Combat Playtesting Session #1

The first playtest of the SATURN Combat System v0.8.0 is complete.

Dan and I did a bunch of playtests on one on one combat and got some good data. Unfortunately, the system wasn't as sound as I had hoped, but found some serious issues that are now being corrected for the next playtest, I hope will happen this weekend. What we discovered was the following:

1. The THL was improperly organized. Big damage should be the focus of it, not ease of striking a location by proportion of it's composition. That being said, it is being reorganized to better reflect this new, more game balanced philosophy. How this was realized was that massive "location damage" was being applied way to easily for too small a DoS. Punching a target in the head, does mean it's pretty easy to cause damage to the brain because of it's proportional content of the head, but then again, knockouts inside of one second so rapidly as was tested shouldn't be a regular occurance.

2. The initiative system works very well, but the AP costs of maneuvers is skewed still. Defenses tend to get overwhelmed early, or "Free" defenses are not effective enough to make them worth while considering.

3. Stun, (penalties direct to AP) although accurate, is too powerful, often causing the person stunned, to remain at the mercy of the attacker. Stun needs to be limited more tightly to what types of attacks can get stun, and defenses need to be able to prevent it.

4. Defenses need to be partially usable when a target is struck, the same way some defenses still allow for damage when attacks fail. The current philosophy is to allow any defender to still use their DF to align DD in their damaged traits. Although I'm not the most happy with this, and know it needs some further consideration on what to do, currently, it makes for better game balance even though it is not precisely accurate.

5. Speed of combat is pretty good. We were able to simulate 5 one on one combats inside of 2 hours. This allowed also for learning time and discussion on what was going right or wrong.

6. Damage can cause death spirals in one on one combat, if DEX is attacked. Since damage to a Trait directly affects skills used in combat, this quickly decreases the ability of your opponent. Something may have to be done about this... but what?

7. If the attacker has control of the DD, it is in their advantage to pile damage onto one trait based on their intent. (END for knockouts, DEX for knockdowns, RSL to kill) Defenders can utilize their ability to control damage by spreading it out over as many affected traits as possible.

8. Throws and grappling is effective and can turn the tide of battle very quickly. Counter Damage is also very effective. Gives a little Bruce Lee effect and makes you change tactics quickly. This type of defense may need to be expanded upon.

9. A difference of more than 4 points can quickly lead to insurmountable differences in those that choose to use the full skill cascade of "Foundation + General + Niche" skills. If your Trait is 4 greater than your opponant, and you max your practical limit is maxed, this gives you an instant 12 point advantage, if they two are maxed. Of course, generalizing must become expensive to help minimize this.

10. It's very important players don't just assume their roll is worthless, because there is the off chance of getting an exploding die, and it is neccessary for DoS.

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So these are some of the observations found when play testing. Next week, it would be nice if someone else wants to particiate in playtesting when we engage v0.8.1 so we can try multi-person combat.