Lightsaber Dueling Variant

[atgxtg]

This is a thread for the Lightsaber Dueling Variant I was mentioning in the Enhance Attribute thread. I did some work on this and here is a overview of whaqt I have and how it works, so people can read it over and see if it lok interesting, and/or spot flaws.

I made a couple of adjustments, such as replacing lost dice with Dueling Points, but I figure I throw it out there and see what people think.

DUELING POINTS
Could be called swordplay points, but this covers things like Maganguard with electrostaves. Character wielding a Lightsaber get points equal to twice thier dice in Lightsaber Skill (if lightsaber combat is up, they get to use the higher score to determine points). Character using melee weapons that are capable of withstanding contact with a lightsaber (an electrostaff for instance) get points equal to sum of their dice in Melee and Melee Parry.

During a round a character can perform dueling maneuvers, each of which has a cost in dueling points. A character cannot spend more dueling points than he has during a round, but a character who spends a CP to raise his skill for a maneuver or spends a Force point to double skill codes does get extra points for extra dice.

Combinations: A character can combine two or more maneuvers into a combination. Maneuver in a combination go off one after the other, allowing a character to perform two or more actions in a row, rather than waiting for everyone else to take a action. Note that reactions still happen normally, so if someone slashes twice in a combo, the defender still can react to either or both actions. Linking maneuvers into a combo costs an extra point per additional maneuver after the first. So a 2 maneuver combo cost 1 extra point, a 3 maneuver combo costs 2 extra points and so on.


Damage Pools: The dueling system assumes that the reason why Jedi can roll so many damage dice in combat is because they can place their strikes precisely where they will be the most effective. IT also assumes that this is partly because most foes have little they can do to actually prevent the lightsaber from making contact at the desired spot, as the blade will cut through most other objects. Against a foe wielding a lightsaber, things are a bit different. The other saber can actually block the attack, and the opponent can and will work to protect vital locations, making it much harder to score the kind of devastating attacks that they can be used for in normal combat. So in a duel characters are forced to either work to get around a opponent's defenses, using maneuvers, or got for easier, but less damaging attacks, or mix of both.


To reflect this. Characters in a duel use damage pools. These start off at the weapon base damage (5D for lightsabers). Characters can adjust damage pools by performing certain maneuvers. For example, a character who performs a flourish (twirling the lightsaber) gets to add 1D to his damage pool.

When a character successful attacks, he reduces his damage pool by the amount of dice used to roll damage.

Damage Pool Cap: Characters cannot roll more dice that what they could inflict in normal combat (5D+Control-2D for lightsaber Combat) plus any extra damage diced granted by the attack being performed. For example, a character doing a slash attack maneuver can add 1D to his damage roll.


Disarmed Characters: GEt the same number of dueling points, but are greatly limited to performing maneuvers that specifically state they can be done without a weapon, such as jump or sidestep.

MANEUVERS AND MULTI-ACTION PENALTIES
Each maneuver performed is considered an action, and applies a mulitaction penalty as per the normal rules. Note that as far as the multiaction penaltyy is concerned, is doesn't matter how complex any particular action is, just how many actions the character is performing. Complexity of maneuvers is handled with dueling points.

Reaction Skills: As per the normal rules, a character may use one of his actions for a reaction, or add the reaction as an additional action, applying a -1D multiaction penalty for it. A character who does a reaction maneuver must also spend the dueling point cost of the maneuver.


MANEUVERS

Here is a sample of some of the maneuvers, their post costs, and effects. Keep in mind that these are still "alpha" versions, and no doubt some will need to have their costs or benefit adjusted.

Slash (2 points): A slash is an attack conducted by sweeping the blade towards the foe. A character who slashes gets to add 1D to his damage pool. If the attack beats the opponent's defense total, it inflicts damage.

Thrust (1 point): A thrust is an attack conducted by extending the tip of the weapon towards the foe. If the attack beats the opponent's defense total, it inflicts damage.

Lunge (3 points): A lunge is an attack similar to a lunge, but backed up by the full extension of the body towards the foe. A lunge adds 2D to the characters damage pool. If the attack beats the opponent's defense total, it inflicts damage.

Flourish (1 point): A floruish is a quick twirling of the lightsaber that often precedes or follows an attack as part of a combination. A character who performs a flourish adds 2D to his damage pool. .

Block (0 points/Reaction): A block is simply placing an object in the path of an attack. In a duel this usually means a lightsaber blade. The block is the standard defense during a duel, and costs no skill dice. This is the same defense that a character uses in normal combat, and a character only has to make one block defense a round. If a attack doesn't beat a character's Block total, it doesn't hit and score damage. On the plus side, a block doesn't cost any dueling points, so a character can perform one at any time, assuming that he is wielding a weapon capable of doing so.

Parry (1 point /Reaction): A parry is a more complex alternative to a block. Rather than simply putting an object in the path of the attack, a parry attempt to deflect the attack. A parry reduces the parried opponent's damage pool by 1D. Note that a character can perform a parry as a reaction, allowing him to roll his defense before he suffers mulitaction penalties for any parries at times. A parry costs 1 dueling point to perform.


Riposte (3 points/Reaction): A riposte is a an attempt to strike an attacking character. If the Character performing a riposte scores a higher total that the attack, he inflicts damage on the attack. Unlike a counter-attack, a riposte can be combined with a block or parry, allowing the character to keep his defense total against the attack. .


Spin (5 points/Reaction): A spin maneuver is where the character turns quickly away from the opponent, moving around in a circle to strike from the opposite direction. A character who spins may add or subtract 5D to his or an opponent's damage pool. A character can spin as a reaction, but must combine this with another reaction to use for a defense. So a character who spins into a block or parry must perform a combination in order to reduce his foe's damage pool and defend against the attack.
A spin cannot be combined with another spin.

Counter-Attack (3 points/Reaction: A counter attack is an extremely risky maneuver, where the character attempts to strike before the attacking character's attack hits. The counter-attacking character makes a lightsaber or melee weapon skill roll (depending on weapon being used), and if the total is greater than the attacker's his attack lands first, and inflicts damage. A character who counter-attacks loses his normal block defense during the counter-attack, so if the original attacker is still able to fight after taking damage, his attack will strike the character as if he had not defended, (assuming that the original attack met the weapons base difficulty)



Chop (4 points): A powerful, two handed sweeping slash. A chop adds 3D to a character damage pool. If the attack beats the opponent's defense total, it inflicts damage.


Jump (6 points/Reaction): A Jump maneuver has a character leave the ground and travel a distance up to half his Move rating, using the momentum to either add to his attack, or reduce the effectiveness of attacks directed against him. A jumping character can add or subtract his current (after multiaction penalties), Climbing/Jumping skill dice to his damage pool, as well as to the damage pool of any opponent(s). Note that if a character adds to one, he must add to all pools and if he subtracts from one he must subtract foll all damage pools. This maneuver cannot be used twice in a combination.
A Jump maneuver can be used by characters without a weapon, or who have been disarmed.

Telekinetic Jump (6 points or more/Reaction): A variant Jump maneuver available to character who know the Telekinesis power. The character leaves the ground and travel a distance up to 5 meters (including straight up)., using the momentum to either add to his attack, or reduce the effectiveness of attacks directed against him. The character. can add or subtract his current (after multiaction penalties), Alter skill dice to his damage pool, as well as to the damage pool of any opponent(s). Note that if a character adds to one, he must add to all pools and if he subtracts from one he must subtract foll all damage pools. This maneuver cannot be used twice in a combination, but could be used in combination with a standard Jump.
A character can increase the distance moved when performing this action by an additional 5 meters per additional dueling point spent, up to a limit of half their Alter dice. Note that increasing the distance moved does not increase the benefits to Damage Pools.
A Telekinetic Jump maneuver can be used by characters without a weapon, or who have been disarmed.


Sidestep (3 points/Reaction); A character who sidesteps moves his body out of the way of his foe's attack. The character can subtract his current Dodge skill dice from his and one of his opponent's damage pool.
A Sidestep maneuver can be used by characters without a weapon, or who have been disarmed.

Flank (2 points): A flank maneuver is an attempt to move past an opponent to get to an exposed side. A Flank can only be performed after a sidestep as part of a combination, letting the character add his current Dodge skill dice to his damage pool. The net effect is that the dodging character only loses 1 die from his damage code, while his opponent usually looses more.
A Flank maneuver can be used by characters without a weapon, or who have been disarmed, but is, obviously, less useful to a weaponless character.



LIGHTSABER FORMS

Each form will grant the character access to special form based maneuvers. For example a Form II parcioner might have a better Parry maneuver that costs 0 points, and would be used instead of a standard block,

A character might be limited to a number of maenevers equal to his dueling points.




Okay, It7s rough, but how does it look.

[cheshire]

I'll take a look at your rules later, when I'm not fried from converting all day.

But I wanted to off you what I had worked on years ago. If you see anything that you would like to steal from what I've got, then feel free. I know that your mechanics are much different,l but there still might be something you might want to convert over.

http://www.4shared.com/file/65897312/4c6a92c4/Lightsaber_Dueling_Specialization_2.html
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[atgxtg]

Thank's Cheshire,

I think I saw your dueling rules in the Lighsabers PDF.



VARAINT #2

I waqas thinking that I could simplify this further.

Each duelist could make an opposed test, like in Peter Schweighofer's. dueling blades rules.

The winner would get to perform a maneuver based upon the difference between his roll and his opponent's (or against the base difficulty of his weapon if higher).

0-3: Very Easy
4-8: Easy
9-12: Moderate
13-15: Difficult
16-19: Very Difficult
+3 +1 level (VD +5, Heroic, Heroic +5, etc)

Each maneuver would be listed with a difficulty rating. For example the disarm maneuver from the SpecForce handbook is of moderate difficulty, so if a character beat a foe by 9 point or more, he could disarm him (he already beat the foes's roll).

The various swordplay moves could be translated into maneuvers, including some that would yield marginal hits (like a glancing blow that only does 3D damage).

Maneuvers could be combined by adding the difficulties together, and bumping up a level for each additional maneuver in the combo. So, doing two very easy maneuver would count as a moderate maneuver.

This variant would allow for the incdlusion of maneuver without making the duels more complicated than normal combat. And it would eliminate a lot of die rolling.

[MA-3PO]

[cheshire]

[atgxtg]