The combat skills of a player character. Intended mainly for a character's self-defence, for the defence of friendly characters, but also innocent and unarmed bystanders (depending on the situation).
Thick as Thieves is a game of stealth, exploration and solving puzzles and small mysteries, a game aout interaction with other characters and the environment, about travel and adventuring. It's a game focused on intelligent, creative and non-violent solutions to problems and obstacles. It is not primarily a game of violence, though every player character also has the ability to defend themselves at their disposal. Players should always remember, that the preferred solutions to a confrontation are always to knock out someone, take them out of the fight, or delay/daze them and then escape. Not killing or gratuitous violence.
The less potential adversaries you kill or seriously injure, the better for you as players. The game will reward more pacifistic approaches to playing through its mechanics of social interaction between characters, through its mechanics concerning character reputation, and so on. In contrast, the mechanics of the game never reward the players, if the players' characters behave like unhinged ruffians.
In the gameplay of Thick as Thieves, while stealth and subterfuge are the standard way of going about things, combat is not absent as a possibility. However, it definitely plays more of a secondary role within the gameplay and tends to be mostly defense-focused, instead of the attack/offense approach common in most roleplays and RPGs.
Defensive combat denotes any combat, armed or unarmed, in which you engage an adversary/opponent for the purpose of protecting yourself or others (e.g. co-workers), buying yourself some time, or trying to create a distraction/ruse. The point of defensive combat isn't necessarily to defeat your opponent completely, but to gain the upper hand and outwit him/her at least temporarily. Given its very nature, while professional thieves have learned to be rather good at defensive combat, their skils in more offensive fighting styles can vary wildly. Usually though, a thief is not a fighter at heart, and certainly not a warrior or soldier.
----
----
Improving a skill is largelly down to performing a skill regularly and being successful at your actions.
RuneQuest was an early pioneer of several mechanics that inspired my own. Another idea it used (that I also know from other completely different projects) is context-sensitive injury/damage to a player (or NPC adversary). Something I've also implemented in my project since the very beginning, because the way I'm doing combat wouldn't actually make sense otherwise. Naturally, it also reflects environmental injuries, not just combat ones.
Want to "GIT GUD" e.g. at polearm or staff fighting ? Go visit a reliable trainer and spend some time there. Just for a bit of practice via sparring. Or practice your gambling skills with someone adequately experienced (doesn't even need to be a trainer), etc. Alternatively, maybe your character just needs a rest, socializing and reassurance with friends, so you'll spend your downtime having a beer, picking apart the latest gossip, intel, or just venting personal worries and such.
This makes it more interesting for player characters to manage their downtime. You can't be in two places at the same time, so you have to figure out your current priorities. The game is actually fairly narrativist in approach, so there is no "lesser" use of a character's downtime. If they prefer to focus on something, they can. Even just having a thoughtful or informative conversation with someone can be beneficial to the player character. The various skills are there to serve the various characters' adventures (individual or teamwork-based), rather than the skills being self-serving, for their own sake.
To balance things out, it's not all that hard to increase your experience values in a skill. Generally, I try to limit any frustrations that might pop up, since the primary goal is to have things be fluid, engaging and fun. The skills and gear and such are only important insofar as your characters can use them to achieve things. It's not a 'murder-hobo' type of game, but one where characters haveto achieve things more through exploration, cunning and finesse. The characters and their personal adventures are basically at the heart of the gameplay, with the skills and gear only tools.
Speaking of RPGs, though I've never played Runescape (despite hearing and reading about it a lot), I've been working on the melee fighting system for my tabletop game. There's plenty done already, but still a fair bit left to go. To sum it up briefly, different types of daggers, swords, polearms and the occassional handheld shield each have different approaches, different techniques. While there is overlap between some of the moves involved, each typical combination has a different array of defensive and offensive postures, footwork and moves (strikes/ cuts, thrusts, tricks and brawling moves). This is one of the things players need to take into account with each different weapon, but luckily, the Narrator of the game is meant to always advise them what options they have, anytime they forget. (Just to make it fairer, given that hardly anyone will bother memorizing all the options.) You can also use improvised weapons for melee self-defence, e.g. broom handles, shovels or spades, iron rods, empty bottles, lighter furniture like chairs, but they're less effective than purpose-built weapons. You can also melee with a crossbow butt or a firearm butt (pistol or musket), in an emergency. Ranged weapons are, in contrast, all about surrounding environmental factors (wind, rain, projectile drop due to gravity, projectile ricochet) and the capabilities of a weapon. (In the case of bows, also about a person's strength and amount of training with such a weapon.) You use the leaves, acorns and hearts card suits for melee weapon moves (defence, attack and tricks respectivelly), and the bells card suit for ranged weapons. (See here and here.)
I've also been working on deepening and completing the details of the stealth system, on and off. It's paradoxically somewhat easier to grasp and use than anything fighting-related, but that's actually intentional on my part. The melee fighting is meant to be fast-paced, demanding on concentration and agility, and can easily lead to injuries if the player isn't careful. This is done to discourage players from stooping to violence whenever they feel like it. I instead focus on encouraging players to stealth their way through things, our outwit/outthink various obstacles with their wits and ingenuity. You can't get seriously injured or killed that easily, but there's a believable in-world reason to avoid violence whenever you can, and use any of your weaponry primarily for self-defence (if other options seem less effective at that moment).
Melee combat skills
Available to all specialisations, but crucial only to Field Agent and Security character builds.
Please keep in mind that even thieves skilled in combat are not professional warriors or soldiers. Evading a threat or running away from it isn't cowardly, it's a reasonable and natural choice. Defending yourself is valid, but killing people because they're in your way is not. It’s a pointless risk, particularly in densely populated areas. „Worship life over the sword.“, as an old thievy saying goes... If you can resolve something through stealth, talking or street smarts, try that first. It might work more often than you’d expect.
Footwork and posture: One’s spatial movement capability and combat stance capability in a melee fight. Underestimated by many, but absolutely crucial to effective melee combat, both unarmed (bare-handed) and armed (with weapon in hand). The popular idea of the public about melee fighting, including pugilism and swordfighting, is that it involves merely back-and-forth movement, interspersed with strikes. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most melee fighting is closer to a complex, often circular or semi-circular „dance“, combined with a tactical mindset and quick reflexes. Individual footwork moves are intended not only for smooth offensive movements in combat, but also defensive or retreating movements needed for every combatant worth his salt. Though there are some ovearching generalities about footwork, its moves will vary depending on the armament. The more professional one’s footwork, the more sure-footed, balanced and swift one become in melee combat.
Brawling/Pugilism: One's capability at (usually defensive) melee without the use of weapons. Brawling primarily consists of offensive and defensive moves initiated by the upper and lower limbs. Moves such as punches, slaps, hand-hammering, kicks, tripping someone off his feet, etc. The use of impact weapons worn by the player, such as brass knuckles, also counts under brawling.
Bludgeoning/Chopping: Offensive melee skills, for impact attacks. These two moves are interchangable to a certain degree, and can be seen being used by weapons such as clubs, maces, hammers, staffs (for bludgeoning), swords, axes and some other bladed weapons (for chopping). Along with Brawling moves, these two are perhaps the oldest set of combat skills ever, known since the dawn of time and the creation of the first primitive weapons. Bludgeoning and Chopping is meant to create deep wounds or shatter entire body parts, and can therefore be incredibly nasty to the adversary on the receiving end.
Thrusting/Stabbing: Offensive melee skills, for piercing attacks. These two moves are interchangable to a certain degree, and can be seen being used by weapons such as spears, other polearms, swords (for thrusting) knives and daggers (for stabbing). The point of these offensive moves is incredibly obvious: Inflict the deepest wound possible or internal bleeding, to cripple an adversary in a serious way and take him out of the picture.
Cutting/Slashing: Offensive melee skills, for incision attacks. These two moves are interchangable to a certain degree, and can be seen being used by most types of bladed weapons, such as various knives and swords. Unlike the impact-based Bludgeoning or Chopping, the point of a Cutting attack or a Slashing attack is not to bury into the armour and body of an opponent and give him a deep or gashed wound, but to create a more surface-level wound, that is nevertheless big and causes major pain or bleeding or other physical stress.
Parrying: Defensive melee skills. Parrying in general is a defensive move meant to deflect an opponent's weapon from causing harm to you, and is done only with armament. The weapon used for parrying doesn't necessarily have to be a melee weapon, though those are the most logical choice for such a thing and the best suited for it. Parrying is different to Blocking in that it's more of a temporary manuever, to stall the worst of an opponent's attack for at least a few seconds. Along with footwork, posture and various offensive moves, parrying is one of the basics of any swordsmanship or other melee combat.
Blocking: Defensive melee skills. Blocking is mostly shield-related and armour related, though some limited blocking moves are also possible with one's weaponry. Blocking is different to parrying in that it's often a more prolonged and more calculated defensive move. It also tends to deflect a lot more of an adversary's attacking energy, in order to thwart a powerful melee attack that a simple parry could not stop, or stop only partially.
Edge alignment: Both offensive and defensive melee skill. All edged weapons, regardless of blade type – be they swords, polearms, axes, etc. – perform better strikes and even thrusts when their blades are well-aligned for a strike. If you hit someone with the flat of a dagger blade or sword blade, or with the back of an axehead, they’ll still get a hit and might come to a bruise or injury, but it’s obvious you’ll deal less damage to them (unless that is a deliberate move, depending on your needs, of course). If you have the edge of your weapon, be it the edge of a dagger blade or a sword blade or that of an axehead, properly aligned for a strike at your opponent, you are bound to deal more damage, even in a less successful strike or thrust. Therefore, it is good if your character develops their proficiency in correct edge alignment, to maximise their probability of dealing a powerful, accurate, edge-first strike.
These melee combat skills cover the basic areas of melee fighting for a whole array of handheld weaponry and for unarmed fighting. Depending on the type of weapon the player character is currently wielding, the particular application of a melee skill will differ, and thus each melee skills consists of branching trees of abilities related to that particular skill. Logically, your fighting is not quite the same when you, e.g. perform a thrust with a sword or a thrust with a spear or polearm. Under each skill, you can learn several different arrays of abilities with various weapon types, and these will often vary depending on the melee fighting school of thought you’ve learned on your own, or with the help of teachers/trainers, or from experience on the street. Finally, in addition to purpose-built weapons, you can also use some improvised weapons taken from the local environment. These are generally unwieldy and fragile compared to real weapons, but useful whenever you need quick and immediate self-defence.
An important factor in all melee combat is the presence or lack of armour worn by the opponents in any fight. While a fight between two unarmoured opponents, with merely their clothes on, is a rather straightforward affair, added armour types increasingly necessitate more cunning and precise defensive and offensive tactics. Padded armour is immune to slashes and cuts and can withstand certain projectiles, mail armour increases protection and makes even thrusting attacks more difficult, and plate armour provides enough strong coverage that players most focus on noticing and targeting the most vulnerable places in the suit of armour (e.g. gaps can be covered at most by mail but not by plate; the slits in helmet visors, etc.). Even mere self-defence against an unarmoured and armoured opponent requires different techniques and tactics.
It’s important to note that mere application of brute force doesn’t necessarily equal a win in a melee fight. Far more often, the clever but reasonable application of techniques (that pay attention to the context of an ongoing fight) can decide a melee fight faster and more decisively. A certain degree of fluidity and finesse in weapon wielding can go a long way in tipping the balance in a melee fight and even overcoming and defeating an enemy. Many melee fights might be relatively short, particularly if they involve two already skilled melee fighters.
Melee combat skills and the wielding of particular weapons can be improved quite a bit by training with skilled, professional trainers. Different melee teachers and trainers will differ in what particular melee weapons they focus on and what schools of thought they prefer in melee combat teaching. However, please note that player characters gain more melee experience if they handle a real melee fight well. Thus, gaining experience in melee combat only through training is perfectly possible, you’ll receive more experience (and even remember your melee abilities slightly better) if you manage to successfully engage in a real melee fight.
Bear in mind that winning in a melee fight might be as simple as successfully throwing an enemy to the ground, or down into a place where they’re stuck, slowed down or otherwise disadvantaged, or wounding an enemy to the point they decide to give up and retreat, or dazing your enemy for long enough to open up a window of opportunity for you to escape the scene of the fight. Outright killing an enemy in a fight is actually not preferable in most occassions. You should only do so if the enemy absolutely refuses to give up and is determined to kill you or one of your fellow characters.
Ranged combat skills
Available to all specialisations, but crucial only to Field Agent and Security character builds.
Please keep in mind that even thieves skilled in combat are not professional warriors or soldiers. Evading a threat or running away from it isn't cowardly, it's a reasonable and natural choice. Defending yourself is valid, but killing people because they're in your way is not. It’s a pointless risk, particularly in densely populated areas. „Worship life over the sword.“, as an old thievy saying goes... If you can resolve something through stealth, talking or street smarts, try that first. It might work more often than you’d expect.
Draw weight: Only important for bows and hand-spanned crossbows. Depends on a character's Strength, Agility, and also the degree of Fatigue. With the sole exception of hand-spanned crossbows, crossbows and firearms do not require draw weight consideration, since they are reloaded via more mechanical means, rather than directly by hand. Draw weight for bows and hand-spanned crossbows is not a replacement for the reloading skill, but runs parallel to it.
Reloading: Deals with a character's capability of reloading missile weapons during a certain amount of time. Does not affect throwing weapons. Depends on a character's Agility, Concentration and the degree of Fatigue. Bows and hand-spanned crossbows are drawn, mechanical crossbows and crossbow-derived weapons are spanned, firearms are reloaded. In the case of bows, Reloading and Draw weight are always counted together, as they are used concurrently while drawing a bow before the arrow is released/shot.
Throwing: Deals with a character's capability of throwing objects, either mundane objects used as improvised decoys and weaponry, or purpose-built throwing weapons. It is a skill similar to the draw weight or reloading skills, but isn't directly related to either of them. Depends on a character's Strength, Agility, Concentration and the degree of Fatigue.
Aiming: A character's skill at aiming steadily and with accuracy at a given target. Different ranged arms (missile as well as throwing weapons) require different styles of aiming, due to their construction. Bows and crossbows are held differently and mostly aimed only by the naked eye, while firearms also tend to have varying forms of sights. Depends on a character's Concentration and the degree of Fatigue.
Holding breath: Deals with a character's capability at holding his/her breath in order to lower one's idle body movements (caused by breathing) and thus temporarily improve the potential accuracy of aiming. Depends on a character's Concentration and the degree of Fatigue.
Distance estimation: A character's skill at roughly assessing the distance which a released, fired or thrown projectile/object will have to travel in order to reach its target. Depends on a character's Concentration and the degree of Fatigue. Due to the curvature of the planet and the planet's surface gravity, all passively flying objects must come down sooner or later. Taking arrow/bullet/blade drop into account is therefore important while shooting or throwing at a certain distance.
Wind direction estimation: A character's skill at estimating where the prevailing wind currents are coming from at the moment, and how they could affect his/her shot. Wind currents affect virtually all ranged projectiles, but particularly arrows, bolts, darts and the various throwing blades. Firearm projectiles (bullets, balls, etc.) have less of a problem with wind currents, but aren't entirely immune to them either.
An
important factor in all ranged combat is the presence or lack of
armour worn by the opponents in any fight. While a fight between two
unarmoured opponents, with merely their clothes on, is a rather
straightforward affair, added armour types increasingly necessitate
more cunning and precise defensive and offensive tactics. Padded
armour is immune to slashes and cuts and can withstand certain
projectiles, mail armour increases protection and makes even
thrusting attacks more difficult, and plate armour provides enough
strong coverage that players should avoid ranged combat against such
armour altogether, or instead focus on noticing and targeting the
most vulnerable places in the suit of armour (e.g. gaps can be
covered at most by mail but not by plate; the slits in helmet visors,
etc.). Even mere self-defence against an unarmoured and armoured
opponent requires different techniques and tactics.
It’s important to note that the clever but reasonable application of appropriate shooting or throwing techniques (that pay attention to the context of the ongoing fight) can decide a ranged fight faster and more decisively. Some ranged fights might be relatively short, particularly if they involve two already skilled ranged fighters who know how to aim accurately and reload reasonably quickly.
Bear in mind that winning in a ranged fight might be as simple as successfully downing an enemy to the ground, or down into a place where they’re stuck, slowed down or otherwise disadvantaged, or wounding an enemy to the point they decide to give up and retreat, or dazing your enemy for long enough to open up a window of opportunity for you to escape the scene of the fight. Outright killing an enemy in a fight is actually not preferable in most occassions. You should only do so if the enemy absolutely refuses to give up and is determined to kill you or one of your fellow characters.
Basic tips
1. Like it or not, you're a thief, not a fighter. “Worship your life, not the sword.”, some wise Melzan once said… Even if you have good skills at brawling and weapon wielding, that doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll get out of every single scrap. On the contrary… So, be a Tactician first and foremost, and use your common sense. Be a Fighter only when all other choices have been depleted.
2. As an extension of being a Tactician, always pay attention to your surroundings and try to learn “the lay of the land”. (Yes, that also counts for indoors, as you'll be doing a lot of traversing of both exteriors and interiors in your mostly urban adventures.) Use the terrain or the surrounding spaces to your advantage, whether it be for stealth, defense or an open confrontation. Weapon wielding skills are important, but they are certainly not the sole thing you will have to count on in a tricky situation.
3. If you truly cannot avoid combat, at least try to avoid being forced to fight in a situation or space where you're clearly at some sort of disadvantage, particularly a major one (e.g. you're tired, you're already wounded, your weapon would be ineffective in the space you are in, there are overwhelming numbers of adversaries, etc.).
4. The size, weight and general wielding properties of your weapon always matter. Why would you use a polearm for self-defence in a room where you don't even have the space to swing or thrust with it ? A shorter weapon would suffice in such a situation, and so on… Also, what many glamorous tales of rogues forget to tell you is that would-be-thieves often forget to learn how to draw their weapon quickly but effectivelly. The opponent chasing after you won't pause to stand in place as you clumsily try to unsheath your sidearm. He'll use every second, every moment misspent by you to his/her advantage. Don't ever give the opponent such an embarassing crutch for cornering and beating you up more easily.
5. “Too many dogs, the hare's death…”, goes an old saying popular in many countries of Aporue. Long story short, unless you have at least a semi-competent team of co-workers or co-fighters to support you, forget about taking on more than one or two adversaries at once. We're talking about common, humanoid adversaries here. Things get even more uneasy if your opponent is something much bigger, stronger, or generally far, far more dangerous, even if you encounter it in singular numbers. So, if you're alone and have to rely on your own wits, get into a brawl or skirmish with only one person/being at a time, not several at once.
6. It's pointless to revel in needless violence or even the killing of your opponents, especially if they are sapient beings and are regarded as citizens of some sort. Bad enough for you that you're a thief by choice, no need to pile up on the possible repercussions for your more dishonourable actions… Though you might argue that you can simply hide the evidence of your crime, doing so wastes time and evidence can be a dangerous burden to you in case it would resurface. So, even if you are not above committing it from time to time, avoid killing whenever possible. As an old thievy saying goes, “Reckless noisiness and reckless violence are two of the greatest and vainest luxuries.”.
7. Sometimes, even if true stealth is no longer an option, you can find an alternative to a direct confrontation by creating ruses, decoys or distractions on the fly. It's no surprise that the inventory of professional thieves (and even the Melzan police force) contains a surprising amount of smaller weaponry that has no other purpose than to stun, daze or confuse an opponent. The many various types of trick explosives are the most famous example of this, but there are plenty more gadgets whose sole purpose is to turn the tide in your favour, even if it's only for a temporary, fleeting amount of time. But in a situation where every single second and every single move can be of the essence, you'll learn to cherish the option of having a middle ground between sneaking/spying around and brandishing whatever typical weapon you might have.
8. Even while you fight, you don't have to throw stealth out the window or blow your cover completely. If there's still a way to avoid alerting too many people about the fight you're having with your opponent, then by all means, exploit such an opportunity and try to keep the fight unheard and unseen. Making a big, showy, loud fight will only attract more attention and make things gradually worse. So, all in all, try to be subtle, even when you're parrying, slashing, punching, kicking or bludgeoning someone (or something).
9. You can have all the brute strenghth in the world, but if you don't back it up with plenty of dexterity and learned skill, you might find yourself a goner surprisingly fast. There is no such thing as a single good quality or single good skill that will make everyone into an invincible warrior. Every single individual is a collection of weaker and stronger aspects governing one's combat capability. You can never have only advantages, without having at least a few drawbacks.
10. “Surely, women are always weaker then men in a fight ?”. Erm, no. Everyone is an individual and one's sex or gender alone doesn't define whether he or she can be an effective or even formidable fighter. Just like it doesn't particularly matter whether a practitioner of a thievy specialisation is a man or a woman, so too does it not really matter whether a combatant is male or female.
11. Unless your opponent is somehow incapacitated in a way that he can't move at all, there is no such thing as “pulling a foolproof move that cannot ever be countered by the opponent”. Aporue is a place of wonder, magic and plenty of weirdness, but even the greatest fighters to have ever lived will tell you sincerely that you can't create a “foolproof move that always works” out of thin air and wishful thinking. Well, you can, but don't be surprised when the day comes that you run into someone who counters your “super-special move” with absolute ease. (And then makes mincemeat out of you. How embarassing indeed…)
----
Copyright
(C) 2019 - 2024 P. Molnár
(C) 2019 - 2024 Knight-Errant Studios
Žiadne komentáre:
Zverejnenie komentára