There are three major issues that I think a really great combat system needs to overcome, aside from the basic "is it fun?" concern.
First, the current crop of combat systems invariably dampen the RPG part of the MMORPG. I mean this in the sense that combat always seems to lean in the classic tank-healer-dps direction replete with health bars, crowd control and dumb monsters that don't realize they should be killing the one in the dress. Especially in an MMO with realistic physical depictions of the characters (as opposed to cartoony ones) it is rather strange to see characters run up to one another and trade blows until one of them falls over. This was a real immersion-breaker in Star Wars Galaxies, as the melee classes just ran up to people and stood there doing jump kicks in their faces. It was pretty dumb. On a similar note, the idea that you must shoot/stab/bludgeon a character repeatedly in order to diminish a pool of health points has always been a realism issue since basic pen and paper D&D. This flaw is exacerbated in modern day settings like Call of Cthulhu where it is possible for characters to have so many hit points that a gun is actually incapable of killing them in one shot. There must be a better way.
Second, trying to build a combat system capable of handling both classic tank-healer-dps AND PvP is rife with peril. Warcraft continually moves in the direction of making PvE and PvP combat almost two entirely different games, each with their own set of mechanics and rules (here I'm talking about things like resilience, and the talk of implementing special global rules for arenas, etc). A lot of this comes down to the tank-healer-dps and aggro systems, and is something that pen and paper combat systems don't necessarily have a problem with.
Lastly, fantasy games like World of Warcraft are so dominant that even supposedly realistic settings (like post-apocalytic Fallen Earth) feel the need to incorporate some kind of combat balance between different styles. Star Wars Galaxies fell prey to this again as each profession needed to be able to create similar classes of effects for the sake of balance, because combat was balanced as a separate entity. A rocket launcher user had to be balanced with a pistol user or a swordsman, which is pretty silly since a rocket launcher is a bit more devastating. In a fantasy genre I have no problem believing that a Mage's frost bolt does X amount of damage in order to be balanced with a Warrior's sword - since a frost bolt is a completely made up attack. But now games feel that because you have a Gunslinger class that uses pistols and a Commando class that uses an Gatling gun, in order to have balance they have to end up doing about the same damage with about the same effects.
So I've been thinking about ways to address those peeves with a modern-esque combat system devised from the ground up that generally works on its own but is also meant to be built into a larger rules set in order to balance that last point about firepower. In theory this could be used for a pen and paper type system as well as an online MMO.
First Principles: Stats + Behavior + Conditions = Success
One cornerstone of this system is that it will be based on both character statistics, the behavior (or 'player skill') of the player and environmental conditions within the game, which may be static or altered by stats or behavior. So let's start with "How do you kill something?"
Kill Shots
To avoid having out and out health bars, we have to say that virtually any attack has a chance of 'killing' the target. That chance could be very good or very bad, but it's still a chance. A mechanic like this is similar to the d20 rule that a 1 is always a miss and a 20 is always a hit, regardless of modifiers. But in order to press towards realism, we are saying a 20 is always a kill shot. So in essence, a combat ends when one of the parties involved scores a kill shot on the other.
Variables
That being the case we need a way to determine whether a given shot is a kill shot. I don't want it to be entirely random, and so I'm introducing a mechanic that creates a variable chance for a kill shot depending on a number of factors. The attacker's variables are pretty straightforward: character skill for the attack attempted and player skill in aiming the attack. The target's variables also will be a factor though: The target character's agility and armor will of course dimish the chance of a kill shot, as well as whether the player is moving around at the time of the attack. So far, it's pretty much the same as making a d20 attack roll, with a little player skill added in. Conditions that may also modify chance of a kill shot can include cover and lighting.
Additional Defensive variable: Awareness
Something I want to add in though as a defensive modifier is what I'll call Awareness. If the target is 'aware' of the attacker, additional defensive modifiers will apply. In the game this will really come down to whether the target is looking at the attacker. So the triumverate for an opponent with a good defense will be Agility (both character stat and motion), Armor and Awareness - AAA. Likewise the easiest target will be a stationary, unarmored and oblivious one.
Additional Offensive variable: Concentration
But I don't want a target with great AAA to be unkillable - that's not realistic either, and it's a potential strength of the old hit point system - the ability to wear down a target. But traditional HPs have too many flaws in terms of realism, and I'm determined to keep the kill shot mechanic in place. So instead I'm introducing Concentration Points (CPs). Concentration Points add positive modifiers to attack rolls, increasing the chance of a kill shot. If you make an attack on a target that meets certain conditions but not a kill shot, you gain a Concentration Point on the target, increasing your chances of a kill shot on the next attack. In this way we have something akin to hit points in that a battle inevitably moves towards a kill shot, but we don't have to pretend that it took 100 bullets to the head for the target to die - those bullets whizzed past their head instead, but still took a karmic toll.
What is a CP-earning shot? It should probably be defined as a shot that would have been a kill shot if raw defensive stats were not applied. That way any defensive actions taken by the target (such as maintaining Awareness, using Cover and staying mobile) are still valuable because they can deny CPs to the attacker. If the only thing that saved the target were stats (including armor) then a CP is granted. That way CP accumulation gradually eliminates the benefits of raw defensive stats, but defensive actions by the target is key to maintaining a tactical advantage.
Another side effect of Concentration Points is that they are personal, rather than public. So Concentration Points one attacker earns on a target do not apply for another attacker - they have their own variables and CPs that modifiy their attacks. CPs may decay after a certain amount of time, or may not decay until combat is over - still not sure about that one.
This means that focus fire is not more effective than distributed fire. That's kind of awesome.
So let's take a break for a moment and imagine a 1 on 1 combat using these rules. Two opponents facing off would be trying to maximize their chance of getting a kill shot on the other, while minimizing their chance of receiving a kill shot. Whoever gets the kill shot first is obviously the winner. Initially it may actually be very difficult for either fighter to score a kill shot - due to high AAA defensive modifiers or low offensive modifiers. However as the combat progresses and CPs are racked up through well-aimed but non-kill shot attacks, the chances of a kill shot begin to increase. Eventually one fighter scores a kill shot and wins the battle.
In a 3 on 3 battle, there is not a distinct advantage for one team to focus fire on a single opponent (this IS an advantage under a traditional hit point system) because all it takes to kill the opponent is a kill shot, and the CPs accrued on the dead target will cease to be of use when they move on to try to take down the next target. It would be better for each teammate to focus on a separate enemy in order to eliminate them as quickly as possible.
This alone is a feature of the system that I think is pretty great. It would result in a real break from the tank-healer-dps model and allow for a much more realistic playing out of group on group battles. Healing and crowd control-type abilities could still be useful and fun - smoke grenades for instance to create cover - but combat does not hinge on the classic triumverate, instead we've created something new!
In another example, say a heavily armored, shotgun-wielding Fighter is confronted with a machine gun nest. The Gunner in the nest benefits from cover that will make it hard for the armored fighter to score CPs or a kill shot, so the armored Fighter decides to charge the nest! The Gunner fires away at the charging Fighter, and although the armor repels bullets and the Fighter dodges and weaves evading gunfire, the Gunner is racking up CPs. Will the Fighter make it over the nest embankment to get a clear shot at the Gunner before the Gunner scores a kill shot? His armor and agility just need to hold out long enough to make it there! So thanks to the CP and kill shot mechanic, raw stats can buy you time in a fight but they can't make you invincible.
The unresolved issue is that of balance - how do we deal with Rocket Launchers and Pistols and Bare Fists? My solution to that will come in the next post, but the quick answer: Don't bring a knife to a gunfight.
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