Tales from the Rocket House
To me, for combat to “feel” Swashbuckling, it needs to be unpredictable in the how it happens area, but not terribly random in the who wins department. Great swordsmen don't need to be demolished by goons based on a single poor roll, but the things that happen during the fight need to be somewhat surprising.
On the other hand, the combat needs to move quickly, and a complex, tactical system with lots of preset maneuvers just doesn't “feel” right. Combat actions that take five or more minutes to resolve for each character just suck the swash right out of the buckler, so to speak. Swashbuckling combat should “feel” like a pirate movie, not a chess match.
The Stunting System
To this end, I created my “Swashbuckling System.” In its final form, it has the speed, variety, and unpredictability (at least in the “how it happens” department) to make a combat fly by.
The basics of the Stunting System involve making one opposed roll for each couple involved in a combat (I won't get into the rules for multiple opponents, except to say that there are options for combining mooks into groups and running uneven numbers of major opponents). The margin of success determines the effects for the loser, exactly in the way that Special Opposed Tests (Lingering Effects) from Column 3: This is a Test do (I also addressed this in Column 13: Tasks, Combat, and Conflict Resolution).
What makes the Stunting System effective is that it brings other Traits into the mix. While the basic Special Opposed Test just uses Character A's Trait against Character B's Trait, Stunting allows players to bring in additional Traits by describing how their characters use them. These Traits give bonuses equal to the level that they are above Average. For example, a Good (13) Trait would give a +3 bonus when Stunting (Good(13) – Average (10) = 3). Most things that work for physical combat have at least the potential to apply to social tests as well, and this is no exception. Where Strength and Toughness are useful in a physical combat, Beauty and Human Perception are useful in social conflicts.
There are only three limits to Stunting. One, you can only stunt with one Trait per round. Two, you can only stunt with a Trait once per conflict. Three, you have to describe how your character does it. The description doesn't have to be intricate or involved: “I'm so Athletic that I outmaneuver him” is quite sufficient, as is “I take the hit and then whisper, 'Is that all you got, boy?'” (Toughness, of course. Quoting Muhammad Ali is just lagniappe), or “I snarl and shout down at him as I drive my blade at his chest” (Intimidation works well, too).
Items and weapons can have Stuntable Traits as well. Weapons and Armor typically add a set amount to the Combat test each round, but many will also have Stuntable Traits. An example might be a Glock 18. In addition to its basic bonus to the combat test, it would have the Stuntable Trait of Machine Pistol: Good (13). Once per conflict, the player could “stunt in” the autofire, and it might be enough to make a difference. A character can “Stunt in” one of his Traits and one of his equipments' Traits per turn. In the social arena, a character might have “Fine clothes and a respectable look,” that gives a “Cuts an Impressive Figure” Stuntable Trait of Good (13), useful for most social tests (with the likely exception of a pre-fight staredown).
Terrain can have Stuntable Traits as well. The GM doesn't have to come up with these in advance, but can take players' suggestions based on the basic description of the area (or based on Combat Sense rolls, if you're using that part of the Shounen Sword subsystem). A player whose character is fencing an enemy might say, “I circle around so he has the sun in his eyes.” The GM might respond, “Okay, it's near sunset on a bright day, so that's Good (+3)” or “It's noon, and the sun is right overhead. Forget it.” It's better if the GM does have the terrain's Stuntable Traits laid out in advance, but it's by no means necessary. Terrain Traits are a separate category, like Item Traits, and can be “stacked” on top of character Traits and Item Traits.
While this really helps to capture a swashbuckling feel in physical combat, it also has plenty of uses in Social combat. Let's say two people are using “Interrogate” on each other. The man stunts with “Handsome Lothario: Good (13)” and the woman stunts with “Psycho who doesn't care if she lives or dies: Outstanding (19).” (Yeah, someone just tried to seduce the female version of the Joker. Heaven help him if he succeeds). He'll get +3 to his test, but she'll get +9.
If you suspect that an opponent has a weakness (a below Average Trait or a specific weakness, such as a werewolf's vulnerability to silver), you can Stunt against that weakness. A big guy fighting a very small woman could stunt against her Strength, since it's most likely below Average. However, if it turns out that the “victim” has the Trait at a level above Average, then the Trait's stunt bonus is added to her total, and it doesn't count as her stunt for the turn, or her “one use per conflict” of that Trait for stunting. For example, if the small woman was a vampire, and had a Very Good (16) Strength, she'd get +6 to combat total that turn and get to stunt with that Trait in a later turn (and could stunt with a different trait this turn, and get both bonuses “stacked” together). There's a little risk to stunting against somebody, but that's part of the game.
Some Practical Issues Do you see what I see? Taking a number between seven and sixteen (the normal range of Traits for most PC's), and adding a Stunt value of 3 to 9 to it is a bit cumbersome in practice. During the playtest, all of the adding slowed thing down (part of that was the additional rolls we required during the earlier drafts of the system).
To deal with this issue, I “compressed” the Tarafore System from its current configuration (Average is 10, and every 3 points is a “Rank” or standard deviation) to one in which every 1 point was a “Rank,” and Average equals 3. (Very Bad = 1, Bad = 2, Average = 3, Good = 4, Very Good = 5, etc). The randomizer changed as well, from Trait +1d10 -1d10 to Trait +3d2-3d2 (in tabletop play, we throw 3 positive dice/coins and 3 negative dice/coins. Even/Tails = 0, Odd/Heads = 1. On chat room dicebots, +3d2-3d2 is easier to calculate and produces the same range and likelihood of results).
This “compressed” Tarafore System is mathematically very similar to the original system in practice, but much easier to use. Adding +1, +2, or +3 to a number between Bad (2) and Outstanding (6) is quick and easy.
Here's an example from my fantasy/Hollywood gossip mishmash, “Lords of the Bling.”
“Lords of the Bling” uses the compressed Trait numbers and a partially user-defined Traits list. It has a base list of traits that are narrower than the Tarafore System Traits and Skills (First Aid and Long-Term Medicine are separate skills, rather than specializations of the same skill, and Strength and Toughness are separate Traits, for example). If a player wants something that's not on the list, she or he names it, checks with the GM to make sure it's not too wide or too narrow, and goes from there. This keeps disagreements to a minimum, as the basic, most common Traits are pre-defined, but preserves the wide-open possibilities that user-defined Traits provide.
This was a one player, one GM adventure, and the lone PC, Rick, was a dwarf hairdresser in the service of King Thor Oakenbutt (Rick's father named him “Slab,” a painfully butch name, even for a dwarf, so he reinvented himself). Rick has been hired by Conrad Sylvan, king of the Inn Elves, to rescue his granddaughter Paris from that diabolical “7th Age” holdover, Paracelsus, the purple-wearing P-Imp.
Rick is a skilled Fighter (Good [4]), is Strong (Good [4]), and is Tough (Good [4]), due to his Dwarven heritage. He's an excellent Actor (Very Good [5]) and a superb Hairdresser (Outstanding [6]), as well, and he knows a little First Aid (Good [4]), to boot.
Rick reaches the P-Imp's stronghold, and is greeted at the door by an Anklebiter Gnome. Rick poses as a traveling salesman, gaining entrance to the stronghold by use of a very good Acting roll. What he sees inside shocks him – hundreds of Anklebiters sweating over a vast confectionery, producing tens thousands of grotesquely addictive chocolate banana slugs. Clearly, Paracelsus has a plan to addict the world to his chocolate banana slugs and thus gain vast wealth and power.
As Rick crosses the factory floor, he draws increasing numbers of baleful stares from the Anklebiters, whose eyes reflect a dim purple glow. That's when it hits him – they've been mind controlled by Paracelsus, and he's in for a fight.
Rick retreats to a hallway where he won't be surrounded, then draws his great ax (+2 bonus to combat). The Anklebiters attack in groups, but are no match for Rick's ax. Then the chief of security (a short, slender Ice Elf with a striking resemblance to a certain quirky Icelandic pop singer) jumps into the mix swinging twin scimitars (of course).
During the first round of combat, Rick stunted to Strength, using his superior power to drive her back and avoid being hurt (they were about the same height, but she was much thinner, and he was stronger). His Good (4) Strength gave him +1 (Good [4] is 1 higher than Average[3]) to the Combat test, but he rolled poorly, and just got a tie.
The next round, she stunted with Athleticism (Very Good [5], which gave her a +2), pulling an acrobatic flip to leap over him and attack from above. Rick stunted to Toughness (Good [4], which gave him +1), trying to shrug off the blow. It helped some, but his player rolled badly, and the Security Chief managed to Wound him (Basic Success for the Security Chief, giving a basic Wound and -1 to all contests until it heals).
But the Ice Elf's initial success would be her undoing. The next round, Rick stunted to Acting, one of his best skills, playing up the wound as if it were nearly mortal. His Very Good (5) Acting gave him a +2 to his contest, more than making up for the -1 from the Wound, and the player finally got a decent roll. As Rick staggered back, holding his side and gasping, the Ice Elf lunged in for the coup de grace – and ended up split in two by Rick's great ax.
After defeating the head of security, weaving his way up to the library, and finding gnomish-made, steam-powered, kangaroo-shaped power armor, Rick confronted Paracelsus. But instead of fighting the sartorially anachronistic P-Imp, Rick used his greatest skill: Hairdressing. He convinced Paracelsus to release Paris Sylvan in exchange for a complimentary makeover (dwarf eye for the infernal guy?) and an introduction to Lucretia, the orc-goth-bartender at The Pretty Pony Inn, home of “the best mojitos in the five realms.” In time, Paracelsus and Lucretia became such an “in” couple that they got their own name: Pucretia . . . but that's a story for another tabloid.
Final Thoughts We were laughing our collective backsides off during the entire session (I understand that game humor is always funnier if you're there), and I liked how tactical, yet rules-light and descriptive combat felt, and how quickly we resolved each round. But the most telling comment I got from the player was “I like this. I think I used everything on my character sheet this session. In most games, a lot of that stuff never comes up.”
Honestly, I rank that as one of my favorite sessions of RPG play, and certainly one of the best combats. It ran quickly, felt tactical, and was filled to the brim with brief, entertaining explanations of stunts, tricks, and maneuvers. Though we ran the session as a big joke, wallowing in a strange puree of tired fantasy tropes and goofball reality-TV-style celebrity, the combat felt deadly serious (well, except for Rick's choice of opponents), and the game would have worked as well for a serious story.
