death to strike ranks

From: Newton (UC442196@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu)
Date: Fri 17 Dec 1993 - 07:59:50 EET


Haven't seen anything on the RQ4 list for a while, so thought I'd toss
this random thingy out:

phase-oriented melee rounds for RQ

This is an attempt to come up with an alternative solution to melee
sequencing besides Strike Ranks, DEX ranks, or roundless combat. One

of my main goals here is to encourage lots of maneuvering around, and
to integrate mounted combat into the system more naturally, without
getting entangled in simultaneous movement.

Note that some points in these rules are not strictly in keeping with
RQ3, especially the parts about spells and missiles, but have more in
common with Elric!.

In this case I don't think you have to trade off realism for simplic-
ity. (I did make some trades, I guess, as mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, but the things I traded don't strike me as particularly
realistic. You might disagree, of course :)

And, yes, this has been playtested, through not strenuously yet. I
can't find any more bugs in it, but I'm sure someone will enlighten me.

----
Each round is broken down into the following phases, executed in order:
A.  Fire Phase: spells and missile fire.  Resolved in order of greatest
to least DEX.
B.  Charge Phase:  movement (no disengaging allowed).  Resolved in order
of greatest to least Move Rate, with ties broken by DEX.  A character
can delay his move and force slower opponents to move first if he wants.
(comes in handy for mounted vs. dismounted fighting--let 'em run, then
spit 'em on yer lance)
C.  Melee Phase:  close combat.  Resolved in order of least to greatest
Weapon SRM (or optionally, least to greatest Melee SR).
D.  Retreat Phase:  overrun movement, retreating and running away.
Resolve in same order as Phase B above.
NOTES
Movement:  A character's Move Rate = m/SR + 5.  Multiply the Move Rate by some
appropriate number (3 for open terrain outdoors) to get the number of meters
covered per round, Elric!-style.  A broo would cover ((4 m/SR) + 5) * 3 = 27
meters per round.
Engaged Status:  once a character moves adjacent to an enemy, he must cease
moving; he can disengage only during Phase D.
Running Away and Retreating:  only characters who did not act during Phases A-C
of the current round (not counting parrying or dodging) may run away at full
Move.  Other characters may retreat up to their Move Rate/3 in meters.
Characters who retreat may not move in Phase B of the following round
(EXCEPTION:  a character with Move Rate at least 4 greater than his opponent's
Move Rate may move in Phase B of the following round).
Missile Fire:  1/SR = 1/MR.  No one gets more than one missile or spell-cast
per round.  All spells take one round to cast, Elric!-style (not counting time
spent on ceremony ritual, etc.).
Attacking on the Run:  A character can move up to his Move Rate in meters
during Phase B without his movement counting as one of his two actions per
round. (Of course when a character is mounted his mount does the moving
for him, so he doesn't worry about this.)
Overrun Movement:  a mounted character who charges into battle (charging with
lance, for example) must continue moving during Phase D, for a number of meters
equal to the mount's Move Rate.
----
That's all.  Amazing what you can accomplish when you're supposed to
be studying.
--Newton

0,,

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