Revlid
blob of bugs
- Location
- England
Not to plug a totally different system, but the new Scion makes sure to include a sidebar on how to resolve Down and Dirty Combat in a roll or three, which works very well with its emphasis on failing forward. In the example of the demon assassin... you might succeed at slaying the beast, and use your success to perform a Stunt whereby you recognise the make of the coral-poison knife the demon was equipped with and so know where to look for the summoner.As I said; some people love that and enjoy PBDing their way through fights. Other people dislike it and prefer to go "okay, a demonic assassin tried to kill me and failed" in four or five quick rolls before moving onto "so who sent them and why?" And naturally, in both cases, the players in question will be dissatisfied with a system that caters to the other.
If you fail you don't kill the demon, but you'll enjoy a Consolation to move the story forward – a new NPC leapt to your rescue, kicking off the next part of the plot, or it leaves you for dead and you overhear it conversing with its summoner, or you flee into another part of town and totally change the context of the battle (or you just straight-up get a benny). Alternatively, you might be allowed to succeed anyway, but suffer a Complication based on the difficulty – sure, you beat down the demon, but it slashed your arm with its venomed weapon and now you're woozy and off-balance at best (or you had to flare your anima and now the guard are beating down the door, or you beat it into retreat but failed to kill it and now it knows your moves).
Of course, there are also full combat resolution rules! But for the kind of combat roll you're describing, these mechanics seem particularly suitable.
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