Playing Commander

[Philemonite]

This is a new attempt to make a squad-based combat system that revolves around military style orders. Right now this is just brainstorming, the crunchy part will come later.

The basic idea is that you are a commander of a small military unit and you make a combination of orders for your squad. Every turn you can pick one of those orders and the action is resolved by DM.
The original idea became too complexed when I split the main combat roles into many sub-roles. This time I am keeping things simple, every soldier has access to four abilities:
Attack abilities deal damage.
Defense abilities block incoming attacks.
Support abilities are positive effects.
Control abilities are negative effects.
One of these abilities is primary and it is the most effective.
Two are secondary and they are adequate.
One ability is tertiary and it is not very effective.

This are based on the soldier's class, but they can be replaced with specializations, which are similar to prestige classes.

So, a paladin can attack with his weapon, block physical attack, heal or reduce opponent's attack power.
A wizard can use an elemental attack, block magical damage with a ward, boost his power or drop opponent's elemental resistance.

Every squad has five soldiers. That is enough to cover every role and double on another.

Resistance/Weakness will be important. This will make Support/Control abilities more effective.

Classes are divide in 5 groups, similar to 4e power sources: Martial, Arcane, Divine, Primal and Psonic.

This is where I need the most help, classes and their abilities.

I think that one class for every combination will be enough.

Paladin is a divine defense class. They specialize in blocking physical damage. They have adequate healing capabilities and can inflict decent physical damage. They can also reduce enemies damage output.

Priest is a divine support class. They specialize in healing their allies. They can block energy damage and pacify enemies. They can also inflict energy damage.

[Plato Play-Doh]

What is this for? Is it a subsystem to fit into an RPG? Is it the focal point of a new RPG system? Is it just a wargame?

What scale should it be on? Do you want to include the ability to delegate responsibility to commanders serving under the player, allowing for vast army play, or are you thinking something more along the lines of a squad the size of an average DnD adventuring party that the player would be commanding. Somewhere in between? Or the ability to range everywhere in between?

How many people would be playing at once? Is this a system that integrates cooperative play, head-to head play, or solo play? Or would you prefer to have a little bit of all three?

It's a cool concept, but I'll need more specifics on what you envision this becoming in order to help you out.

[Philemonite]

For now it is a wargame, but it can be expended into a full RPG. It would require another system for commanders similar to classical D&D. It can also be used as a sub-system for resolving mass combat in other systems (with some adjustment).

My idea is for every squad to have 5 soldiers, so every squad would be similar to a classic D&D party. Every player would get to command one squad.

I would prefer at least 3 player in every battle. This will add flexibility, so that squads can specialize. One squad can have strong defenders, another can stack buffs, one deal damage from afar...But every squad could change focus and adapt to the situation.

[Clarkson]

Okay, my suggestions. Assign numerical values to the various levels (primary=3, secondary=2, tertiary=1). A successful roll is one that rolls equal to or less than the numerical value for that unit.

When engaging, decide what each unit will do, then roll 1d4 for each unit. If the roll is a success resolve everything in this order.

Support: Subtract one from an engaged allies roll. This ability cannot be used on the allied unit's primary ability.
Control: Add one to an engaged unit's roll you cannot use this ability on a unit's tertiary score
Attack: For each success add one threat against the opposing engaged squad.
Defense: For each success subtract one threat against your squad.
Threats: For each threat remaining on your squad at this point remove one unit from your squad

Simple, fast, and brutal.
My advice would be to forget about the classes, they add an unnecessary item of complexity. At least for now.

If you feel the need for classes, or power sources, set up a polygon. Also give everyone three hp. Strongly affecting attacks deal 3 damage, normal attacks deal 2, and ineffective attacks deal 1

[Plato Play-Doh]

Okay, my suggestions. Assign numerical values to the various levels (primary=3, secondary=2, tertiary=1). A successful roll is one that rolls equal to or less than the numerical value for that unit.

When engaging, decide what each unit will do, then roll 1d4 for each unit. If the roll is a success resolve everything in this order.

Support: Subtract one from an engaged allies roll. This ability cannot be used on the allied unit's primary ability.
Control: Add one to an engaged unit's roll you cannot use this ability on a unit's tertiary score
Attack: For each success add one threat against the opposing engaged squad.
Defense: For each success subtract one threat against your squad.
Threats: For each threat remaining on your squad at this point remove one unit from your squad

Simple, fast, and brutal.
My advice would be to forget about the classes, they add an unnecessary item of complexity. At least for now.

If you feel the need for classes, or power sources, set up a polygon. Also give everyone three hp. Strongly affecting attacks deal 3 damage, normal attacks deal 2, and ineffective attacks deal 1

That could work, though I would imagine it somewhat limits variation. If you do go with this, I'd suggest also including equipment. Say there are different armor types that your troops can use, and they give some additional HP, but reduce accuracy (smaller chance of success.) And different weapons that allow ranged combat, or increased damage. Not much wiggle room here, since there are only 4 possible numerical values to use. Maybe increase it to 6?