SIEGE Ability Checks as To-Hit rolls

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zorbal
Skobbit
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2015 8:52 am

SIEGE Ability Checks as To-Hit rolls

Post by zorbal »

Can Castles & Crusades be further streamlined by getting rid of the base attack bonus and making basic attack rolls a regular Ability check? A typical melee attack could be a Strength check, with the Challenge Level being the AC bonus of the target. If you are using by the book 12/18, this would give most warrior-types (with a Strength prime) a base to hit of 12 + the AC bonus of the target. You could add class level to any weapon allowed to a class.

Obviously this would blow up the attack capabilities of non-warrior types (as long as they have a Strength prime), but maybe this is balanced out by the slightly higher base AC of 12? That could be considered a good thing though--if non-warrior-types wants to invest in say Strength as a prime, why not be rewarded for it?

Are there any other consequences of this that I am missing?

serleran
Mogrl
Posts: 14094
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:00 am

Re: SIEGE Ability Checks as To-Hit rolls

Post by serleran »

Yes, it could be, but it would make some things very awkward like rogues being extremely good at ranged combat. Fighters would have to take Strength and Dexterity and only the human fighter could dare be the "best." That's not necessarily a bad thing.

However, if the standard system were replaced with an attribute like Melee and another for Ranged, well... then you have Warhammer.


Trust me, it can be done. I wouldn't do it, but that doesn't mean you can't.

Fizz
Lore Drake
Posts: 1442
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:00 am

Re: SIEGE Ability Checks as To-Hit rolls

Post by Fizz »

I have actually experimented with such a system. It does change things up a bit with regards to certain class effectiveness in combat, but i didn't find it to be a bad experience.

Sure your high-dex characters can then hit with ranged weapons better than a fighter. But they're in the back using ranged weapons because they can neither take nor dish out the damage like the high strength warriors. The weaker characters fight from a distance, and that's ok with me.

Further, you can extend this to have weapons based on attribute. Consider the case where light weapons (daggers, rapiers) are based on Dexterity (for hitting only, not damage). Heavy weapons are based on strength (and still get bonus damage). I found this gives distinct feel to different weapon types and fighting styles. The swashbuckler type who is quick and nimble, versus the heavy armored type, slow but deal a punch when they do hit. The heavy guys tend to win since they can deal a lot more damage, both from the weapon and their strength bonus. So in this system, as a foppish rogue you still need to be quite cautious going toe-to-toe with a knight or barbarian with a heavy sword or axe.


-Fizz

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