Uber Simple Combat

No time for a fight? Want to fast forward a minor fray? More interested in exploration and RP than violence? Why not Uber Simple Combat?

Of course, if you prefer gritty, interesting turn-by-turn combat, see my other post.


Second Wave, by Andrew Kuzinskiy

Uber Simple Combat

When a fight begins, each side adds up their Combat Bonus then rolls a d20+that Combat Bonus.

Combat Bonus consists of:

  • Total Party Level
  • Highest to-hit bonus
  • Average AC-10
  • +3 for 1 Situational Bonus such as surprise or the high ground.
The difference between the 2 rolls is the "Challenge" of the combat. 

  • 10+ Crushing Defeat, each loser takes 4d6 damage! Winners take no damage.
  • 5+ Major Defeat, each loser takes 2d6 damage! Winners take d2 damage.
  • 1+ Minor Defeat, each loser takes d6 damage! Winners take d4 damage.
  • Tie: Everyone takes d4 damage. Either side may flee. If both sides remain, roll again.

Once challenge is determined, each character may attempt to adjust the challenge by wagering a relevant feature from their character sheet that isn't included in the combat bonus. Each feature wagered adds 1d4 to the side's roll, but can't be wagered again until the party rests overnight. All wagers of a side must be placed before being rolled. Especially powerful enemies may also place wagers. 

A party may also choose to simply flee at this point, reducing the defeat by 1 step, but preventing them from being able to win..

To resolve, all wagers are revealed and rolled. Adjust the challenge accordingly.

After damage is applied, the losing side is forced to flee.

For example:

A party of a fighter, thief, wizard, and cleric stumble upon a group of 5 goblins.

The party has a Combat Bonus of 12 (Total Party Level: 4, Highest to-hit bonus: 3, Average AC-10: 5)

The goblins have a Combat Bonus of 9 (Total HD: 5, Highest to-hit bonus: 2, Average AC-10: 2)

The party rolls 16 for a total of 28!

The goblins roll 10 for a total of 19! 

The Challenge is 9, in favor of the party!

The party, wanting to crush the goblins, chooses to fight harder, wagering their abilities.

The fighter wagers his "tactics" skill for +d4, and rolls a 2 causing the challenge to be 11! Enough to soundly crush the goblins. The party, quite smug, continues on!

They soon come across an identical combat! This time the party rolled a 2 for 13, and the goblins rolled an 18 for 27! ROTTEN LUCK!

The Challenge is 14, in favor of the goblins!

The wizard uses a spell, turning a goblin to stone! +3

The fighter wagers his indomitable attitude! +1

The thief wagers his backstab! +4

The cleric casts healing magic! +3

The goblins have a warchief, who wagers his Authority! -1

All of this adjust the challenge by 10, reducing it to 4. The party is still defeated, but not crushingly so! Each character rolls for damage, then flees!

While everyone takes damage, the thief is reduced to 0 HP! As he's gasping his last breath, the cleric really wishes she hadn't used that healing magic during the fight. Fortunately the fighter is also skilled in medicine and manages to stabilize the thief before he bleeds out. Even so, this party better start moving a little more carefully after that clash.

This would be an interesting system for a game with much less focus on combat, or for a moment when combat needs to be decided swiftly. I may just use it in my own games if we're running short on time.

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