Alternate Dodge Test Mechanic, allocating CP like Spell Defense... Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Method]

I did a cursory search of the forums, but I'll just come out and say it: I'm lazy. So if this has been mentioned before please ignore my ramblings and throw me a link.

So, as I have argued before, I hate the idea of a "Dodge" Test. Really this is mostly a semantic problem in my head because to me the word "dodge" implies some kind of conscious response to a known attack, which is just silly when you're talking about bullets. People just cannot dodge bullets effectively so the whole idea just doesn't sit well in my mind.

Now, I fully realize that I'm applying reason to a wholly artificial game mechanic and that one needs to suspend their disbelief in a lot of ways to make SRs combat system palatable. I also realize that presenting the target's dodge test AFTER the shooter's success test is done for continuity and easy of game play. My problem with the mechanic is that it allows meta-gaming. A player can assess what is happening to his character and adjust in real time to whatever might pose a threat to him- which in effect allows the kind of conscious bullet-dodging that pisses me off.

Blah blah blah... this has all been said before.

But my new idea is this: Have players allocate CP dice for "tactical defense" at the start of a turn in the same way a spell caster allocates Sorcery dice to spell defense. That way a player must decide in advance of the action weather he wants his character to play it safe (move using cover, etc. etc.) or go all out on the offensive.

You could even allow a character to extend his "tactical defense" to another character within a short distance (maybe 1 meter) in the same way that a spell slinger can defend others within a certain range. This would allow body guards and other close protection type characters to directly protect their charge against attacks, but in so doing they make themselves more vulnerable to subsequent attacks.

Anyway, this is just a basic idea that’s been rattling around in my skull for a few days and I wanted to see what people thought. What am I missing here that might make this mechanic broken or unbalancing? Any comments?

This post has been edited by Method: Jul 8 2005, 10:11 PM

[Method]

Apathy: your reasoning seems to be in line with what I'm trying to do, but I think thats a little too extreme. I still want players to have the option of using extra dice to soak damage or press an attack (i.e. other uses of the CP that make sense), but I want the number of dice to be more limited if they're also trying to dodge.

Crystalblue: thanks for the feedback. I agree that intuition and natural ability are also a part of what combat pool represents. That is a slightly different take, but equally valid given the abstration that is CP.

But once again I think we all understand what the CP is supposed to represent in game (intuition included). The idea here is I don't like the way its represented by the mechanincs.