Philemonite
2013-09-23, 06:58 AM
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.
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.