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rphair 12-21-06, 05:19 PM

I, personally, enjoy the flavor of combat in D&D. It seems well put together for a typical adventuring party, where said party faces a horde of orcs, or a slavering monster, or any and all manner of people, monsters, and just plain things that want them dead for some reason or another. But I was thinking today, as well as that mechanic works for most things, I just don't get the feel of a cinematic swordfighting duel with the iterative-attacks-per-round-based-on-initiative system. It just doesn't... well, it doesn't feel right to me sometimes. So I want to come up with another system for one-on-one duels between two characters. WHAT THIS SYSTEM IS: ----------------------- The idea here is to emulate the feel of two well-matched swordsmen (or really any melee weapon wielders) clashing blades, parrying, and riposting, without actually having to set up elaborate rules for that sort of action. You should be able to have a set of dice rolls that is just as fast and furious as your average swordfight, without setting up actions and having a blisteringly fast duel drag to a stop while you check the rules on special actions. In addition, this avoids the "your-turn, my-turn, your-turn, my-turn" feel of turn-based combat, which just doesn't fit the flavor of the fight sometimes. WHAT THIS SYSTEM ISN'T: -------------------------- This is not intended as a catch-all replacement to combat in general. You should only use the duelling rules in very limited situations. A drunken half-orc challenges you to a fight in a bar? That's standard combat. You must best an elven prince in a contest of swordsmanship on the grounds of his castle? That's a duel. A fighter meets an ogre in the woods who attacks him? Standard combat. Two samurai facing off against each other to defend their honor? A duel. This specialized system should only be used with two opponents who have agreed to face each other as equals in honorable combat, and thus will be expected to fight in a certain manner. HOW IT WORKS: --------------- At its heart, the system is opposed attack rolls. You have your two combatants roll d20 and add any attack modifiers. They compare these values. If one exceeds the other by a predetermined amount (5, 10, however you as the DM decide to implement the system), that person scores a hit. A more equal set of rolls represents a successful parry or block on the part of one party -- generally the lower of the two rolls, but that's really just flavor. Damage is rolled normally. OPTIONAL RULES: ----------------- These optional rules may make sense for some, but more rules means more confusion (just look at grappling!), so use them with caution! - Dirty tricks: Just because you have agreed to honorable combat does not mean your opponent isn't lying through his teeth. If he succeeds on a Bluff check, opposed by your Sense Motive, he can pull a dirty trick, such as striking with a concealed weapon, throwing sand in your eyes, etc. If a dirty trick is pulled, the duel ends, and the parties involved roll initiative normally, since the formalities of armed combat have clearly been cast aside. - Armor counts, too: Consider a combatant's armor when calculating whether a blow lands. Add a circumstance bonus to an opposed attack roll, or perhaps increase the difference needed to succeed in attacking between the two rolls if one combatant is more heavily armored than another. - Feint and Riposte!: By rolling a Bluff check, opposed by a Sense Motive, you can fake out your opponent and gain a +2 circumstance bonus on your next opposed attack roll. If an opponent disbelieves your feint, however, he learns to be a little more wary of your actions in combat, and thus cannot be affected by it for the rest of the duel. ------- So, that's the basic idea. I'd love to hear some feedback on this, since I think it's got potential, especially for characters like Knights or Paladins, who are likely to expect some form of honorable combat. This gives those characters a chance to really play up their lawful nature and stalwart integrity. Comments, questions, and critiques welcomed!