The systems used in roleplaying games to resolve conflict through violent means, often to the death of one or more characters. Combat often involves several subsystems that determine whether harm is inflicted (to-hit) and the extent of that harm (damage).
5
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2answers
227 views
Frequency of combat encounters in Pathfinder
I'm starting a new self-designed Pathfinder campaign as the DM and I'm unsure how many combat encounters I should plan each session.
The characters will start at level 1. The group consists of 4 ...
4
votes
1answer
65 views
Drawing a gun and shooting before combat in D20 Modern
I'm new and I just had a quick question.
I'm going to be DMing a d20 modern on shot adventure for the first time. I am very new to DMing so many questions arise when making/creating the adventure.
...
4
votes
2answers
111 views
Can terrain shape area affect spells or attacks?
I don't know if this is referenced in the rulebooks or just a matter of houserule, but what happens if someone uses a cone-shaped spell or ability in a corridor that is narrower than the width of the ...
9
votes
1answer
310 views
Is there a limit to how many extra attacks I can have in D&D 3.5?
I'm playing a fighter/warblade with the Lightning Maces and Power Critical feats, and the Blood in the Water stance, so every time I score a crit, I have an immediate additional strike with the same ...
5
votes
1answer
126 views
Does undirected damage require line of sight/effect?
Certain powers cause damage without specifying any conditions about how that damage is dealt. Consider, for example, the following Barbarian Rage Daily Powers:
Earthquake Dragon's Rage
Effect: ...
26
votes
20answers
3k views
Beyond hit points: injury in D&D
I'm interested in adding a touch of realism to combat in D&D 3.5 or Pathfinder. Hit points are a very simple way of measuring injury and stamina, that contributes to the "hit things first, ask ...
4
votes
2answers
111 views
Aerial combat in 3.5e
I have a player who is using a homebrew flying race to add to his heal/buff cleric's survivability. He's promising not to use it too much to his advantage, especially because none of us have any ...
9
votes
4answers
225 views
What to do in Labyrinth Lord when both PCs and Foes are surprised?
In Labyrinth Lord, when there is a possibility of surprise for both PCs and foes, both sides roll 1d6. A 1-2 indicates that side is surprised for the first round. If both sides roll a 1-2, both ...
3
votes
1answer
135 views
Is there a step-by-step combat flowchart for L5R, 2e?
OK, so I played Legend of the Five Rings (2nd edition) years ago and enjoyed it.
When asked what he wanted for a present he replied: "an rpg campaign! But it should be different, not one of the one's ...
5
votes
8answers
504 views
What do you do when there's nothing to do in combat?
There are a lot of situations in D&D combat where characters seem to be left without anything to do that round. For example, a bard out of inspires and without slashing weapons beset by zombies, ...
7
votes
2answers
167 views
Does the Monk's Flurry of Blows trigger mark retribution?
Scenario:
Monk is marked by Fighter.
Monk attacks Fighter.
Monk uses Flurry of Blows on a different creature.
Does the Fighter get to use Combat Challenge to attack the Monk?
UPDATE: I found this ...
2
votes
2answers
130 views
Moldvay D&D First Round in Encounter
I'm confused about how to DM the first round of an encounter using Moldvay's rules, specifically, when is the DM supposed to use the Monster Reaction table on page B24.
Say a party encounters a group ...
2
votes
2answers
258 views
Melee Combat in Moldvay's D&D Basic
I'm working on a CRPG, written in Python, that will hopefully re-create some of the fun from the original D&D Basic Set (Moldvay's 1981 red-box edition), and so I'm getting into some pretty ...
6
votes
1answer
186 views
How many things can a player do on his or her round?
I'm just starting out DMing in D&D, using the Moldvay basic rules from 1981.
A player encounters a monster that is 100' away. The player wins initiative and wants to do the following on round 1:
...
3
votes
2answers
183 views
Fighting Withdrawal v.s Retreat in Moldvay's Basic D&D
This pertains to Moldvay's edition of D&D Basic from 1981.
I've never understood the rules behind meleed movement options. The rulebook says that a player in melee combat with a monster has only ...
12
votes
6answers
501 views
How does d20 Modern handle having someone at gunpoint?
How does d20 Modern handle the common situation of having someone at gunpoint, or entering a room with your firearm in hand, cocked and ready to fire?
I'm asking because I notice that to draw a ...
10
votes
1answer
147 views
With a negative Strength value, how much damage can I do?
When skipping through the All Flesh Must Be Eaten rulebook, I noticed that you can create PCs with negative strength values (e.g., children). As hand weapons do damage based on that strength value, ...
4
votes
1answer
125 views
Does the Executioner Assassin apply dexterity to its melee basic attacks?
I am trying to figure out if the Executioner assassin (Heroes of Shadow) applies its dexterity to its melee basic attacks. The Attack Finesse Class feature says: You can use Dexterity instead of ...
5
votes
2answers
744 views
What action is it to switch between holding a weapon two-handed, and then wielding it one-handed
I'm planning on building a Gish for the next game I play in, and I was wondering how to best plan the build. I want power attack so I can do damage in combat, and I want to wield the weapon ...
2
votes
1answer
62 views
Feint checks in Mutants and Masterminds
In the combat section, "feint" is described as a use of Bluff to confuse the opponent into leaving an opening, treating the next attack as a surprise attack. (So feint is basically Bluff vs. Sense ...
6
votes
2answers
259 views
How would a monk go about throwing a charging enemy?
Everyone's seen that scene in king-fu movies, right? Someone charges the good-guy, and he flips him tail over teakettle. Sometimes the baddy in question gets tossed a foot or two, sometimes he gets ...
15
votes
3answers
4k views
In Pathfinder, how does Stealth work with Sneak Attack?
So, in Pathfinder, it seems that being able to use stealth in order to gain sneak attacks only works in the surprise round, with the rules as written.
So, imagine a scenario where we have a sniper ...
15
votes
3answers
234 views
How to manage incomparable movement speeds in combat?
I'm playing a Shadow character in a campaign which is running for 2 year.
Our party has reached a great amount gnosi (27), and we are all level 13.
The main features of my character is agility and ...
9
votes
6answers
545 views
Is there one type of combat system considered to be more deadly than other alternatives?
I've frequently heard the Basic Role-play system and Dark Heresy described as deadly from a combat perspective. I think those are both percentile systems. Is that typical of percentile systems or is ...
10
votes
3answers
266 views
How do I make headshot rules interesting?
I'm working on a unified conflict system for a lightweight setting-agnostic RPG ruleset. The beta version is available on my website, although I have changed a lot of rules since that was released. My ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
What are the best ways to move and full-attack in the same round?
One of the most important things for any physical fighter to accomplish is to maximize the amount of time you spend full-attacking. Once you have BAB +6, not full-attacking halves your potential ...
2
votes
4answers
373 views
Can any dragon be used for half dragon?
I would like to know if the half-dragon template can use other dragons from the various monster manuals like the Ssvaklor (MM3) or Dragon Turtle(MM1) or any other nonstandard dragon (i.e. the ones ...
13
votes
7answers
930 views
Vast and expanded realistic combat system
I am searching for a combat & damage system for an ad hoc RPG system set in Victoria era, more or less (though this part is completely unimportant). Are there any system that would bring me close ...
11
votes
5answers
328 views
Tricks allowing continuous narration during a fight
I used a lot of tricks that allowed to skip the counting of every swing and blow and dodge.
I think people should share such solutions. My favourite tricks:
Roll a bunch of dice and just take look at ...
3
votes
1answer
174 views
When should hit locations be determined randomly in GURPS 4e?
I may, once again, be drowning in the details, but would like to know when GURPS 4e calls for random hit determination. Do attacks always default to torso?
I have run a combat with hit locations ...
14
votes
4answers
840 views
Can you ready a charge?
In 3rd edition, you could ready a partial charge. From the PHB, p134:
Only partial actions can be readied. To do
so, specify the partial action you will take and the conditions under
which you ...
13
votes
2answers
248 views
Squad formations
I've just watched episode 1-2 of Terranova, and there is a scene in which a military squad goes to the rescue of some teenagers who are surrounded by dinosaurs in a jungle. When the squad arrives, ...
9
votes
9answers
411 views
How can I speed up combat with a large number of enemies?
I'm DMing for a campaign where the player characters will sometimes face small squads of creatures, most recently six ground troops and two archers helping out. In this setting, these creatures ...
14
votes
1answer
2k views
What can I do in one round?
I'm still little confused about actions in Pathfinder. There are standard actions, move actions, full round actions, free actions, etc. I need to know which combinations of these actions I can use in ...
26
votes
7answers
748 views
Fighting boredom in combat as a player
Sometimes (as a player) I get bored during combat. At times I feel like all my turns are the same (especially when playing lower level characters) and when that is combined with no combat progress ...
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vote
1answer
199 views
Counter-Attack Houserule
I'm thinking of making a house rule for Pathfinder which lets you counter attack when your opponent rolls a natural 1 to attack. First, is there already a counter attack system in Pathfinder? If not, ...
2
votes
3answers
240 views
How can I incorporate pressure point attacks?
I am wondering if there are any classes, alternatives, or anything else than roleplay to incorporate pressure point techniques in D&D 3.5.
The monk's stunning fist (or the feat) could be ...
18
votes
11answers
2k views
What is a good combat tracker for D&D 4th Edition?
As my players go up levels there are more and more variables in combat. I need help. What solutions exist out there and what makes them good?
2
votes
2answers
227 views
Are magic missiles (generically) affected by the wind?
Are ranged attacks by spells affected by the wind? In the amended 4E rules for Magic Missile, the spell always hits, so I suppose we can take the answer for that spell to be that no, the cover and ...
4
votes
1answer
103 views
How to easily track combat in Feng Shui?
While incredibly fun, the Feng Shui combat system can get unwieldy when you have a large number of mooks and named characters fighting the players. Its hard to keep track of what shot each character ...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
How can I create an introductory D&D encounter intended for teaching the rules?
For my next D&D campaign, I want to introduce the players to the ruleset by having them play through a sample combat encounter. All of them have prior RPG experience, but they haven't played any ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
What rules discourage point blank missile use in Mazes & Minotaurs?
Underground, exploring a series of crypts and catacombs, the mighty heroes were set up on by a string of foes in close combat: bug men, a ghast, and a mummy. Fate was on their side, and they ...
17
votes
6answers
2k views
In D&D 4th Edition, how numerically close should party member levels be? What happens if they aren't?
I've read a lot here (and in the official books) about balanced parties in Dungeons and Dragon's 4th edition. Parties should contain at least one each of four specific roles, a distribution of skills ...
2
votes
2answers
202 views
Avoiding meta-gaming in combat [closed]
What are some ways of avoiding meta-gaming (both as a player and as a GM) within combat. One of the basic decisions in combat is what to use on what, when and where and how to best position yourself ...
29
votes
5answers
2k views
Why is attacking from higher ground an advantage?
I just don't understand how attacking someone from higher ground is an advantage in melee combat. I always think of two examples where I can't see this to be an advantage.
Example 1: A kung-fu fight ...
15
votes
4answers
665 views
How to reduce Whiff & Ping
In Savage World there is a problem of Whiff (I miss) and Ping (I hit but bounce off the armour).
We have had several long combat encounters where the PC and NPC have basically done almost nothing for ...
7
votes
3answers
124 views
How do Berzerk and Shaken interact?
If a character with the Berzerk edge takes damage and goes berzerk, they cannot perform any actions that require concentration. Is the Spirit test to recover from being Shaken considered to be a task ...
5
votes
2answers
188 views
Does my secondary attack use up my standard action for my turn?
Visions of Avarice
Daily - Arcane, Illusion, Implement, Zone Standard Action
Area burst 5 within 10 squares
Effect: The burst creates a
zone in its origin square. The zone lasts ...
12
votes
3answers
711 views
Does flanking always grant advantage, or is it up to discussion?
The rules packet does not provide any specific rules about flanking. However the rule do say that the DM has lots of leeway in deciding when to give advantage or disadvantage in combat. Should it be ...
2
votes
1answer
296 views
How should a stealthy attack start combat?
Say, a PC fires a longbow at an enemy without their knowledge before combat has begun, how should combat start?
Should there be a stealth/perception opposed check?
Should a successful/unsuccessful ...
