This is the first of the design diaries for my homebrew RPG. I’m posting this here mostly because I want to be able to collect it all in one place, but if any of my (2, maybe 3) readers want to chime in with questions or suggestions, feel free.
One of the things that has always bugged me about the design of combat mechanics in roleplaying games is the disparity between any two character’s ability to deal damage, and how much of that is dependent upon what type of equipment or weapons they happen to have. It makes sense that an individual with a longsword should be able to do more damage than one without, but what makes the average dagger/club less dangerous in well-trained hands than a battle-axe?
The same could be said for more modern weaponry in games that feature it; a bullet is a bullet, and if you get hit with it you’re probably going down no matter what caliber it was. Some weapons put more out in order to ensure a hit, some pack more powder to punch through defenses, but in essence one red-hot high-speed metal projectile is the same as another when it actually contacts flesh.
For this reason, I’m going to attempt something that hasn’t really been done in RPG design so far; character based damage. Each character gets a damage algorithm, based on level and specific attributes which can then be altered via taking certain options, with the weapon itself playing no part in actually determining the damage.
I like the Saga system of adding ½ of your character level to damage dealt, so I’m going to borrow that. In order to allow for some variation (because rolling dice is fun, let’s be honest) we’ll also assign a die step (d4, d6, d8) based on character level. Here’s how it would look;
Base Damage = (level based die size) + ½ character level.
In specific instances (like melee combat) attributes would add directly onto this (Strength, in this case).
Having both a static number and a die type involved opens up a lot of design space for possible bonuses, without it becoming all about the weapons themselves. There would be abilities available that added static bonuses (like Weapon Specialization, for example) and others that added dice to your damage roll (think Saga’s Burst Fire and Rapid Strike).
The weapons themselves would confer new options, rather than being purely damage. Light or one-handed weapons could use Dexterity to attack, for example, other weapons would provide reach, etc. Magical enchantments like Flaming or Ice would allow the wielder to overcome the defenses of specific foes more easily, they wouldn’t add to the damage directly though.
I’ll flesh this out a little more in another post, which will probably also include my basic combat rules and how attack bonuses are determined.
