Gauntlet
2020-06-16, 09:53 AM
I'm working on a ruleset for a homebrew game, trying to make something which allows for interesting decision making depending on results, but also lets someone focused in a specific area do things there with some consistency.
The idea is that a method of interacting would have a profile along these lines:
Monosword
Accuracy: 7
Power: 5
Special [4]: Target is Eliminated.
Type: Physical
Effect: Harm
The target of the attack would have its own profile, the relevant stat being a Defense number.
To start with, the attacker would draw a number of fragments equal to their attack's accuracy. These could be tiles from a bag or drawing from a custom deck of cards. Each fragment has a value and a number of symbols on it. This bag/deck would contain the following pieces:
1 - P
1 - L
1 - M
2 - H
2 - E
2 - D
2 - S
2 - LMP
3 - SE
3 - SD
3 - HE
3 - HD
4 - SMDH*
4 - SMEH*
P - Prepare
L - Learn
M - Maneuver
H - Harm
E - Empower
D - Disrupt
S - Special
After drawing a number of fragments equal to the attack's Accuracy, the attacker chooses a number of tiles to keep equal to the attack's Power, in this case 6. This means that if the tiles drawn had values of 1222334, they could keep the six highest values for a total attack strength of 14. This is compared to the target's defense number, so if the target has a defense of 10 then the attack would have scored 4 hits.
Once you've determined the number of hits the attack scored, working out the results depends on the available symbols. The Effect of the attack is a symbol which is always available - in this case, Harm. The other symbols which can have hits applied to them are the ones on the fragments which were not chosen - so if, for example, you want to Maneuver the target, you'd need to draw a Maneuver and not use it, so the higher numbered Fragments aren't always the ones you pick to use for strength, since sometimes you'll want to use them for symbols instead.
Harm: Injure or take out the target. The first time someone suffers Harm, they're mildly inconvenienced. A second Harm makes it significantly harder for them to act. A third Harm leaves them incapacitated, and a fourth has them Eliminated.
Learn: Gather information about the enemy. In game mechanic terms, this would be progress towards secondary objectives or gaining an out-of-combat resource advantage by acquiring paydata or similar.
Maneuver: Reposition the attacker or defender.
Prepare: Gain the initiative allowing acting first in future turns.
Special: Gain the benefit of the attack being used's Special effect. This costs a number of hits equal to the cost - so in the example above, 4 hits could be used if a Special symbol is available to send the target straight to Eliminated regardless of current Harm level.
Empower: This effect encompasses anything which strengthens the attacker's or their teammates' position. In effect, it allows the attacker to choose one of the fragments they drew (whether used or not) and save it, meaning that the next time the attacker or their teammates draws fragments, the first fragment drawn isn't pulled from the bag but instead the saved fragment is taken. This allows guaranteeing a particular symbol for the next attack, or increasing the hits scored next time by guaranteeing a high numbered fragment.
Disrupt: This is the inverse of Empower - instead of keeping a fragment for themselves, the attacker chooses one of the fragments they drew and gives it to the target, meaning the next time the opponent draws fragments for their own attack, the first one they get is the given fragment instead. This reduces the total they reach on their next action, and also slightly improves the attacker's odds if they go multiple times in a row because a low-value fragment is eliminated from the pool.
The first time each symbol is picked it costs 1 hit, and subsequent repeated choices of the same effect cost 2 hits. So in the above example, if the unpicked tiles are 2-S and 1-P, then - combined with the Harm effect of the attack - the attacker could pick one of the following:
- Special (4) to Eliminate the target with the attack's Special quality
- Harm (1), Harm (2) and Prepare (1) to badly hurt the target but not take it out, and gain the initiative for next turn
- Alternatively, they could leave a different fragment unpicked to get a different set of options.
A few edge cases:
If Power is a higher value than Accuracy, the difference is made up with blank '1' fragments.
If enough fragments have been kept or given that there are not enough left for an attack's Accuracy, the difference is made up with blank '1' fragments.
This is something I've been thinking about for both a wargame and a roleplaying game - in a wargame you'd have specific distances moved by Maneuver and you'd have Learn grant progress towards the game's secondary objectives, while for a roleplaying game you'd have more abstract distances - 'engaged', 'close', 'medium' and 'long' and have Maneuver move from one 'range band' to the next, while Learn grants useful information, income or experience for long term advancement.
The idea is that a method of interacting would have a profile along these lines:
Monosword
Accuracy: 7
Power: 5
Special [4]: Target is Eliminated.
Type: Physical
Effect: Harm
The target of the attack would have its own profile, the relevant stat being a Defense number.
To start with, the attacker would draw a number of fragments equal to their attack's accuracy. These could be tiles from a bag or drawing from a custom deck of cards. Each fragment has a value and a number of symbols on it. This bag/deck would contain the following pieces:
1 - P
1 - L
1 - M
2 - H
2 - E
2 - D
2 - S
2 - LMP
3 - SE
3 - SD
3 - HE
3 - HD
4 - SMDH*
4 - SMEH*
P - Prepare
L - Learn
M - Maneuver
H - Harm
E - Empower
D - Disrupt
S - Special
After drawing a number of fragments equal to the attack's Accuracy, the attacker chooses a number of tiles to keep equal to the attack's Power, in this case 6. This means that if the tiles drawn had values of 1222334, they could keep the six highest values for a total attack strength of 14. This is compared to the target's defense number, so if the target has a defense of 10 then the attack would have scored 4 hits.
Once you've determined the number of hits the attack scored, working out the results depends on the available symbols. The Effect of the attack is a symbol which is always available - in this case, Harm. The other symbols which can have hits applied to them are the ones on the fragments which were not chosen - so if, for example, you want to Maneuver the target, you'd need to draw a Maneuver and not use it, so the higher numbered Fragments aren't always the ones you pick to use for strength, since sometimes you'll want to use them for symbols instead.
Harm: Injure or take out the target. The first time someone suffers Harm, they're mildly inconvenienced. A second Harm makes it significantly harder for them to act. A third Harm leaves them incapacitated, and a fourth has them Eliminated.
Learn: Gather information about the enemy. In game mechanic terms, this would be progress towards secondary objectives or gaining an out-of-combat resource advantage by acquiring paydata or similar.
Maneuver: Reposition the attacker or defender.
Prepare: Gain the initiative allowing acting first in future turns.
Special: Gain the benefit of the attack being used's Special effect. This costs a number of hits equal to the cost - so in the example above, 4 hits could be used if a Special symbol is available to send the target straight to Eliminated regardless of current Harm level.
Empower: This effect encompasses anything which strengthens the attacker's or their teammates' position. In effect, it allows the attacker to choose one of the fragments they drew (whether used or not) and save it, meaning that the next time the attacker or their teammates draws fragments, the first fragment drawn isn't pulled from the bag but instead the saved fragment is taken. This allows guaranteeing a particular symbol for the next attack, or increasing the hits scored next time by guaranteeing a high numbered fragment.
Disrupt: This is the inverse of Empower - instead of keeping a fragment for themselves, the attacker chooses one of the fragments they drew and gives it to the target, meaning the next time the opponent draws fragments for their own attack, the first one they get is the given fragment instead. This reduces the total they reach on their next action, and also slightly improves the attacker's odds if they go multiple times in a row because a low-value fragment is eliminated from the pool.
The first time each symbol is picked it costs 1 hit, and subsequent repeated choices of the same effect cost 2 hits. So in the above example, if the unpicked tiles are 2-S and 1-P, then - combined with the Harm effect of the attack - the attacker could pick one of the following:
- Special (4) to Eliminate the target with the attack's Special quality
- Harm (1), Harm (2) and Prepare (1) to badly hurt the target but not take it out, and gain the initiative for next turn
- Alternatively, they could leave a different fragment unpicked to get a different set of options.
A few edge cases:
If Power is a higher value than Accuracy, the difference is made up with blank '1' fragments.
If enough fragments have been kept or given that there are not enough left for an attack's Accuracy, the difference is made up with blank '1' fragments.
This is something I've been thinking about for both a wargame and a roleplaying game - in a wargame you'd have specific distances moved by Maneuver and you'd have Learn grant progress towards the game's secondary objectives, while for a roleplaying game you'd have more abstract distances - 'engaged', 'close', 'medium' and 'long' and have Maneuver move from one 'range band' to the next, while Learn grants useful information, income or experience for long term advancement.