[Rq-rules] Thanks!

[Bjorn Stolen]

I'm not circling your main point, I'm trying to explain why I think the predictability of SR is realistic. I'm sorry if my attempts at showing my arguments is interpreted as cirling of main points.
 
You say that fights are unpredictable; yes they are.
You say that it's realistic that a cocked crossbow will act before a daggerdude on 10 yards range, and that we agree on.
So far we agree, and everything is fine.
Your last example of mr.X doing on sr7 and mr.Y doing on 9 is flawed IMO.
If both have a melee sr of-say 6, and mr.X have a spear and mr.Y have a dagger, well, then it is both predictable and realistic that mr.X INITIALLY have an advantage. That beeing said, it doesn't at all mean that he automatically will go first. Let me try to explain why I think it is logical without you claiming that I'm "quibbling" (whatever that means).
 
Say both mrX and mrY have basic knowledge of their weapons. Where would the fight start? If it's a barfight, the spear is probably stored in the hallway, and the daggerdude have all advantages and will act first. If it's an ambush, I would as a GM consider letting the daggerdude act first, if it was a well staged ambush. But if both parties are prepared and knows what they're doing, the opponents would start of at -say 4 meters range, weapons ready. On round one, the speardude have two options; acting passively and waiting to strike until the daggerdude gets in range (say the killzone for the spear starts out at 2 meters), or he acts actively, closes to 2 meters range and starts to feint and overwhelm the daggerdude. In either case, the speardude WILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF ATTEMPTING TO ACT FIRST. If you don't agree on this, pleace try to explain to me. If mrY have a melee-SR of 4 and the highest DEX, he could actually be able to do before the spear, as he's so agile that he'll be able to outfeint mr X!
 
Anyways, you call for unpredictability, that's where the skill-rolls comes into play.  Let's return to our fight. I've allready explained mr.X's options, what about mr.Y?
 
He have really one option, and that is to parry/dodge (get past the speartip), then end the fight at his weapons killlingrange, which starts out at roughly 1 meter. This is exactly what the RQ3 rules describes, and here's where unpredictability comes into play. You might want things even more unpredictable, and I'm OK with that, but you're miles away from convinsing me that the original RQ3-SR-rules are unrealistic, sorry.


Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:57:00 -0500From: styopa1 at gmail.comTo: rq-rules at crashbox.comSubject: Re: [Rq-rules] Thanks!On 10/20/07, Bjorn Stolen <stolenbjorn at hotmail.com> wrote: 


Your example 2 seems to show a different understanding of the consept of sr and reach of weapons. You don't like the predictability of a long weapon acting before a slow weapon. IMHO, the system only grants the weapon with the longest reach the option of acting first; it's by no means a guarantee that it actually will do so. You keep quibbling at examples, but keep circling my main point: the predictability of SR.As I said, my personal life-experience with fights that aren't carefully staged athletic contests informs me that fighting is if ANYTHING unpredictable.  Hell, that's one of the reasons RQ combat attracted me in the first place; RQ offered a combat system where yes, when someone pointed a cocked crossbow from 10', even a skilled, veteran warrior might pause a moment. But to KNOW that in a melee between combatants X vs. Y that in every round, X isn't going until SR7 and Y isn't going until 9 thus every player knows with absolute certainty that X is absolutely safe from harm then until SR 9 of every single round?  Joe Healer behind X doesn't have to rush his healing spell because he KNOWS will have an ample 8 SR to get it off before Y even has a chance to swing?  I find that level of linear predictability ridiculous and yes, patently UNrealistic.
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