The Campaign Builder's Guild

So I was think tanking with some people while talking about what earlier editions of DnD did, what we liked, what we didn't like and how we could revise what we DID like into our game.

Then I started talking about weapon proficiencies, how "good" was "good", and some kind of % bonus to hit based on your training in a weapon.

Then we started thinking about armor and % to hit.

So...one of the virtues of a % to hit with AC is that you can do the whole piecemeal system a tad bit easier.  Say, the larger and more protective a bit of armor is, the harder it makes to hit you, and your dex contributes as well, at a rate of, for instance, 5% per bonus.

Weapons could have an "amount trained" in each; with x% being the basic for knowing how to use a weapon, and higher levels representing you being better with the weapon.  The limit would probably be related to your level. While several weapons are very similar, individual ones have little nuances that make them handle slightly differently.  A class oriented towards sword fighting, for example, could choose a "primary" sword, getting a nice bonus in that weapon, and 'related' weapons would get a lower, residual bonus.

To hit would be calculated as: Base% (Say 30 - 50) - theirArmor% + yourAttack%; similar to how it's normally done.

Now I know something has done this before, but I don't remember who.

Anyone messed around with it?

M.

Seems like a good idea, I would set the base % around 25-30% incase bonuses get too good and lead to insta-hits at later levels.

How would DR fit into the system?

DR would factor in after a strike lands.  For example, Ouroboros (as bland as it is) currently uses a mixed system.  Armor gives you a % chance not to be hit (as in your flesh), but if you are some things protect you better.  In this case, maille armor drops slashing damage by 1 (DR 1 vs slash), AND converts it to bludgeoning damage (because the edge is not hitting your flesh); you are then able to wear a gambeson under that maille to give you DR 3 vs bludgeoning.

At least, that's how it works in theory.

M.

Interesting theory, I don't think I've seen anything like this before. Now do you use the normal trifecta of Blugeon/Pierce/Slashing? How dows it handle multiple dmg type weapons?

Well, damage is handled the usual way.  ATM, weapons deal multiple damage types where appropriate (not in use but WIP).  Basically, a dagger is a poor cutter (1d3), but a better thruster (1d4).

M.

yeah.  I've done all of this on the way to my current system.  I actually still use your basic formula in terms of striking, though now it looks kind of like ((Armor Avoidance)+(magic bonus for avoid)+(Avoid skill))+((attribute bonus to hit)+(weapon skill)+(magic bonus))+ % chance to hit.
(you can get rid of the 'base' part of that by setting the avoidance at the right point)
And we do have basic skills for the different types of weapons, including drop down skills in damage bonus, initiative bonus, critical bonus, and basic defence skills with dropdowns in avoidance skill, protection skill and others.


Some mistakes you are making is tackling the problem piecemeal.  How well you hit is very related to damage.  Does someone really do as much damage with a weapon one handed as much as two?  And how dangerous do you want weapons to be vs how important do you want armor to be?  What you call DR I call protection, and this holistic viewpoint led me down this path years ago.  And when you ask the DR/prot question, you alos have to ask how hitpoints are going to be done.

Or to put it another way---
DR/PROT, Weapon damage, hit points, the rate of attack, the likelihood of striking, onehanded vs twohanded use, shield use are interrelated.  The weight you give to one versus another and how they relate to one another defines your combat system/system lethality.

Do you want your PCs to be able to simulate the light, quick and stealthy style of combat that depends on quickness?  How important is weapon speed?  How many times can an unarmored person be struck by a broadsword at low level?  If a character who has played 12 sessions gets struck by a crossbow bolt, how badly can it hurt him?  if he's wearing chain maille vs him wearing lighter armor?
(sorry, I'm doing this in between work stuff...I'll add more later...Llum, I used to add Slash/Mash/Pierce and hit location to my system, but I've removed that to speed combat until Ray, Matt, or one of the other geeks finishes the combat network.  And I still have Chicken Skin Armor on the list(in homage to someone elses 7th grade gaming system))