Anyone remember Prince of Shadows?

[phantomdoodler]

I picked up a couple of gamebooks around 15 years ago, illustrated by gary chalk called prince of shadows. They were clearly inspired by lonewolf, featuring similiar mechanics. I actually prefer the combat system. It may be possible to adapt to lonewolf:

Combat:

Each character has a Strength rating (its a combination of CS and EP), equal to 4d10, min 20. In combat, each side gets an action. To hit someone, roll d100. You need to get equal to or under your current Strength rating, plus 25 if you have an appropriate combat skill (Fencing for swords, Street Fighting for daggers, unarmed combat, or improvised) You also add your weapons combat value:

Bare Hands: 2
Improvised: 5
Dagger: 7
Spear: 8
Sword/Mace/Axe: 9
Halberd/double handed sword or axe: 10

From this total, subtract your targets armour value:

Leather: 10
Mail: 15
Mail and Plate: 20

Roll d100 - you need to roll equal to or under this value. If you succeed, you must reduce your targets Strength rating by the weapons combat value. Then the opponent gets an attempt to strike.

Example:

Bright Fox, with Strength rating 26, armed with an axe (9) and wearing a chainmail waistcoat (value 10)

is facing a Giak with Strength 20 , a scimitar (9) and wearing chain (-15).

Starting with round 1, Bright Fox has 26+25 (he has a combat skill)+9-15 chance of hitting, or 45%. Fortunately he makes this, so the Giak is reduced to 11 Strength.

Now its the giaks turn. He needs 11 + 25+9, -10% or 35% chance.


Ok, so this would require some work to create a fully rounded game, but i think it has potential. Possible the system could involve attributes (such as Strength) rated 20 to 40, and a skill/Discipline system which increases one of these by +25%. For instance, off the top of my head, a player could choose Weapon Skill, which increases your Strength rating by 25 when using a specific weapon, or Hunting, which increases Agility rating by +25 when hunting or stalking prey.

 

[phantomdoodler]

From this, i think it would be interesting to make lonewolf feel more like a conventional rpg in that there is not one dice roll to determine the outcome of each combat round. Instead, each combatant gets to make an attack:

Make a d10 roll, adding the attackers combat ratio and weapons combat value (rated 1 to 10), and reducing it by the targets armour value (again rated 1 to 10) (the combat ratio is determined as usual). If the result is positive, the target reduces their Endurance amount by this result.

For example, in a battle Bright Fox (CS 17, EP 25), armed with an axe (3) and wearing a chainmail waistcoat (armour 4), faces a Giak (CS 13), EP 18, armed with a large scimitar (4), and wearing scalemail armour (6).

Bright fox , on his action, makes a roll (6), adding 4 (the combat ratio), 3 (the axe ) and subtracts 6, for a grand total of 7, so the Giaks EP is reduced to 11.

In retaliation, the Giak makes a roll (9) adding 4 for his weapon, but must subtract 8, for a grand total of 5, reducing Bright Foxes EP by the same amount

 

[Zager Krahl]

Wearing armour should not decrease your chances of being struck, but should instead reduce damage when you are struck. Makes more sense that way - better armour leads to encumbrance (easier to hit wearer), but the protection means that the hits do little/no damage when they do fall. [/b]

 

[phantomdoodler]

well since i have combined an attack roll with a damage roll, its not that the armour stops you getting hit, its that you take less damage from an attack. If you take no damage from such an attack, its not that you havnt been hit - its more like you are hit, but the armour absorbs the damage