Let's start with a bit of explanation. I run a RPG based on a lot of medieval fantasy worlds. Basically it borrows rules from various other rpgs, so for the past 5 years me and my players have been tweaking with it, trying to make it more balanced. This time i'm running a game with 6 players (the most i had was 4 some time ago) and because of that there's a large amount of flanking and backstabbing on fights, since after they deal with trash mobs the boss is alone and because they are low lvl there's not many mechanics that i've been using to preventing this kind of battle aproach.
The thing is, i was using a system wich gives the flanker a 25% bonus to attack chance, and the backstabber a 50% bonus (for example if someone has an 11 attack chance, and is backstabbing, he goes to 17, and against an enemy with 10 defence that would result in a 80% chance of hitting the target. For every 1 point of attack higher than the enemy's defence, you get a 5% increased chance) . That was fine and all, they were sweeping the floor with my enemies, but they built good characters, so whatever, it's early game. Then, i had the wonderful idea of nerfing these bonuses, because i thought: "what if a powerful enemy backstabs one of them(not the tanker)?". And through some calculations i reached the conclusion that the player would probably die, or stay heavily injured and out of the battle. Their characters are powerful, but 3 of them are very fragile.
So i sugested that the flanker should get 1 attack point bonus, and the backstabber 2 fixed points. If the enemy was unaware of the player presence, these bonus would be multiplied by 2. It may not seem good, but think of a higher lvl player or mob, with 20 chance of attacking and receiving a 50% plus bonus. And to be honest i thought of myself in this one too, because later on i would have to design intricate mechanics for every boss, or create mobs with large, LARGE, health pools, or the 6 players would destroy them in 2/3 turns. The other option is to make fights with more mobs, but 6 players vs 6 mobs is very tedious and the group seems to lose focus.
And, oh boy. They backlashed to this idea, almost as if i had robbed them of their free will. I was criticized a lot, and they told me to simply never create a mob that would backstab them, problem solved. There was a lot of discussion and no point made. It was pretty much me vs 4 veteran players (the other 2 are new and did not partake in this jolly experience).
Sorry for the long text guys, but i have my hands tied. My game is a mix of battle and talks with npc's, trying to solve a problem or mysterie, and i don't really want to back off the battles. So here i am asking if you guys have any ideas for flanking and backstabing bonuses that might make our RPG more balanced? I know it is hard to suggest something to a homebrew system you are not familiar with, but maybe you can throw some ideas and i'll see if they fit in.
