Topic: Tactics in Harp

[DavidKlecker]

Question 1: Is this a mundane Lore?

#2: Let's say a person rolls this to gain information on their attacker's style, would it be a roll for the information or would the roll give a bonus. For example a pass would mean a +5 per 5 ranks in the skill?

#3: If for a combat situation what bonus should I use if this person passes and starts giving out orders so to defeat the enemy?

Thanks!

[Aaron]

Yep, it would be mundane lore. And easiest way to resolve it would be using bonus colum, i'd say very hard difficulty. Just roll and look the bonus to OB from column, ignore negative modifiers.

It depends... do you mean yells like "he is fighting like Cuban exorcist, watch out!" (advice on identifying the combat style opponent is using) or "go low, they are swinging too high!" (advice on countering enemy combat style). In first case i would allow +10 to allies mundane lore-combat styles roll, in second case simply +5 or one quarter of the bonus from mundane lore-combat styles roll. Later is more realistic IMO, but involves more math.

I don't think that is really an good idea though, more rolling, and possibly overpowered. And unneccessary even... Let's say the cuban exorcists fight agressively, with little care for personal safety, using many overhead swings. PCs can counter this, for example, using more OB to boost DB and fighting in low corridors, as then enemies cannot use overhead swings. Encourages tactical thinking, provides more story elements (no need to invent exactly how the PCs counter the enemy style), and is faster, as it doesn't need any extra rolls.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

Actually, I would apply the same modifiers as for perception -- i.e. using it while YOU are in combat requires -50 unless you take the extra time to study.

Using the Bonus column is a decent idea as well.

However, tactics would only tell you things like "he is doing a feint" or "he is attempting a disarm" or "he is not parrying", etc. And the bonus would likely only apply to counter the maneuver he is performing, not a bunch of style information.

[GMLovlie]

Another use for it that i can think of is that if it?s used in an area that you know there?s going to be fighting, either because you?re ambushing someone or this is where the armies are going to meet, or something along these lines. It can incur a bonus to initiative and OBs, possibly also DBs, depending on what you want, and difficulty on the roll and possibilities of the terrain.
This is inspired by Legend of the 5 Rings rpg, they have a nice tactic skill, used this way, sort of.

The bonuses I think of are not large ones, something along +5 to +10 at best, difficulty starting at medium, increasing for a higher bonus (+5 to +10), and increasing if you want that bonus for more than one thing (i.e. init, db and/or ob). Also this could be used with a map afterwards, to benefit allies, at least partly. Depends on how many rolls and detailed you want to make it.
This is the use of tactics that I prefer, can be used in combat, too of course, but more useful before and in planning.

[Fidoric]

I find Jegergryte use of the Tactics skill excellent and give him a idea point for it.
Perhaps the act of guessing the opponent's next move could be done by a perception roll (maybe capped by combat style bonus or even OB to reflect combat experience). Maybe knowing a style can grant bonuses against someone using it. I think there was something like that in RMSS MAC (Martial Arts Style lore ) but I can't check it now.

[buddha]

I would give a small bonus in cases where the character know he's going to fight a certain NPC, maybe in a duel, and he studies his opponent thoroughly before the fight.

Maybe they have fought before, maybe he will talk to others who have fought the opponent before or maybe he will have observed the opponent before.

It could be the bonus granted for knowing that the opponent often uses a special combination of attacks or something like that. But time must be spent to get the edge over an opponent in this way.

It's not tactics, just knowing how to fight someone who is predictable in some way. I would let this be a -50 melee roll or something. The important part is not the skill or the die roll, but that the player goes through the process of trying to find the weakness of his opponent.

I would not allow such a bonus in an ordinary fight. For such things there are combat actions like Feint and the like to give added flavor to the fight.