Good afternoon people. I have a question about solo RPGs in general - how do you manage combats on your games?
The exploration and interaction works well with almost any system I use, but when it comes to combat (which I also enjoy), it boils down to lots of dice rolls, and it gets boring fast.
I know there are systems like Tiny Dungeon and Dungeon World where combat is faster and easier than Pathfinder and D&D. But sometimes I do like the crunch of these systems.
So, to resume my question, I just want to know if you have any tips for how can I make combat less boring in solo adventures with traditional systems. Thank you.
Hello!
ReplyDeletefergus Crawford
Yes, and I forgot to explicitly point out one recommendation of mine for that: Instead of describing each individual blow, first do at least one round of combat mechanically and then interpret that entire round as a whole. This way, you automatically get blows and counter-blows, risky moves that fail to pay off and what not. It gets easier to vary things, if several people are actively involved in what you describe rather than just one attacker and one defender.
You may even consider doing the next round mechanically before describing the current round, so that you can get combos and attacks that continue beyond a single round (like first hitting someone with the right, then the left, and then an uppercut for KO in an unarmed tavern brawl).
If you do not play with rules for aimed shots or alternative attack moves for normal people like holding sword arms, pinning enemies, you can also add those to your descriptions of your normal attacks. If you hit the foe two times in a row while he misses, maybe you initially made him drop his weapon and press onward while he is trying to recover it. In other words, everything that is not in the rules is fair play for your imagination.
Also consider using random content generators upon entering locations or at the start of combat to add some additional material to work with, maybe even something that doesn't fit completely. Personally, I really love using Little Spaces for inspiring descriptions of locations as they are relatively vague but cover all senses, so you may get something you would normally not have thought of.
Yours,
Deathworks
Deathworks DW Nice idea! Personally I tend to do a more blow by blow account rather than rounds, but that is because the combat system supports it better and I play a single character solo. Having said that I think the system includes ripostes, binds, etc so that helps alot.
ReplyDeleteDeathworks DW My method is similar. I play the combat in strict initiative order (according to whatever system I'm using), but I write things up to post in the order that makes the most sense, taking advantage of combinations of circumstances that might not have occurred to me other wise.
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