Shields

[Deleriad]

The problem with defense was that unlike Dodge it was not a skill but a natural ability and could never fail. As you say, great to have but a little out of keeping with the way the rest of the skills worked.

It looks like it may be sneaking in through the back door. If everyone's going to have to be making aimed blows against any shield user or see a proportion of their blows just hit the shield, that's effectivly the same. Shields basically give 40% Defence (aimed blows are -40% I think? My mind's gone blank but its something like that). Either that, or they give a base miss chance of a set percentage based on how many locations they cover (rolled a left arm hit on the d20? too bad!)

Still, maybe that's not a bad thing.

Do keep in mind that you are discussing a house rule. There is nothing in MRQ about a shield automatically protecting a location - unless I have missed it.

RQ3 used to have a rule that you could set your shield against a missile weapon and use it as cover. This did not apply to melee.

I think as well there was a possibility to use a fighting style where you attached a buckler to your left arm and it provided half of its APs to the left arm location. I *think* it only worked with 2h spears but I could be badly misremembering.

Finally there was a fighting style where you could be strapped into a hoplite shield and 2h spear. I forget the exact drawback but I always ran it as requiring a huge penalty for the user.

 

[kintire]

Do keep in mind that you are discussing a house rule. There is nothing in MRQ about a shield automatically protecting a location - unless I have missed it.

err... yes I know?

 

[Inspector Zero]

In MRQ, parrying weapons don't take damage from parrying unless the attacker is actually trying to hit the weapon. This is different from previous editions of the game.

Now you point it out it's clear. I keep having this problem of assuming mechanics from RQII and RQIII are still present in the game :? . It took me ages to notice general HP had disappeared...

 

[Deleriad]

Now you point it out it's clear. I keep having this problem of assuming mechanics from RQII and RQIII are still present in the game :? . It took me ages to notice general HP had disappeared...

It was a good six months for me, just before I ran it for the first time when I suddenly wondered, "where do I write down the hit points."

I had actually forgotten that APs used to slowly degrade in RQ3. I have a funny feeling it was one of those rules that I had forgotten even when I was playing.

 

[Rasta]

Speaking of hit locations, hitting someone in the leg when you're trying to punch them in the face doesn't make much sense. An easy fix that I borrowed from the combat rules for "Flashing Blades" is for the attacker to declare the location where he would like to hit and roll for hit location TWICE. The roll that gives a hit location closest to the declared location is then applied.

I've always thought that was dumb too. What I do applies to unarmed attacks: punch, headbutt, bite, etc. The combatant declares if they are attacking upper body (roll 1D10+10) or lower body (roll 1D10).

I do something simular for high ground vs low ground, mounted vs unmounted, and significant height differences.

 

[master of reality]

Speaking of hit locations, hitting someone in the leg when you're trying to punch them in the face doesn't make much sense. An easy fix that I borrowed from the combat rules for "Flashing Blades" is for the attacker to declare the location where he would like to hit and roll for hit location TWICE. The roll that gives a hit location closest to the declared location is then applied.

I've always thought that was dumb too. What I do applies to unarmed attacks: punch, headbutt, bite, etc. The combatant declares if they are attacking upper body (roll 1D10+10) or lower body (roll 1D10).

I do something simular for high ground vs low ground, mounted vs unmounted, and significant height differences.

Like I said in an earlier post, if a character throws a punch towards the face but rolls the legs on both rolls, then I give the character the option of either a miss or a hit to the legs with an athletics roll to avoid falling down. Sometimes I just give a die roll modifier sort of like you have done, but I haven't tried using a 1D10 instead of the 1D20. I'll try it.
The trick with the combat mechanics is to be reasonably "realistic" without overly complicating it and slowing down play.

 

[Rasta]

Like I said in an earlier post, if a character throws a punch towards the face but rolls the legs on both rolls, then I give the character the option of either a miss or a hit to the legs with an athletics roll to avoid falling down. Sometimes I just give a die roll modifier sort of like you have done, but I haven't tried using a 1D10 instead of the 1D20. I'll try it.
The trick with the combat mechanics is to be reasonably "realistic" without overly complicating it and slowing down play.

No doubt. Slowing the flow of a game can ruin it.