Lightsaber Dueling

[atgxtg]

Yeah, I know, that again. Well here is yet another variant for handling lightsaber duels to try and make them more cinematic. The rules are fairly simple [I think/hope] and are an attempt to set up fights similar to what we see in the films.

Step 1l Each combatnat makes a dueling roll using their Lightsaber skill [no doubt enhanced via Lightsaber Combat]. The winner of this roll earns one or more advantage dice, as per the following [easy to rememder and throw away] table.

Win by
1-9 = +1D for the rest of this turn [only]
10-19 =+1D [carry over]
20-20 = +2D [carry over]
30-39 = +3D [carry over]
etc.


The character with advantage dice has the upper hand dyuring the round. If a character had advatage dice that carry over, he will retain the upper hand. Advantage dice cancel out, so if one side has a :1D advantage, and the next turn the other side wins by 30 and gets a 3D advatage the tidfe of the combat has shifted.

Retreats' A character can retreat or give round during the dueling roll. THis reduces the advatage [either side] by 1D, and requires that the character take at least a half move away from his opponent.

Step 2; Maneuvers and attacks
Once the advantage has been established, the winner can opt to make an attack, try a maneuver, or just continue on with his bladework in an effort to build up a larger advantage.

If the winning character oipts to attack he must spend one or more of his advantage dice for the attack. The attack and parry are rolled jst like in the RAW, with the character rolling to attack, and the defender rolling to parry. If the attack succeeds the attacker only rolls damage dice equal to the number of advantage dice he sacrifed for the attack, yup to a cap of the character normal lightsaber damage [as augmented with lightsaber combat]. TO get a good [i.e. high damage] attack will take several rounds of dueling or a huge difference in skill.

At the GMs option a character may try the risky tactic of sacrificing more advantage dice than he has, but this will mean that the character overextends himself, and will lose his advantage, giving advantage dice to his opponent.


If the winner opts to try a maneuver, then he sacrifes a number of advatage dice for the attempt, based on the difficulty of the maneuver.

Very Easy 1D
Easy 2D
Moderate 4D
Difficult 6D
Very Difficult 8D

Spending the dice allows the character to attempt the maneuver, with both characters making rolls as per the maneuver.

Use the martial arts maneuver from the Spec Forces handbook as a gudieline for dueling maneuvers. Ideally, each Lightsaber Form could have its own maneuvers.


If the winning character opts to bank his dice, he can try to build up a bigger advatage in order to do more damage, a more complex maneuver, a series or maneuvers.


Okay, that's it. Not too complicated, yet it should change the pacing of the fights to be more like what we see in the films. A quick fight between equally matched opponents is possible but unlikely.

[Dromdarr_Alark]

This is one of the first lightsaber combat variants I actually decided to read through. I like it so far.

I think it would help to have explicit maneuvers for each difficulty, though.
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"I still wouldn't have a roll for it - but that's just how I roll."

[DougRed4]

Very nicely done, at. 8)

Would love to hear the details if you were able to playtest it.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[atgxtg]

Well this is my sixth or seventh attempt at a dueling system for D6, so I must be getting the hang of it!

I agree that a list of maneuver would help, and I'm working on one, and trying to incorporate Lightsaber Forms.

In retrospect I thing 5 point increments per D instead of 10 point might be better. I was thinking that two evenly matched foes might never get resolved unless somebody takes a risk to overextend.

I haven't playtsted this yet, but hope to do so with my RPG group. Probably with a dozen or so maneuvers.

[Dromdarr_Alark]

I like that you're taking lightsaber forms into account.


I was also thinking: why not apply this to regular (non-force) duels?

I have a player who loves is vibro-axe and constantly seeks out the scariest enemy to fight hand-to-hand. I think this system could work for him as well.
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"I still wouldn't have a roll for it - but that's just how I roll."

[atgxtg]

The forms go with the manevuers and vice versa. Once you open the door for one the other follows.

I got about ten maneuvers written up so far. I got a bit of a problem with defensive maneuvers since maneuvers are paid for with advantage dice, so it has caused a bit fo a snag with Soresu. Probably the best solution might be to have some defensive maneuvers that can be attempted when you done have the advantage. You risk digging yourself a deeper hole, but if the maneuver works you are okay. I sort of set the precedent with the retreat and I think I will probably figure out a way for Sorsu practioners to double the effects of a retreat.

I hope to post the maneuvers I ha ve so far this weekend. The way it works is that for each D in lightsaber abouve hid DEX, a character can learn one maneuver. For each D in a Lightsaber Form, a character can select one of his known maneuvers to favor. Favoring a maneuver reduces the difficulty one level, and each form only favors certain maneuvers. You might be allowed to favor a maneuver multiple times, I have to see how it looks that way. If it works I can set some very high difficulties for some maneuvers and rely of characters to favor maneuvers to bring the costs down. In game terms that means that other Jedi could do some of the acrobatic stunts that Ataru practitioners do, but not as easily. IMO it wont really be a problem meeting the difficulties with Lightsaber Combat up, it will be the costs in advantage dice that will make the difference.

In combat, a character must ruse maneuvers from the form he is using *rolling( to get the bonuses.I have some stuff for incorporating some maneuvers form out of the Form into your personal fighting style. Basically you have to already favor the maneuver in another form to be able to port it over, and only 1/3rd of your favored maneuvers can be out of form maneuvers.

I am also debating on making Form I an advanced skill like the other Forms, with favored maneuver or not. Oddly enough, if I do not, do that, it kinda works out as a very strong form, since high skill levels will mean lots of maneuvers and options, making it fairly strong, and matching up pretty well with what it is supposed to be.

THe current list of maneuvers looks something like this- Acrobatic Attack, Beat, Drive Back, Telekinetic Push, Feint, Outflank, Riposte, Called Shot, Coordinated Attack, Unarmed Strike, Off Hand Weapon Strike, Paried Weapons Strike

I will probably add some sort of Power Attack and Bind Weapons maneuvers. Any other suggestions?

[DougRed4]

Later on, I could take a look at the various names given to attacks and defenses in some of the various Star Wars CCGs (like Young Jedi, which has lightsaber combat as a mechanic), as they might give some excellent ideas.

So far your list looks great!
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Tupteq]

[Dromdarr_Alark]

How about a Soresu block-and-counter attack?

You block the enemy's attack in a way that makes it vulnerable to your immediate counter-attack.
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"I still wouldn't have a roll for it - but that's just how I roll."

[Jedi Skyler]

Each Form has certain maneuvers that are listed when you read through it; I'd think you'd want to start with what's listed in that information, and build from there, adding in specific maneuvers for closing, retreating, feinting, etc. IIRC, some of the Forms' maneuvers actually do take into account closing or moving away, though I've not looked at that information in quite a while.

The more acrobatic Forms might not necessarily require the addition of such maneuvers, since they're based on a constantly moving take on dueling, whether flowing or syncopated movement is the focus.

Also, you can simplify this by simply coming up with a series of specific maneuvers, assigning a difficulty, and using them for any Form, leaving the GM to write specifically what it ends up looking like based on the Form(s) the character knows. Anything to make it easier on the GM...

[CRMcNeill]

An alternate approach would be to make a list of generic results, then give each Form dice bonuses and penalties toward each result, reflecting the Form's emphasis. Form II, for example, would have advantages to Disarm, but disadvantages to parrying blaster bolts, and so on and so forth.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Galadrin]

I've heard that complaint a lot, that d6 (and most other RPGs besides) do not adequately represent lightsaber duels. They seem to work OK to me... your choice of # of attacks each round indicates how aggressive you are, but reduces your defenses. If both duellists attack in the same segment, the loser can still melee parry as a reaction to increase the already high difficulty number of 20. The result seems to be a lot of stalemate and clashing beams, much like the movies.

This house rule seems to make duels more interesting, though. I'll have to give it a shot and see how it plays out.

[atgxtg]

[atgxtg]

[atgxtg]