Background

During a recent roleplaying game session, the players discussed the deadliness of combat (which is, an intentional design choice). When combat begins, it is an almost certainty, it seems, that someone is dying. And if not for the adventurers’ beloved Action Points, it seems to be one of them almost always.

How deadly is combat in the Skillset RPG™ system? How much combat power (dice rolled for an attack) does a character need to reliably (that is, predictably often) harm or kill his or her enemies?

I tested different combat power levels (dice rolled) against different levels of armament.

I used Python to simulate 100,000 rolls per iteration. That means, all-in-all, across all combinations of dice and armor/helm levels, there were 19,200,000 rolls.

Here is what we get:

Interpretation

Each value in Column A (1D, 2D, etc.) is the number of dice rolled in a Melee or Ranged Skill roll.

Each subsequent column (Columns B through Q) are different combinations of armor or helmet worn by the target.

The values in each cell (0.67, 3.41, etc.) are the number of average successes achieved by the dice in Column A against each Armor + Helm combination.

The values highlighted in yellow are those that can reliably kill a target in two attacks (in a single round) and those highlighted in green are those than can reliably kill a target in one attack.

Discussion

First off, it’s good to see that the results converged in the way that I expected. Take the No Armor, No Helm column (Column B). Since the game counts results of 3, 4, 5, or 6 on each die, normally, as a success, we should expect 1D to result in 0.67 successes, 2D in 1.33 successes, 3D in 2 successes, etc.

Secondly, let’s talk about lethality. Given ordinary circumstances (outside of Talents, Spells, and speaking about combat between humanoid combatants), if a target is at full healthy (has no wounds), that target is killed with 4 or more damage.

So what are the circumstances under which a target can be killed with a single attack?

• The sweet spot only begins around 6D, which can in at two or fewer attacks reliably kill a target all the through Medium Armor, Light Helm (Columns B through J). This range also deals at least 1 damage, on average, to all columns.
• At 9D, there are no armor combinations that can’t be killed in two or fewer attacks.
• The unheard of 12D can kill all but the most heavily armor (Columns P and Q) in a single attack.

So with 6D, a combatant can fell enemies with light or no armament (i.e., “normies”) easily and can deal at least 1 point of reliable damage to each opponent with each attack, no matter the armor or helmet level. This is perhaps the minimum level required to reach “heroic combatant” status, meaning that the character’s combat powers are so impressive that he or she constitutes a threat to any opponent.

Starting at 9D, there is no one that can predictably survive even one combat round with the character.

But even at 3D or 4D, characters are putting out consistent damage on the enemy, whittling them down quickly over the course of several short rounds. If the adventurers concentrate their efforts (as they often do) on one enemy at  a time, those targets have a short life left to live. And even if a single hit doesn’t kill a target, a target’s abilities will suffer from wound penalties.

Conclusion

All of this, of course, is to ignore the other factors of combat, including Initiative, position, superiority of numbers, etc. (essentially, the really important stuff of combat). But as an exercise in thought, this brings up some interesting facts.

Should characters feel discouraged if they’re not rolling 6D or higher on an attack roll?

Of course not.

In the campaigns I’ve gamemastered thus far, rarely do characters roll this many dice. Those that do do well in combat, certainly. But in a game system that is designed for roleplaying first, dealing lots of combat damage is less of a concern.

Combat is so deadly, as the table above illustrates, that characters, like real people, do all they can to avoid fighting in the first place, and instead rely on stealth, diplomacy, trickery, or best of all—simply not being in a position to have to fight at all—making this reality less salient to that adventuring group.