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#1 saaj Sep 15, 2009 1:46:36

This is an attempt to scale groups of actions into single die rolls, to speed up or slow down the flow of combat as necessary. Instead of the standard d20 + modifiers vs. DC, I'm using a slightly different idea that is still compatible with the current system but can streamline things a bit. Here's how it goes: A fighter swings at a rogue. Let's say there are 3 factors involved, strength vs. dexterity, weapon proficiency vs. armor proficiency, and relative perception. These 3 factors call for a d6. The fighter's strength (and all applicable bonuses and penalties, such as Combat Expertise and exhaustion, for example) are checked against the rogue's dexterity (and all applicable bonuses and penalties, such as Dodge and armor check, for example). In this case, the fighter's strength is higher, so he is awarded 2 points. The fighter is proficient with his weapon, and the rogue is proficient with his armor. Both are on equal footing here, so each is awarded 1 point. The fighter does not have low-light vision, while the rogue does; they are fighting in very dim lighting. In this case, the rogue's perception is superior, so he is awarded 2 points. That's 3 points for the fighter, 3 points for the rogue. In other words, the d6 roll of 1-3 would result in success for the defender, and 4-6 for the attacker. If the fighter had low-light vision, this would tilt the encounter in his favor, giving him success on 3-6 (since they would both get 1 point for perception). If he had superior vision and the rogue was not proficient in the armor he was wearing, the fighter would have unconditional success in the encounter. So how is this all that different from traditional d20? Its main strength is being able to prepare all combat calculations ahead of time as simple 1-die rolls. For example, the DM prepares an encounter against a group of dwarves. He calculates the various interactions between each of his PCs against each of the dwarf NPCs, so that when the time comes, he can simply look to see what dice he has to roll and what 'ranges' each character has for success. This speeds combat up tremendously. Second, this makes it very easy to combine individual actions into larger wholes. For example, if you don't want to resolve combat 1 round at a time, and simply want 1 roll to determine the outcome of a fight between 2 characters, you can add up all the relevant modifiers (similar to the modifiers for a normal round of combat, but also accounting for long-term factors such as HP and the like) and simply make 1 roll to determine who comes out on top. On a grander scale, you can even combine multiple individual characters into single rolls. This system can resolve one feint attempt in one round of combat as easily as one year of seige between two forces of 80,000 soldiers. Obviously, there's some fine-tuning required, such as how to determine what factors deserve their own points and what should simply be a sub-factor in other factors (for example, should a divine bonus to strength be part of the strength calculation, or should it be its own factor, divine intervention?). Regardless of how such issues are addressed, the goal is simple: create a conflict resolution system that does not sacrifice complexity and the potential for customization, but rather focuses on simplifying how it's interpreted in terms of outcome. Every die roll should be as simple as: 1) add up relevant factors 2) allocate points on the die 3) roll and resolve Since the first two steps will usually be pre-determined by the DM, it is very easy to modify one or two elements thereof on-the-fly (for example, one character receives a blessing from his diety mid-combat, increasing his will save; add that to the appropriate factor, determine if it changes his point allocation, continue fighting). A more complex version of this system simply adds up all the modifiers for the attacker and defender, then compares these numbers to each other and turns them into percent modifiers on a d20. For example, let's say all the appropriate modifiers for the attacker add up to 15, while all the appropriate modifiers for the defender add up to 5. The attacker is 3 times as likely to succeed as the defender, so his range is 75% (or 6-20 on a d20). While more thorough, this is also a little more time-consuming, and is thus best reserved for situations with numbers prepared well in advance or very large/long-term scales. I know this is a lot to digest at once, but please let me know what you think of this system. All feedback is appreciated.