Game Mechanics TRPG Combat Statistics

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Mystborn

Guest
So as the title mentions, this post is about tactical rpg combat mechanics. The game I'm working on has gone through several variations of combat and I've decided that I really need some advice to get me started.

My main question is what stats are important for the player to have, and what stats should the equipment have, and how these affect the game's combat (preferably including the stats the player wouldn't see i.e. just for the code). However, if you feel so compelled, I would also love to hear what you think would be a nice addition to the combat, such as interesting skills or neat mechanics that you haven't seen in this type of game before.

For reference, my two original inspirations were D&D 4e and Fire Emblem. However so much of what makes FE great is it's rock-paper-scissors mechanic (For those of you who haven't played FE, there were three main types of weapon, sword, axe and lance. Say you had a sword, you would have a significant combat advantage against axe wielders, but a disadvantage against lance users), which allowed the user to overlook the pseudo-random stat allocation. In addition, I wasn't particularly fond of how the stats were used,

My main problem with D&D is that for that particular game, armor being used to check whether or not you hit or miss makes sense, but in a video game where some gold standards have been established, to me it really didn't make enough sense. In addition to that, the concept of making combat checks by rolling a 20 sided die wasn't translating all that well into this particular game space. In case anyone was wondering why I chose 4th edition in particular, it's that one of the biggest complaints about it that I've heard is that it limits your ability to roleplay during combat. This isn't a big issue in a game where the mechanics are predefined for the end user to interact with. In addition, many of the mechanics already seemed to align with my initial vision, so it was a natural transition from pen and paper to computer.

I can't wait to hear your comments!

Edit: Also if anyone could link me to TRPG Game Design stuff, that would also be awesome
 
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W

Widget

Guest
An idea for a hit/miss mechanic I have is pretty much the active reload system in Gears of War. Basically, there's a bar that has a marker that moves from one side to another quickly and the player must press the action button at the correct time. There's three ways this could result in:

The marker completely misses the target area (The character's attack fails)
The marker is within the target area (The character hits the enemy successfully)
The marker is dead-on the specific area (The character gets a critical hit on the enemy)

Party members could have a stat that slows the marker's speed or increase the size of the target area/the specific area on the bar, essentially improving the character's "accuracy" of attacks.

However, having this sorta minigame occur every time a party member could be tedious so maybe give the player the option to opt out of it or have it only appear for certain attacks/skills.

Apologies if this actually isn't an original mechanic for RPG's and I've just been unknowingly stealing ideas. '>_>
 
A

Aura

Guest
IMO the player should have at least HP, MP, PATK, PDEF; and optionally MATK and MDEF. This way you get physical/magical attack and defense set up. ^^'

You might want to add stats for speed, strength and intelligence as well.

But the type of game that you're making wildly affects the stats that you use:

  • If the combat is not turn-based and lets the fastest character attack first (and then the second fastest...) then you'd want to include the SPD stat. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (for GBA) is a good example.
  • If you want the damage to be based on the used weapon's power then you'd want a STR/POW stat along with the regular DEF stat.
  • If the game does not use magic at all and depends on physical combat, you'd want to drop the magic stats (MDEF and MATK; perhaps MP).

And you'd want a luck stat too. It would affect loot, dodging and critical hits; only if your game permits.

As for weapons, I usually keep 2 stats: ATK and LCK -- the former determines the strength of the weapon and the latter determines critical hit ratios, etc. I ocassionally keep a type stat too that determines how (in)effective it is against certain character types. ^^
 

Lumenflower

Yellow Dog
You can really make this as deep as you want. You could differentiate between thrust damage, crush damage and slice damage and give your armour various resistance types against each (like padded leather has high crush resistance but mail has high slice resistance etc.).

It just depends on how much you want the player to have to think about all this. It's all very well making a hyper-realistic damage system but it will lead to players potentially spending a long time poring over stats, deciding which armour to wear and which to drop. Then they're going to fight a different enemy and have to change armour again to better resist its attacks.

This may be the sort of game you want to make, but it may be an equally valid idea to strip the stats down rather than up. I mean there's nothing wrong with having a simple damage/defence rating. Taking away the player's choice means they have one thing less to worry about and can concentrate on playing the game rather than worrying about whether they've got the best weapon and armour equipped.

Again, though, it all depends on the type of game you want to make. Your game is tactics-based so I can understand a more complex system being appropriate - it just depends on where you want to apply those tactics.
 
C

ConsolCWBY

Guest
My main problem with D&D is that for that particular game, armor being used to check whether or not you hit or miss makes sense
I don't mean to nitpick, but the design idea is not if the attack misses, but if you penetrate. A D&D combat round is abstracted, meaning many feints and movements are assumed to have taken place before the character strikes. It's a common mistake - since the actual round can be anywhere from a few seconds to a full minute, depending on how abstract the DM makes that particular round (I believe the manual states between 8 - 12 second rounds). However, I DO understand many players/DMs think in terms of hit/miss due to older versions which used THAC0 (To Hit Armour Class 0) - which confuses the actual mechanics with the mechanic name. (I actually started with 1st ed. AD&D - as DM I never describe a "miss" as a "miss" - difficult to translate to computer when it's more "feel" than mechanics).

In addition to that, the concept of making combat checks by rolling a 20 sided die wasn't translating all that well into this particular game space.
In 1st ed D&D, E. Gary Gygax stated that ANY randomizer could be used - with some of the more "designer" RPGs which have come out lately, quite possibly ANYTHING can be used - literal rock paper scissors, cards, colored sticks, etc. The basics of Armour Class vs To Hit is about penetration. If combined with Fire Emblem (FE), as I understand it, you could see this as: Dagger hits vs Leather but not above (or below if we're talking about AC), while something like a Halberd could hit any metalic armour but no material below (seeing how that particular pole-arm is basically a giant can-opener).

When it comes to ANY mechanic in a CRPG however, you have to balance between player SKILL OVER Randomness. Otherwise a skilled player may find a loss to be 'cheap' if the system is too random (which is why many people prefer JRPGs over simulated table-top RPGs - imho). A good place to look for different mechanics would be here (I know they are all tabletop, but it may help you to think outside the 'pure' D&D paradigm and help you with translating what you want from a FE point of view):
A Designer's Perspective against D&D
Diceless Techniques (A few are like FE)

Most of all, good luck in your endeavors! :)
 
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