Back in the saddle after a long holiday. I hope to be more regular in my posting. I do have some thoughts about the latest OGL blowup and brouhaha, but as that has ended almost as well as can be hoped, I will save them for another time... Now on to combat!
The biggest difference between Old School and Modern combat is simplicity. While in our modern games we have demanded more, more, more... more options, more power, more rules, this had actually made combat more of a drag. I do mean this as both the "pop" definition of the word as well as the actual definition. Long grinding combats can simply become boring a drag on forever. The boring part is less so of course for "Boss" fights ending either an adventure arc or perhaps a "chapter" arc (if one views this as a story). But only a few fights are "Boss" fights by definition. But even these fights can be slow and in the end tiresome.
Why?
Firstly I think is the lack of fear for the life of the characters. Inflated hit points, skills, recovery and the rest have taken the suspense out of the game. D&D 4 even had a "Mook" rule where any hit would take out a "Mook". This worked in a way for the super-powered characters. Fighting the Hill Giant King while slaying his Ogre Mercenaries with one hit a piece is cinematic for some, but it hardly fits Conan, or Tolkien, or any other gritty fantasy story in my book. Getting rid of the "Mooks" however, made things worse. It slowed things down even more.
Secondly, the plethora of adds, skills, terrain effects, monster special damages and such forces the player to fixate on the character sheet, straining to find another modifier or option. Worse, it overburdened the DM to a point where he or she spent all their time concentrating on the above instead of helping to tell the story. I personally found it exhausting, and with D&D version 3 almost impossible (version 5 helped this greatly-but it still bogs at about 7th level).
Thirdly, rules exist for most eventualities. While for some this represents a great and satisfying completeness, it drags the game to try and hunt down the special rules for fighting on Ice, or over a hedge, or in a low tunnel. Nothing kills a game like having to hunt 10 minutes through multiple rule books searching for the rule. Here a case of Matt Finch's wisdom- "rulings, not rules" is highly warranted.
The total sum of the above is that both the players and the DM concentrate more on the mechanics than the story. The mechanics take precedence and the game becomes staid.
Old School play fixes some of the above problems. Characters are more brittle, thus combat is more gut-wrenching. When your 4th level hero has only 19 hit points, those 4 orcs look more dangerous. There are less buffs and special powers to track. With just a few on your character sheet, you know them and use them wisely. The greatest fix however is that the DM is less burdened and more free to encourage the imaginations of the players. The DM can narrate combat with more excitement and color. Players can be imaginative and try to create tactics and situations that will grant them advantages. The DM can do the same to foil the characters. No one has to thumb through a rule book.
To end this I will add a few DM tricks I like to use when narrating a combat... though I will admit that I am refreshingly not DMing right now. Instead, someone else has taken over my campaign based in Isteria... It is great being a player again. Shadrick my Magic-User character just made 2nd level and has all of 6 Hit Points.
DM tricks to narrate combat:
Give narrative on all hits and misses. Have the player roll the dice and announce the total score.
If a hit is scored, then mentally note the damage scored vs the remaining hit points of the monster or character hit. For a killing blow, narrate it as you wish. Else...
If the remaining hit points are less than 7, the hit causes a wound. "The sword slashed down into the meat of the Orc's arm drawing blood and loud howl!".
If the monster or character has 8-15 hits, then have the damage be less. "The orc's foul falchion smashes into your side. Your chainmail stops the rough edge from cutting, but you feel pain as the blow bruises you deeply."
If the monster or character has more hits, then use a narration like , "the blow is powerful and fast causing the Black Knight to parry wildly and step back off footed, anger on his face".
If a hit is not scored, then note the defense value (armor value) vs the combat adds. You don't have to be exact. If the attack roll falls where armor (natural or worn) prevented the hit, narrate it as such. "You catch the blow on your shield" or "the stout, toughened leather of your harness turns the point of the dagger", or for a more dexterous foe, "the wolf sees the spear thrust and easily dances out of the way".
If the attack roll is so low that it won't hit for any reason, then the following is warranted, "the troll, shocked by your sudden attack, lashes out blindly as if confused". An extremely low combat roll can be comedic. On an attack roll of "2". "Your surprise attack on the Lizardman finds your sword caught in an unnoticed tree branch over your head. You couldn't swing as the thick branch tangled your arm. The Lizardman is confused by your actions and moves to help you untangle your arm from the branch".
The object here is to add color and flavor to the combat, and keep the players interested in the story. All for now...
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