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yukamichiI once saw somebody describe combat in Tunnels and Trolls thusly (more or less):
Essentially, the highly abstract nature of T&T combat allows it to provide more immediately understandable feedback.
And feedback is the word that I was missing to explain what it is I like so much about the controversial Edge system of Shadowrun Sixth Edition.
Livin' on the Edge
In short, Shadowrun 6E took a bunch of various small situational task modifiers and rolled them into a generalised system of measuring situational advantage. Each time you have a leg up on your opponent, you get a point of Edge, a metacurrency that can be spent for a variety of special effects, from minor dice roll bonuses to Big Damn Hero combat moves.
And all that's well and good (or not, depending on your tastes), but one of the knock-on effects of this system is the way that you can measure relative advantage by how many Edge points you're getting per turn. By RAW it's limited to two, but it still pays to keep an eye on potential fictional sources of advantage; and continuing to push those advantages to keep the stream of Edge steady is something that the system places front and center. If you aren't getting those two points, that's a sign that you need to be doing more.
It's the system's way of giving you feedback. And perhaps more importantly to me, it's a neutral way of answering the question, "Are the characters doing enough?" One that doesn't fall back so hard on easily swayable traditional GM subjectivity.
The scramble for Edge structures the play of fictional positioning, gives the players a focus, an imperative to seek out those advantageous positions. It gives them a reason to always inhabit the scene, invites them to want to engage with it to find ways to exploit it.
It trains the players to think about the fictional situation in the same ways that a good Shadowrunner should.
Each side gathers up a bunch of dice, rolls them, and compares them to each other. After a couple rounds of this, hopefully you see the monsters' side is taking damage; their dice pool is decreasing, the advantage is comfortably on your side, everything is good. But if the monsters aren't taking hits, that's a sign that you need to be doing more. Start busting out the fictional positioning, start spitting out those stunts, etc... That's when combat gets nervous and tactical, or maybe you even decide to retreat.
Essentially, the highly abstract nature of T&T combat allows it to provide more immediately understandable feedback.
And feedback is the word that I was missing to explain what it is I like so much about the controversial Edge system of Shadowrun Sixth Edition.
Livin' on the Edge
In short, Shadowrun 6E took a bunch of various small situational task modifiers and rolled them into a generalised system of measuring situational advantage. Each time you have a leg up on your opponent, you get a point of Edge, a metacurrency that can be spent for a variety of special effects, from minor dice roll bonuses to Big Damn Hero combat moves.
And all that's well and good (or not, depending on your tastes), but one of the knock-on effects of this system is the way that you can measure relative advantage by how many Edge points you're getting per turn. By RAW it's limited to two, but it still pays to keep an eye on potential fictional sources of advantage; and continuing to push those advantages to keep the stream of Edge steady is something that the system places front and center. If you aren't getting those two points, that's a sign that you need to be doing more.
It's the system's way of giving you feedback. And perhaps more importantly to me, it's a neutral way of answering the question, "Are the characters doing enough?" One that doesn't fall back so hard on easily swayable traditional GM subjectivity.
The scramble for Edge structures the play of fictional positioning, gives the players a focus, an imperative to seek out those advantageous positions. It gives them a reason to always inhabit the scene, invites them to want to engage with it to find ways to exploit it.
It trains the players to think about the fictional situation in the same ways that a good Shadowrunner should.
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