This is a cut down version of TDO Combat Fudge v0.1 (a game system for roleplaying “combat”): Just the rules, zero explanations, zero context and zero examples. As requested, to make it more blog-digestable.

The scope of this Fudge build is very specific. It only applies to combat (or drama in social context). It doesn’t cover character creation and development or general conflict and checks. However it applies to all combat and scales. It can be applied to overt combat, goal-oriented combat (i.e. races), detection-based combat (i.e. stealth-based), chases and political combat (and anything else you can think of). It can be applied to large-scale conflicts (wars and battles) and small scale. If you don’t see how the rules can be applied to these situations, please check out the original version as it contains examples of all these cases.
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An Example Fudge Implementation of “Combat Profiles”

If you don’t have time to read all this, then check out the cut-down version v0.1.1!

What started as some rough ideas and thoughts on the combat experience in roleplaying games, developed in a kind of simplistic theory I called “Combat Profiles”. After some discussion, I put together this system as an example of using these concepts. In fact, putting together this system has helped me scope and define the ideas into something more tangible, but that’s for another day. This system priorities player-experience over strategy or realism but doesn’t try to exclude anything either. I don’t know if it delivers, as I haven’t tested it yet.

It uses Fudge and Story Elements, as I believe they are uniquely suited to “Combat Profiles” compared to the other systems I’ve played (of course I haven’t played every system out there). It is task-based (i.e. not “conflict resolution”), another of my biases I guess. However I believe the general principals can be applied to other systems. It’s geared as a system that can be applied to all settings and all combat situations. The system attempts to define what combat is to understand how to apply it.

This system is in part inspired by the Shadow of Yesterday RPG, Riddle of Steel RPG, Spirit of the Century RPG, Fate System, several Fudge Factor articles and the FudgeList. If you are familiar with these sources, their influence should be obvious.
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I was re-reading my notes that I had jotted down for the upcoming work on LH and I came across this:

Why Roll?

1. Part of the hobby
2. A character can “do” what a player can’t
3. Resolve a conflict of interest
4. Because it’s fun

I wondering how much truth are in those four reasons. What do you think?
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I rarely consider RPGs based on novels, movies and TV shows at all. I mean, I was a big Star Wars fan and Lord of the Rings fan when I started out in roleplaying (well over 15 years now I’d say) but I wouldn’t touch any RPG based on those settings at the time. Inspired by, certainly. I remember people going on about Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG and telling me it’s fun to be running around with Buffy and other characters from the show - but it failed to get me interested. I didn’t even bother to flick through it.
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… they don’t’ work in a vacuum. Or rather, if there is no conflict, no amount of system can help.

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