Tactics Skill

[Agent Escafarc]

Looking for how others handle the Tactic skill in both Heroic and Super-Heroic games. And if Steve reads this, will there be rules in the mass-combat section of Fantasy HERO for using tactics and leadership type skills?

[Chaosliege]

Well, in our games, we use tactics to help 'match up' characters so that if I can't get a feel for who should be fighting who, I can make a skill roll so my character can. It goes along with skills like 'analize combat' and 'leadership' as well. We have even used it as a secondary skill to 'teamwork'.

[Guest Keneton]

In addition to Fred's use of Tactics, we also have tactics play a part in the holding game. If two or more charcters attempt to hold until the very bottom of a phase all roll tactics. The high roller goes and the others burn their phase or at least move to the next segemnt when they can go as they wish.

 

[zornwil]

As GM, I have used tactics primarily, as far as I can remember, in two ways. The first has been to do a simple roll for something I think the character really should notice that the player may not. The second has been to answer questions by a character with tactics like, "do I think this has a chance of working" or "can I reach him in time?".

[nblade]

I've been thinking about using a new rule for tactics myself. I just haven't really hashed out if it works well or not. I was thinking about something to the effect of rolling tactics once per turn the number you made the tactics roll by gives you that many points to use to influence your attack rolls or attack rolls against you. After you use a point in a turn you can not use it gain. Think of it as one shot skills levels. For example if you made it by two, then you would could modify an roll upper or down by 2 pts but then you couldn't modify any more dice till the next turn when you re-roll your tactics skill.

 

Not sure yet if I'm going to be using this roll yet or not. I'm still trying to think if it is unbalancing or not.

[Guest Keneton]

Nblade:

 

The idea has merit but it would indeed be unbalancing. Especially combined with a high tactics roll and complimentary tactics from other team mates. This could get gruesome!

[nblade]

That's mostly what I was thinking and why I haven't done it. Still there has to be a good way to have the tactics skill mean something.

[Steve Long]

And if Steve reads this, will there be rules in the mass-combat section of Fantasy HERO for using tactics and leadership type skills?

 

Wouldn't make much sense to develop mass combat rules and not provide instructions for how Tactics affects things, now would it?

[Super Squirrel]

Originally posted by Steve Long

Wouldn't make much sense to develop mass combat rules and not provide instructions for how Tactics affects things, now would it?

I know a couple of people who would find Tactics pointless in influencing mass combat. They'd just throw down a couple of dice and declare the battle one way or another.

 

Player: "So you are telling me that we have more troops with better weapons and we all made or tactics rolls and we still lost against a bunch of peasants with pitchforks?"

 

GM: "Well I rolled a 4 so the peasants beat your army."

 

Player: "But I rolled a 3 on my tactics rolls and I drew you a battle attack map."

 

GM: "Well I rolled a 4. The peasants were just that good."

[Agent Escafarc]

Originally posted by nblade

That's mostly what I was thinking and why I haven't done it. Still there has to be a good way to have the tactics skill mean something.

 

Exactly, It's no big deal when the player whose character has tactics is someone who can roleplay it. But what about the player who couldn't win a game of Risk even if he was playing by himself

[nblade]

I keep trying to come up with a good method, I've thought about a turn by turn dex for initative method, but it has many problems as well. Actually no matter what method is employed, there will be a run on tactics as skill. Which leads me to think that some sort of skill vs skill roll should be used with small fixed bonuses for success. Say something like +1 to OCV, DCV or DEX, winners choice. Skill vs skill rolled per turn maybe. Again even a system like this has issues. Would it be per side? Per Person? Still no easy solutions. I'll give it some more thinking on, and I'll see what I can come up with.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

I keep trying to come up with a good method' date=' I've thought about a turn by turn dex for initative method, but it has many problems as well. Actually no matter what method is employed, there will be a run on tactics as skill. Which leads me to think that some sort of skill vs skill roll should be used with small fixed bonuses for success. Say something like +1 to OCV, DCV or DEX, winners choice. Skill vs skill rolled per turn maybe. Again even a system like this has issues. Would it be per side? Per Person? Still no easy solutions. I'll give it some more thinking on, and I'll see what I can come up with.[/quote']How about allowing a Tactics roll prior to the start of combat, then for each +2 they make the roll by they can modify or add a bonus to one 3d6 roll during combat, in advance of making the roll? That should prevent it from being overused.

[TheEmerged]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

One of our house rule efforts to speed up combat with several players was to enforce a 2-Minute rule: the attack roll is made within 2 minutes or your turn is void. We allowed players with the Tactics skill to make a roll at -2 to add 1 minute to this. It worked rather well, except for the immediate effect of every character suddenly having the tactics skill...

[Enforcer84]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

Over a year between posts? That has to be some sort of record!

[Half Baked]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

One idea I had, but haven't tried yet is to play out a short combat against some foes on the battlefield. The character might charge into some enemy archers. After the combat roll against Tactics skill. The result determines how important the result of that small combat was to the overall battle. A success by 10 and winning the small combat easily might result in routing the enemy flank. Winning the small combat and a failure might result in falling for a trap that draws away your unit from the main battle. I think it would be a flexible, if ad-hoc, system that means you can focus on the character's action.

[Foxiekins]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

One possibility is for the GM to allow the Tactics skill to be used to second guess the opposition... Familiarity with a particular opponent would be a complementary skill to this...

 

Another is for characters to possibly recognize organizations from their tactics and behavior...

[TheEmerged]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

Over a year between posts? That has to be some sort of record!

 

Blame it on the new "related post" feature

[Dust Raven]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

I allow Tactics as a complimentary to Perception for spotting ambushes, as well as a limited version of Analyse to determing what an opponent/opposing team is planing or trying to accomplish in the fight.

[Vondy]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

I use tactics as a mode of alerting players to potential holes in their strategy (when a player with no tactical sense is playing a character who should know better) and to point out things the opposition may (and the word "may" is key) attempt under the circumstances. The margin of success determines how helpful I - the GM - am in this regard. I also let players whose characters have tactics as for: a list of normative solutions.

 

Example: Team Alpha is going to be executing a high risk warrant on a known terrorist whose location has been identified. The players are not too familiar with 1) how to execute a warrant to start with, and 2) specific problems that may occur as the action unfolds (tripwires, look-outs, likely forms of resistance, etc).

 

Since you only make rolls when 1) you are on a compressed time-table, and 2) you are under pressure - they get the basic information for free. Additional information (or misinformation) comes with a die roll. Supporting background skills (i.e. KS: Spetznaz Tactics, KS: terrorists, KS: this terrorist) are complimentary rolls.

[Fenixcrest]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

I use Tactics in small-scale combat to help other rolls, mostly for the purpose of flummoxing one's enemies.

 

Ex: Tactics can be complimentary to Teamwork checks. It can also be used with Stealth to get the full 1/2DCV rear attack bonus.

 

That kinda thing.

[Tasha]

Re: Tactics Skill

 

I usually use tactics skill as a kind of "are you sure you want to do that stupid thing in combat?" skill. Also as a way to point out ambush points when the group is on a more strategic scale. The idea to me is to allow a player who may not have good tactical skills themselves to play someone like Batman who has strong tactical skills.

 

Tasha