Which TTRPGs have the most fun combat systems and what makes them unique?I'm trying to homebrew a simple system of my own, but I have too many ideas floating around and none of them gel with each other, so I'm looking for inspirations. I'm particularly interested in combat systems that aren't too crunchy, but never leave players without choices. Any kind of dice (or lack thereof) is fine.
>>98602510i like dark heresy. you get two actions that you use to move and fight (but they can be split into halves some times for up to 4 quick actions), and usually in any single moment there's a calculus of >how much do i aim and how many shots do i fire to balance out hit chance, damage and ammo expenditure, and am i better off with suppressive fire? reloading is fun too, because its 40k so ammo costs more than you do>can i afford to reload right now in the middle of this fight?>can i afford to waste half a magazine if i reload in advance? >i can only afford a low quality (unreliable) rocket launcher, but surely ill survive just shooting it once...
>>98602510>simpleYeah, you're not going to like mine.
>>98602526>you get two actions that you use to move and fightIf you don't move, can you spend both actions on shooting and the other way around, or are they separate types of action points?
>>98602586It's not that I don't like complexity, it's just that I'm trying to finish a single project for once in my life and for that I need realistic goals. The detail bloat collapsed on me too many times already.Besides, making a simple system tends to turn out to be pretty complex anyway. Making stuff easy can be difficult.
>>98602617i THINK you're limited to one targeted shot per turn, but you can spend a full action to aim for +20 then a full action to take either a single shot at +10 or a burst at -10, or hold down the trigger at -20. if you have a rapid fire weapon you can also aim then suppress an area hitting everyone in it at -30, which is what i did almost every time. melee was pretty similar, i remember having to spend an action to climb onto a table for that sweet sweet +10 elevation bonus before blowing someone's head clean off with god's most overtuned handcannon
>>98602617A single shot or a normal melee attack takes a half-action and can't be repeated in the same turn.But if you can fire off semi-auto or automatic fire as Full Action (ie taking two half-actions) and they have a chance of dealing extra damage per degree(s) of success.There are also talents (perks/feats) for attacking in melee multiple times as Full Action.
>>98602510Chainmail as explained by The Old Lords of Wonder and Ruin is breathtakingly good. The best explanation I can give as to why is that because the various systems aren't expected to inter-relate the mass wargaming rules can feel like the mass wargaming rules without making the two guys trying to stab each other rules overly complicated and vice-versa so you never get caught up in the thick of thin things.
>>98602510the definition of fun combat system differs wildly to the point where one man's fun is another's complete unfun so you should better start by explaining what do you consider fun in the first place if you want to receive any actual help
>>98602757What are these 10s and 20s? Percentages?
>>98602586If the core of your system isn't simple, it's shit.
>>98602510I like AGE. I especially like how there's a system that allows you to make fun little flourishes that aren't hugely disruptive.
>>98604236yeah, its a D100 (roll under) system but (almost) always the smallest bonus or malus you can get is +-10. so functionally its not quite a10%, because if your ballistics skill is 80 and you single-shot for +10 you're getting 50% fewer misses, but your DPS only goes up 12.5% so you'd probably prefer to drop to a 70% hitrate and burst for 2-5x the damage, or make a called shot to avoid armour. the big gripe with D&D and it's clones is that no matter what is happening on the board i always do the exact same shit every turn. dark heresy is dynamic enough that every turn the optimal move changes based on the board state
>>98604518>board stateDo you need exact positions and distances for this, like with terrain and figurines and such? Or are GM's descriptions enough to play?
>>98602510Depends on what kinda combat they're trying to achieve.
>>98604286So 1 dice has a different color and it generates points hou spend on these flourishes? Is there a list of them with different costs or do you just spend more to make them stronger?
>>98604261It's simple enough for me, and that's all that matters.
>>98604518I think you might be overselling things quite a bit. As far as Dark Heresy 2e is concerned, IME you usually spend every round aim-shooting with the same fire mode, unless you have to move or want to abuse suppressive fire or overwatch. Called shots just don't matter versus most characters because armour/soak tends to be pretty uniform across body parts on anything that is worth bothering with a called shot against, and fire modes usually have a very obviously correct answer depending on the shooting character's skill and whether the target can dodge. Combat does largely devolve to a pretty narrow spread of actions for every character, but combat is quicker and less emphasized in DH2e compared to D&D so it doesn't feel nearly as bad when combats get samey. The same broad strokes should apply to DH1 which I'm only passingly familiar with, although there are minor differences like single shot vs auto fire modifiers being different between the two editions which affects which weapons get spammed by most of the party (namely, longlas snipers in 2e vs autoguns in 1e).
>>98605521>unless you have to move or want to abuse suppressive fire or overwatch.I ran a heavy stubber and didnt have bulging biceps, so every turn was weighing up full-turn reloads, and repositioning meaning i needed to brace the gun again before i could fire. I had "leap up", but the economy was still tight and the >full +2 spare mags at chargen Rule meant i only had 30 turns of shooting total before i was left with a very expensive 30kg paperweightFor me. With other weapons you have a lot more freedom because you dont need to take an action to brace, but then it becomes a positioning and movement game. Called shots might not matter, a lot of the time, but i saw potential with snipers for demon hunting. Especially once you stack custom ammo and weapon mods
>>98602510That is so subjective there is no answer.However, my personal preference has always been Savage Worlds, toughness thresholds and wounds are just better than HP in nearly all circumstances.
Try Marvel Super Heroes with the Powers book, or any retroclone (Faserip, Astonishing Superheroes, Ascendant) or some modern equivalent (as Prowlers & Paragons or Bash). Light-rules superhero games are fun and have little crunch.Another superhero option that plays differently is Better Angels (ORE engine, like Wild Talents). Quite light rules too. The fun here is that superpowers come from a demon inside the characters, and that demon is roleplayed by another player. That means that to access the powers you have to negotiate with the other player controlling the demon inside (and he should roleplay the demon with their own agenda) so the combat becomes partially a negotiation about what you are willing to concede to have enough power?
