill total. Exact handling of wounds can be campaign-specific, but I envisage a character becoming incapacitated and capable only of limited movement when wounds received equal total wounds, then unconscious when wounds increase further; and dead after a failed Fortitude skill check (i.e. a failed Fortitude save).

Armour Class: Armour class is determined using the Reflex skill, with armour penalty applied and no armour bonus. In combat armour class is considered to be a Reflex skill save, which is usually done by taking 10, so armour class becomes 10+Reflex total. However, characters with a shield or the dodge can choose to make a skill check to improve their armour class, and take the better of the skill check or taking 10. This turns the combat roll into an opposed skill check. The armour bonus of the armour worn counts as damage reduction.

Example skills and wounds: Depending on the skill development system few characters will have rapid advancement in all these skills. A first level fighter might have 3 ranks in Fortitude and melee, and perhaps 1-3 ranks in reflexes. Let us assume for now 3 ranks in Fortitude and 1 in reflexes, giving skill totals of 5 and 3 respectively, assuming above-average ability scores of +2 in Constitution and Dexterity. Further suppose a melee skill of 3 with a +3 in Strength, giving a total of +6. This means a first level fighter can sustain 5 wounds. Wearing a chain shirt, the fighter will have a total reflex skill of 1 (due to armour penalty of -2) and damage reduction of 4. Usually this will give an armour class of 11 and damage reduction 4, but with a shield the PC can opt to make a challenged skill check, raising armour class as high as 21 depending on the roll.

The attack roll: The attack roll is a combat skill check challenged by the defenders reflex skill, which is usually resolved with the defender taking 10. The difference between the attacker’s roll and the target DC is damage done, which is reduced by damage reduction. The result is the number of wounds of damage done. The weapon used sets the maximum damage done after damage reduction (which may differ by armour types), and if the damage is reduced to 0 or below it becomes simply 1 non-lethal wound. For example, a dagger may have a maximum damage of 1 wound, while a greatsword has a maximum of 5. (We will see later that this rebalances spells so that they are not as dangerous as the bigger weapons). Criticals occur automatically when the critical range is rolled (which happens much less frequently on 2d10) and do not automatically double damage; rather, they increase the wounds done by the roll, and the maximum number of wounds, by some figure. A rapier, for example, may have a critical effect of +2; it increases the damage done on a critical roll by 2, and increases the maximum damage by 2.

Wounds as a penalty: Wounds received are applied as a penalty to the attack roll but not the reflex save, so that as combatants suffer wounds there is a simple game mechanic for reducing their effectiveness. In character development this leads to a trade-off between focussing on toughness, defensive ability and offensive ability. Too much focus on offense means that the PC will collapse rapidly in combat; too much focus on wounds means that the PC can keep fighting through damage, but will rapidly lose efficacy; too much focus on defensive ability means that the character is hard to hit but dies quickly (and will likely be at their best in light armour with low penalties). Note also that much damage sustained by heavily armed fighters will be non-lethal wounds. Making non-lethal wounds easy to heal will mean that they can be seen as shock, bruising and stunning effects rather than actual wounds.

Multiple attacks: As a fighter gains combat skill they can pick up multiple attacks. Rather than resolving these as multiple dice rolls, these multiple attacks increase the maximum damage the fighter can do by a multiple, enabling the single combat roll to have a more effective maximum ceiling. For example, a fighter with 2 attacks wielding a weapon with maximum damage of 3 will be able to do a maximum damage of 6 in a single round. This maintains the old description of combat as an abstract process, with the round containing multiple feints and attacks (under such a description there is no justification for multiple attack rolls); it also allows a fighter’s lethality with a weapon to increase beyond the weapon’s basic statistics.

Initiative: can be resolved as a challenged reflex skill check, though I am considering introducing a new skill, Presence, which covers initiative, fear, and Cleric’s turning checks. If initiative is resolved using reflex, we can incorporate character’s dodge/shield defensive skill checks in the roll.

Example attack: Imagine our example first level fighter fighting himself, with a longsword whose maximum damage is, say, 4, with a critical effect of +2. First our antagonists roll initiative, and because they have shields we use the result also as their reflex skill check to set the DC of attacks. Fighter 1 rolls a 4, so his initiative is 5; Fighter 2 gets a 12, for a total of 13. Since Fighter 1 rolled less than 10 he takes 10 on his reflex skill check, which sets the DC of attacks against him as 11 for this round; Fighter 2 uses the initiative check result as the DC of attacks against her. Fighter 2 then rolls to attack Fighter 1, rolling 7 for a total of 13. This beats the DC by 2, doing 2 damage, which is absorbed to 0 by Fighter 1’s damage reduction. Fighter 1 therefore suffers a single non-lethal wound. This acts as a penalty on Fighter 1’s melee skill, whose total reduces to 5. Fortunately Fighter 1 rolls a 13, giving a total of 18. This beats Fighter 2’s hit DC of 13 by 5, doing 5 wounds; after damage reduction this becomes 1, i.e. 1 lethal wound.

We now commence round 2. We retain the initial initiative roll but reroll reflex for the shield defense checks. Both players roll 9, so the combatants take 10 on their defense rolls, therefore setting attack DCs of 11. Fighter 2 attacks first with a penalty of 1 (for her 1 lethal wound) for a total adjustment of 5. She rolls 19 – a critical! The total of her attack roll is 24, which does beats Fighter 1’s defensive DC of 11 by 13, doing 13 wounds, which is reduced to 9 wounds after damage reduction. Usually the maximum damage Fighter 2 could do with a longsword is 4, but the critical has increased this to 6, so Fighter 2 does 6 wounds to fighter 1 after damage reduction. Since Fighter 1 only has 5 wounds remaining, Fighter 1 goes unconscious. Game over.

Rationale: This system merges combat and its results entirely within the skill system, and introduces some elements of the Rolemaster system, specifically the idea that heavily armoured fighters are easy to hit but hard to damage. It encourages the development of combat styles by establishing clear tactical differences between agile, tough or offensive combatants, and making it difficult for PCs to be all 3. It removes the damage roll and (by dint of using 2d10) the threat roll for criticals; at higher levels it removes all rolls for extra attacks. It introduces a single roll for the challenged combat skill check, but only when a combatant is parrying, has the dodge feat or is wielding a shield. It increases the lethality of heavy weapons, and gives a direct comparability between magical and physical attacks, both in damage done and the skill checks to be used. Under this system combat should require a maximum of 3 dice rolls in the first combat round and a maximum of 2 thereafter. Finally, it introduces an armour penalty on reflex saves (now handled by the reflex skills) but allows the possibility that armour protects against traps and magical attacks through its damage reduction. It also makes non-lethal damage a more important part of adventuring.