Topic: Combat Styles : Maneuvers on Horseback

[shnar]

Are the Combat Maneuvers usable on horseback? And if not, how about creating some maneuvers for fighting on horseback? I could see a whole style geared for horse/riding combat.

-shnar

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

They were not designed with use on horseback in mind.

And for the second half of your question -- maybe later. 

[Fenrhyl Wulfson]

Are the Combat Maneuvers usable on horseback? And if not, how about creating some maneuvers for fighting on horseback? I could see a whole style geared for horse/riding combat.

-shnar

Currently writing something for using thrown and missile weapons on horseback and something else for dismounting mounted characters in combat.

Combat styles on horseback... it would entail strikes on the move and tricks to use the horse as a shield.

In my house rukes I use a special system of "expertise bonus" but I'll adapt the whole stuff for combat styles in RMSS/FRP and Combat companion.


The problem being that combat styles are not part of RMFRP... since there is no MA companion.

[Arioch]

Are the Combat Maneuvers usable on horseback? And if not, how about creating some maneuvers for fighting on horseback? I could see a whole style geared for horse/riding combat.

-shnar

I would make a "Mounted Combat" Universal Option to let you use your style while horseback...

The problem being that combat styles are not part of RMFRP... since there is no MA companion.

Combat Companion styles are fully compatible with RMFRP...

[markc]

Fenrhyl Wulfson:
 There is a MAC for RMSS/FRP but it is very hard to find and I do not think ICE owns the rights to the book.

 I do own the MAC and love it. I use it quite a bit in my various games and it adds a lot of flavor and balance for the pure arms vs the pure spell casters.
 In fact IMO the MAc and the CC combat styles have gone a long way to making RM a much better game.

MDC

[Fenrhyl Wulfson]

Combat Companion styles are fully compatible with RMFRP...

Indeed, but many people don't use it. I'll find a way to solve this.

[Fenrhyl Wulfson]

Fenrhyl Wulfson:
 There is a MAC for RMSS/FRP but it is very hard to find and I do not think ICE owns the rights to the book.

 I do own the MAC and love it. I use it quite a bit in my various games and it adds a lot of flavor and balance for the pure arms vs the pure spell casters.
 In fact IMO the MAc and the CC combat styles have gone a long way to making RM a much better game.

MDC

I own it too (it is too much oriented towards asian fighting methods to my like but it's a good book).

The problem is exactly what you mention. Its publication ceased 8 years ago, it's simply not possible to write an article based on it for it would be useless for many people.

[shnar]

Combat Companion styles are fully compatible with RMFRP...

Indeed, but many people don't use it. I'll find a way to solve this.

Well, considering the companion is only what, one or two months old? I don't expect many campaigns to immediately embrace it as such. At the very least, give them time to buy it, review it, etc.

The biggest problem with Combat Styles in an existing campaign is that you pretty much have to relevel from scratch your player in order to encorporate them (which is what we did). Not every GM/Player will want to do that, and may just wait until the next "campaign" before trying.

-shnar

[Fenrhyl Wulfson]

The rules I am "using" (I ever used just a part of them and am currently expanding them) actually delete skills rather than adding more (no style skill, no modifications of the core rules, the disarm, feint, locking holds, tackling, reverse stroke and a bunch of other skills are deleted...) so at the next level you just have to redistribute the freed DPs.

I've been working on them casually for one year and a half now. They are approaching the state where they can be playtested. The whole thing is meant to use the RM core rules, allow more possibilities (for example an axe can shatter a shield, a dagger ignores armour in the critical descriptions and a polearm may be used to unseat a horseman), raise DB and make hits more devastating. You hit less but when you do it hurts more.
It takes a long time because balancing the whole thing for melee, hand to hand, and foot vs foot, foot vs mounted or mounted vs mounted is a mind better. I just hope playtesting won't send me back to the start :p

[markc]

FW,
 I agree that balance is very imortant and the GM or the GM and player should make all the styles. It also sounds as if you are attacking the problem of fighting styles, combat options and weapon spcial abiities in a good way. I also think that your game woll be better for it.

S,
 You hit the problem on the head. I also had some trouble incorperation combat styles into my game in the middle. I ended up just letting all players remake thier PC as they saw fit and continued on with my game. I did this because I thought if only the pure arms got to redo there skill buys it would be a problem. I also record all players DP value per level so I did not have to go back and refigure stat gain rolls and all the other stuff. But again I can say that my game was a lot better for the combat styles than with out them.

MDC

[shnar]

Yeah, we think so too, the overall game is better with Combat Styles. We're using that RMSS Excel Spreadsheet, so we had our original rolls recorded. We just started back at lvl 0 with the original rolls, then did new stat-gain rolls for each level. So our stats were different at then end, so what? It was kind of like "respec-ing" in a MMORP

And FW, I'm not sure what you're talking about now. Earlier, you were commenting that not enough people were using Combat Styles, even though they only came out a few months ago. Now, it sounds like you're referring to a system you're creating on your own. It should come as no surprise that people aren't using it since no one knows about it yet

-shnar

[Dark Schneider]

As combat styles are OB, can't 'mounted combat' be used as limit for using that OB mounted?.

[Fenrhyl Wulfson]

Yes, it should.

[shnar]

There's another way to calculate Mounted Combat in RMSS that just uses the weapon skill and the riding skill, and doesn't use the Mounted Combat skill at all. I'm hoping that any Mounted Style would follow a similar manner.

-shnar

[thrud]

Isn't there something like required skills in the combat styles? That should leave some options on the table when creating a style for mounted combat?

[Arioch]

Isn't there something like required skills in the combat styles? That should leave some options on the table when creating a style for mounted combat?

Yes, you could create a style with the option Required Skill: Riding, that would offset some of the penalties for horseback combat!