N18 A better Melee system?

[JawRippa]

Personally I don't find the current melee system fun. It is pretty much decided by whoever charges or fights first. A skilled fighter with high weapon skill, decent number attacks and good initiative has the same chance to get shanked by a charging juve as an unarmed unskilled ganger. And when a melee specialist charges another, both players already know the most probable outcome. I think that a good melee system should be slightly unpredictable to create intrigue, fast to resolve, have little bookkeeping and be lethal as heck. All of this was achieved in old Necromunda system, so why not try to adapt it to current ruleset?

Please, keep in mind that I'm not taking into account gangs which are provided with multiple crutches for melee like CGC or Ogryn gang, nor cheeky stuff done via multiple actions in one activation through Overseer or Tactical cards. I'm talking about "normal" gangs facing each other.

Spoiler: Combat resolution

Whenever fighter initiates or is targetted by a Fight(Basic) action, fully resolve combat using following actions:

1. You may pivot fighter on the spot. Note that doing so worsens fighter's chances of winning this combat, however the fighter has to face their combatant in order to strike back in case they win the combat.
2. Both combatants select up to two weapons with melee or sidearm trait that they use for this combat. If a combatant chooses a weapon with Unwieldy trait, they can only use that weapon during this combat.
3. Both players roll a number of D6’s equal to their model’s Attacks characteristic. Players roll one additional dice if their fighter is equipped exclusively with pistols and/or hand-to-hand weapons and have selected two weapons with melee or sidearm trait or a single Unwieldy weapon to use in close combat.
4. Note that every natural roll of 1 is called a Crit and every natural roll of 6 is called a Fumble.
5. Each player picks their lowest scoring dice and adds their model’s Weapon Skill (WS) to the score. Then they add any Combat Score modifiers. The total is the Combat Score. It is possible for the Combat Score to be negative. Combat Score modifiers are:
   • -1 to Combat Score if your fighter charged during their activation. If the charge target was outside LOS or behind an obstacle, fighter has to pass an Initiative test to benefit from this modifier.
   • -1 to Combat Score for every Crit of your fighter after the first one.
   • -1 to Combat Score for every Fumble of your opponent.
   • -1 to Combat Score if opponent's fighter pivoted their fighter during step one of combat, or if your fighter is outside their Vision Arc.
   • +1 to Combat Score if your fighter is encumbered by carrying a Heavy weapon or other heavy piece of equipment.
   • +1 to Combat Score if you've already fought during this round against other fighter armed with melee or pistol weapon.
6. The player with the lowest Combat Score wins and the difference between their Combat Scores is the number of times the winner has hit the loser. In the case of a tie the model with the lowest Initiative characteristic wins and strikes their opponent once. If there is still a tie, each combatant simultaneously strikes each other once. In order to strike opponent, your opponent has to be within your Vision arc and within your weapon's reach, otherwise nothing happens. When resolving hits:
   • All hits have to be allocated to the same opponent, even if there are multimple opponents within your fighter's Vision arc.
   • Ammount of hits cannot be higher than your fighter's number of Attacks plus one.
   • If a fighter uses two weapons (one in each hand) then any hits are inflicted alternately, first with one hand and then the other. If the ammount of hits is uneven, then opponent's fighter gets to select which weapon hits first.
   • Every Crit may be used to trigger one of your weapon's Trait (such as Power, Shock, Disarm, etc). If your fighter uses two weapons, alternate between them when spreading Crits.
   • No more that one hit can be allocated to each used pistol. If more than one hit would be allocated to the same pistol, resolve them as Unarmed attacks instead. Roll a Firepower dice when allocating a hit to the pistol.
7. If all enemy fighters the attacker was Engaged with are Seriously Injured, they may make a free Coup De Grace (Simple) action against one such enemy fighter. If all enemy fighters the attacker was Engaged with are now Seriously Injured or have gone Out of Action, they may choose to make a Consolidation (Simple).
   • Coup de grace (Simple) – Pick one Seriously Injured enemy fighter within 1" and within the vision arc of this fighter. That fighter immediately goes Out of Action.
   • Consolidate (Simple) – Fighter moves up to 2".

So, this Combat resolution is similar to NCE combat resolution and allows to be used in current system. Despite the fact that new Necromunda uses alternative activations, you do not have to do a lot of bookkeeping when sending multiple fighters against one fighter - the only thing that you have to remember is whether or not that fighter has fought during this turn. Weapon skill, number of attacks and Initiative are important when it comes to combat resolution whether your fighter has charged or not. Calculation of Combat Score is slightly simplified, since maximum ammount of hits are tied to your natural Attack characteristic. When arming yourself with two weapons for that +1 attack dice, you better equip equally decent weapons, otherwise that crappy stub gun and unarmed attacks will eat most of your resulting hits.

 

[undertaker]

I think both Newmunda and Oldmunda approaches to CC have their issues.
Oldmunda: a fighter with a good WS and a few attacks was practically untouchable by common opponents.
Newmunda: as you've described above, the charger has a large advantage, unless they are up against a tank.
And in both there is the implicit mechanic that both opponents cannot be losers, it's either a win or a draw.

I would propose an alternative, that keeps it bloody and brutal. Unlike shooting, where you get shot and if you survive you can return fire, in CC blows are landing thick and fast on both opponents. In the real world, if two average people go at each other with knives, the likelihood is both will end up with life-threatening injuries. This implies both people are getting hit simultaneously, and the winner is the one that is left standing, which may be neither.

Basically, what I'm saying is, roll the attacks for both (or several opponents) at the same time!
(Note: This is an idea I've literally had just now, so may be awkward to implement)

 

[JawRippa]

I think both Newmunda and Oldmunda approaches to CC have their issues.

Yeah, Oldmunda had some issues with its melee system, for example parry was a nessesity and unwieldy weapons straight out nerfed your fighter when compared to dual wielding shanks. I tried to account for those. Also here both opponents can lose, if they tie, have the same initiative and wound each other.

Basically, what I'm saying is, roll the attacks for both (or several opponents) at the same time!

I was considering this at first, as it is very simple to implement; however T, W and Armour Save become even more important compared to WS, A and I. No point in being a high skilled glasscannon when you'll probably trade 1 for 1 at best.

 

[KA7777]

I don't mind the charger having a huge, deadly advantage.

You shouldn't be imagining a prolonged duel every time a charge is executed. Save that visual for rare instances of a prolonged combat.

A charge is more like an ambush. Let's not forget that most wargames are trying to approximate simultaneity; models are only taking turns because players acting at the same time would be an untenable clusterfuck. It's fair to envision any model that's left itself in position to be charged as having made a mistake/overlooked the enemy's intent or opportunity, and it's fair to expect them to have to pay for that mistake. It's also really hard* to set up charges on a robust SecMec board, so a player that manages it should be rewarded.

*except for CGC, who are a weirdly/poorly balanced gang