Camelot
2010-04-21, 07:03 PM
While thinking of ideas for my own RPG system, a friend suggested including an "agility system." This system will be included in a normal initiative style combat system to allow characters who attack and move faster to get more actions. I need some help coming up with a structure that will be balanced and easy to implement in a tabletop game.
Every combatant will get one turn in each round, in initiative order, as normal. However, in between every round, agile characters will get extra actions. The frequency of this opportunity is determined by the characters ability score, which brings me to my first problem. How can I translate a number representing agility into the number of rounds that combatant has to wait until it can get another free action?
I also am having trouble coming up with a way to even come up with a characters agility score. Should it be based on an attribute (assuming that there are a number of attributes that function similar to the familiar Str, Con, Dex, etc.)? I want weapons and armor to have an effect on agility as well. Heavy armor and weapons should reduce agility, whereas light weapons are of course easier to attack fast with. How can I calculate agility scores?
Lastly, I want the system to be balanced. Characters with a higher agility should have a lower average damage than slower characters before the agility system is applied. The agility system balances out this difference in damage output by giving the weaker combatants more attacks. How can I make this system balanced?
So, to summarize:
* Agility sytem allows agile characters to take extra actions every few rounds.
* How to calculate combatants' agility scores, using combatant's equipment and own stats.
* How to translate that score into how many rounds the combatant has to wait before getting extra actions?
* How to make the system balanced?
I would like to hear what anyone has to say. I only have the idea for what I want the system to do, not how I want it to work, so I'm open to any ideas. The system needs to be balanced, implementable in a tabletop game, and fun! Thank you for your help!
Every combatant will get one turn in each round, in initiative order, as normal. However, in between every round, agile characters will get extra actions. The frequency of this opportunity is determined by the characters ability score, which brings me to my first problem. How can I translate a number representing agility into the number of rounds that combatant has to wait until it can get another free action?
I also am having trouble coming up with a way to even come up with a characters agility score. Should it be based on an attribute (assuming that there are a number of attributes that function similar to the familiar Str, Con, Dex, etc.)? I want weapons and armor to have an effect on agility as well. Heavy armor and weapons should reduce agility, whereas light weapons are of course easier to attack fast with. How can I calculate agility scores?
Lastly, I want the system to be balanced. Characters with a higher agility should have a lower average damage than slower characters before the agility system is applied. The agility system balances out this difference in damage output by giving the weaker combatants more attacks. How can I make this system balanced?
So, to summarize:
* Agility sytem allows agile characters to take extra actions every few rounds.
* How to calculate combatants' agility scores, using combatant's equipment and own stats.
* How to translate that score into how many rounds the combatant has to wait before getting extra actions?
* How to make the system balanced?
I would like to hear what anyone has to say. I only have the idea for what I want the system to do, not how I want it to work, so I'm open to any ideas. The system needs to be balanced, implementable in a tabletop game, and fun! Thank you for your help!