Combat
Combat in tabletop role-playing games
Discover combat that is fast, furious, and fun. Say no to 3 hour slog matches against a boring bag of hp. GnG has made monsters multifaceted and enhanced player options to provide tactical depth that’s still super easy to understand.
Initiative
Instead of a wild scramble to beat your enemies and allies imitative is handled as a team. The PCs vs the Monsters. Everyone rolls their initiative die and the teams scores are added together rather than competing with one another.
The winning team then gets to select one of their members to go first and then it goes back and fourth until all members of all teams have gone. This encourages teamwork and strategy.
Turn structure
Instead of a clanky Action, Bonus Action, Reaction system GnG uses Action Points (AP). A simple and easy to track resource that makes turns instantly much more flexible.
However this is not just a carbon copy of other AP systems, for one vital reason. Each PC also has what is called an AP Maximum which means any left over AP can roll-over to your next turn.
In addition your AP and AP Maximum are not locked, there are ways to invest in them allowing you to simply do more each turn.
Damage types
Each damage type acts differently, all having unique critical hit effects, and because of how monsters have been designed you can actually feel the difference in your damage types more than just “Resistances” or “Vulnerabilities”
Status effects
No more “You don’t get to play the game” effects anymore!
No spamming stuns or spending your turns rolling death saves. Instead, each status effect is unique and thematic, applying bonuses and negatives in interesting ways that still allow you to make decisions on your turns.
Movement
Standardised movement speed is boring. So we got rid of it.
Now different PCs and Monsters have varied movement speed, and its no longer free, you actually have to spend AP to move meaning it is a decision to make if you want to or not.
Of course none of that would matter much if we hadn’t also gotten rid of the “opportunity attack” problem. The combat system is designed to allow dynamic movement rather than statically standing across one another trading blows back and fourth.
Dying
Dying is devastating, obviously. And it should be.
But it should not just mean that the player does not get to play, so instead of an unconscious “Death save” system we use the “Bleeding out” condition that makes characters extremely vulnerable and weak, but not useless.
On top of this we also have lasting effects for coming so close to death, no longer will PCs be yoyoing back and fourth from deaths door like it is meaningless. Lingering injuries add consequence and character to death.
Moral
Death should not be the only way to end a combat, and now it isn’t.
All monsters in GnG have a moral score and there is a guid for GMs about when to roll Moral checks. On top of this many monsters and PCs have talents that effect Moral, increasing/decreasing it and even forcing moral checks.