MAD Combat

Dammit ProBoards...

Playtest 2 Summery: Shooting the enemy meat shield is a bad idea. However, on the plus side it seems the multiple ships firing on a single target grid is more balanced than I thought. This confirms that the size bonuses will need to be adjusted.

Yeah, that will definitely need reworking. I am throwing a new size bonus mod into the first post rules. If someone is willing to test them, that would be awesome.

Yeah, that is probably worded wrong. Defence bonus applies regardless of being bigger or smaller.

Re bonus: Larger ships get a bonus to offensive & defensive (more power to focus into their weapons & shields), smaller ships get a bonus to agility (more easy to dodge). But yes, that is a wording issue. It should read:



It has drifted away from gaming, but very few people have a fair handle on how much damage they should call if someone starts pounding on their ships. Personally, I think fleet combat would make a bit of a comeback if we set in a system that people to use to help them 'fight fair' in space. As a side note, we weren't asked to make this, it just kinda grew out of the Stat system that we were making. We decided to post it to see what the reaction would be (& for help playtesting it), because otherwise it would have been a waste of effort.

And that’s fine if you don’t use it. You don’t have to use it, and nobody is going to force you to use it. In fact, if you do use it, you don’t necessarily have to use it the way we have so far.
Honestly it’s just there if people want a numbers view that they can translate into story content.

There are a few dice roll apps for phones and around the internet. Could definitely see how running a dice roll function could affect it.
So you’d make a roll on the defence side of thinks? Leave it to RNG to affect defence if there is no special gear?

I suppose the other thing to consider about the MAD combat system thus far, is that there is still speed and distance factors to account for, to add dodge chances. Plus, you could also set ships between one another to add to what someone could see and hit on a given turn.
I think we've yet to actually see how it works when you have a full blown fleet going at each other. The most we had was 1v3 and 2v2. Nothing quite like some of the fleets we have around on a standard basis, plus I suck at writing a fleet.

That all said, I wont deny it certainly dumbs down a lot of combat. Which was kind of the point of it. It's not exactly meant for people that are a bit more knowledgeable in space/fleet combat. Though even then, you could certainly use it as just a reference tool if you wanted.
Honestly, it would be interesting to see what a couple people actually good at fleet combat, with full fleets, would be like.

I feel like though, if you introduce a dice roll mechanic, you almost have to allow those weird "they managed to get a critical hit roll" situations. If only because they'd not really come around all that often.


While I have no real experience in RPG dice roll mechanics. But, a rough guide that might work, would be:
1 - Critical Fail.
2 to 6 - 1x Damage.
7 to 13 - 1.5x Damage.
14 to 19 - 2x Damage.
20 - Critical Hit.
Just a rough idea, but maybe something to put out there for review. Can certainly change the values and their outcomes as anyone wishes. Just thought I'd toss something out there for people to chew on. Alternatively, it could be different per engagement, depending on writer discretion...

I'm not sure if I can keep this from being rude, apologies I only mean to be concise. If you have no interest in the system, why are you trying to influence it? You're an advocate, great, but why say something is irrelevant and then add that it's not something you'd use anyway. It's irrelevant to you, only because you won't use it. It's extremely relevant to me, and my profession as a admiral, well former admiral turned moff...

I'm not sure why you'd think it's unnecessary since this site's continued issues with story driven big battles has devolved into petty arguments as you pointed out. With a system in place to streamline combats, particularly the bigger ones, it's less likely to devolve into an emotional squabble or make new comers to RP and this site feel overwhelmed by the massive experience of writers like TA, Taung, Nic, and others. I know it was a very daunting prospect for me when I first started writing. Even if this doesn't do anything for the story-writers on this site, I think it will be a great tool to help retain new comers by giving a fairer playing field in space.

Once they have this very basic system understood, they will be able to advance on to writing more story driven events. Should this system be the only way combat is done on this site, no. It does however have a few very significant uses.

In regards to dice... I'm not in favor of simply adding a die roll to an established number. I would prefer opposing die rolls be used to decide "advantage."
The smaller ship should find it difficult to gain advantage against a larger ship, but within a range, should be able to do it, if rarely. That could be accomplished with dice pools, based on size, per ship[supports get 2d4, corvettes get 3d4, etc]; or simply adding a side to the die per size category above fighter. (supports are coin, d2, and can gain advantage over corvettes, d3s, if the other rolls poorly and they roll well[r1d2=2 vs r1d3=1]) Advantage then, would permit an event that might be out of the ordinary, at the writer's discretion.

The biggest issue with adding dice and further rules is the complexity increases, making it a little harder for newcomers and persons not used to dice systems to grasp. and I'm pretty sure I'm rambling at this point... >.> I hope this isn't as confusing and jumbled as I fear it is.