Another Interpretation of the Alternate Combat System
Nov 24, 2020 19:23:02 GMT -6
angantyr and Malchor like this
Post by thegreyelf on Nov 24, 2020 19:23:02 GMT -6
So I was just reading through the book again, looking (as always) for anything we haven't noticed, and something hit me.
Now, first things first: I understand that this interpretation is IN NO WAY canon and likely not even proper, and that it would certainly and severely alter the dynamics of the game.
With that caveat in place, it occurred to me that there's an entirely different interpretation of the alternate combat system, which ALSO accounts for the Man ratings in the character progression tables.
I'm sure a lot of folks will hate this, but it could be a lot of fun. Basically, your Man rating determines how many "Men" you attack as, just as in the Chainmail system, that is, how many attacks you get.
A fighter at first level, then, would attack once on the combat table at +1. At second level they'd have two attacks, both at +1.
Where it gets interesting is the "or" levels. For example, a third level fighter attacks as 3 Men or Hero -1. At this level, the fighter would take 3 attacks, or could CHOOSE to make 4 attacks, but all would be at -1.
You would use the d20 attack matrix for resolving attacks.
The only place where this gets a LITTLE awkward is when a fighter jumps from 6 men to Superhero -1 without an intermediary "7 men." Really, though, it's just a weird jump. It doesn't actually throw anything off. The fighter merely goes from 6 attacks at 6th level, to 8 attacks, all at -1 at 7th level. Fighters do seem to max out at Superhero +1, but you could simply extrapolate continued advancements, adding 1 "man" per 2 levels, for example.
This also, IMO, balances the terms of engagement against monsters a bit better. For example, an 8 HD Balrog, according to M&T, attacks a whopping eight times, while an 8th level fighter, using the standard alt-combat, only attacks once. Using this interpretation of the rules, the 8th level fighter ALSO attacks 8 times, as a Superhero.
Anyway, it's just a thought and an observation I made. Given that it's not that far from using Chainmail combat as I outlined it in Forbidden Lore and the Age of Conan books, it would probably work fine.
Now, first things first: I understand that this interpretation is IN NO WAY canon and likely not even proper, and that it would certainly and severely alter the dynamics of the game.
With that caveat in place, it occurred to me that there's an entirely different interpretation of the alternate combat system, which ALSO accounts for the Man ratings in the character progression tables.
I'm sure a lot of folks will hate this, but it could be a lot of fun. Basically, your Man rating determines how many "Men" you attack as, just as in the Chainmail system, that is, how many attacks you get.
A fighter at first level, then, would attack once on the combat table at +1. At second level they'd have two attacks, both at +1.
Where it gets interesting is the "or" levels. For example, a third level fighter attacks as 3 Men or Hero -1. At this level, the fighter would take 3 attacks, or could CHOOSE to make 4 attacks, but all would be at -1.
You would use the d20 attack matrix for resolving attacks.
The only place where this gets a LITTLE awkward is when a fighter jumps from 6 men to Superhero -1 without an intermediary "7 men." Really, though, it's just a weird jump. It doesn't actually throw anything off. The fighter merely goes from 6 attacks at 6th level, to 8 attacks, all at -1 at 7th level. Fighters do seem to max out at Superhero +1, but you could simply extrapolate continued advancements, adding 1 "man" per 2 levels, for example.
This also, IMO, balances the terms of engagement against monsters a bit better. For example, an 8 HD Balrog, according to M&T, attacks a whopping eight times, while an 8th level fighter, using the standard alt-combat, only attacks once. Using this interpretation of the rules, the 8th level fighter ALSO attacks 8 times, as a Superhero.
Anyway, it's just a thought and an observation I made. Given that it's not that far from using Chainmail combat as I outlined it in Forbidden Lore and the Age of Conan books, it would probably work fine.