How Little Is Still T&T?

[Piper]

I read KSA's plans for Trollhalla Press to release a more deadly combat system for T&T in the near future.

This got me to thinking about what makes T&T ... well ... T&T? If you replace this combat system with Deadly Combat, Trollhalla's proposed name for the new system, is it still T&T?

I say yes. Combat was never the point of the game, and there's a distinct feeling to T&T other games don't have. What do you think?

[darrght]

Aug 22, 2020 8:23:12 GMT -5 Piper said:

I read KSA's plans for Trollhalla Press to release a more deadly combat system for T&T in the near future.

This got me to thinking about what makes T&T ... well ... T&T? If you replace this combat system with Deadly Combat, Trollhalla's proposed name for the new system, is it still T&T?

I say yes. Combat was never the point of the game, and there's a distinct feeling to T&T other games don't have. What do you think?

Hard to think of T&T combat being more deadly than it is already for newly created characters

[Piper]

Aug 22, 2020 9:17:56 GMT -5 darrght said:

Hard to think of T&T combat being more deadly than it is already for newly created characters

With all respect to T&T? This was my first thought as well! Still, I trust KSA and look forward to seeing these new rules when they're released into the wild.

[zanshin]

I hope it still has cloud of fists as core to the system; that and SR's are the fundamentals of T&T to me.

I can certainly see how you can change the dials to make it more dangerous - spite for example.

Exploding dice would make it more swingy.

Will be interesting to see what he comes up with.

Off the top of my head; if you defend with only half your combat total each side is more likely to damage the other.

Good catch Piper.

[mahrundl]

Aug 22, 2020 11:32:22 GMT -5 zanshin said:

I can certainly see how you can change the dials to make it more dangerous - spite for example.

Exploding dice would make it more swingy.

Exploding equipment would make it more boomy.  Combat where not getting hit is crucially important!

[ProfGremlin]

Aug 22, 2020 17:38:15 GMT -5 mahrundl said:

Exploding equipment would make it more boomy.  Combat where not getting hit is crucially important!

I now have this image in my head:

Player: Ok, that's... all sixes! Exploding!
GM: Right, so, you swing your long sword in a mighty cut. As your blade makes contact with the goblin's chitinous armour it explodes into [rolls d10] seven swords all impaling the hapless cretin.  You may now add a goblin pincushion to your spoils.

[gaptooth]

Aug 22, 2020 11:32:22 GMT -5 zanshin said:

I hope it still has cloud of fists as core to the system; that and SR's are the fundamentals of T&T to me.

Me too. Specifically, having combat resolved as a clash where both sides roll. And that's something very few games do. I can think of several that use a contested roll between attacker and defender—Sorcerer, Cortex, etc. Fewer still resolve *both sides* of combat with a contested roll—Fighting Fantasy (and now Troika!, from the FF lineage) and Risus come to mind. (Many PbtA games do this too, but without a roll for the NPCs, so it's not mechanically similar.) But I can't think of any games besides those written by people on this forum that use a contested roll to resolve combat between groups of player characters and NPCs. Was that something Chainmail did?

I'm agnostic about whether a deadlier combat mechanic for T&T would be favorable for the game, but I'm definitely interested to learn more!

[gaptooth]

Aug 22, 2020 8:23:12 GMT -5 Piper said:

This got me to thinking about what makes T&T ... well ... T&T? If you replace this combat system with Deadly Combat, Trollhalla's proposed name for the new system, is it still T&T?

Do you know more about what has been proposed? Or is it just the idea that combat would be deadlier?

[Piper]

Aug 22, 2020 23:31:22 GMT -5 gaptooth said:

Do you know more about what has been proposed? Or is it just the idea that combat would be deadlier?

In the interview I read he stated (to summarize) the system was deadlier and would be supported by a series of releases by Trollhalla Press. There wasn't much else in that bullet point, but take a look, perhaps you can see something I overlooked.

I posted the link elsewhere here but I'm sure the fellow who interviewed KSA would be thrilled to have more traffic, so here is the [link] again. The bit about the combat system is all the way at the bottom of the page.

[gaptooth]

Thank you, @piper!

[Piper]

... aaaaaaaaand it's already out! Battle School: Deadly Combat can be downloaded now. It's available for a special price, too.

www.drivethrurpg.com/product/325289/Battle-School-Deadly-Combat?src=hottest_filtered

[zanshin]

Acquired and read. I think a fundamental issue with the new proposed system is the traditional issue of the mismatch between characters ability to absorb damage (CON + armour points) and that of Monsters, whose monster rating is their hits. It's the TTYF issue, harmful for Monsters, deadly for delvers.

As a basis for calculating the difficulty of stunts I think its a handy framework. If used to replace the current system it will lead to shortlived PC's. As KSA said, deadly combat.

[ProfGremlin]

Quick question, zanshin: The description states Battle School is a Monsters! Monsters! solo and teaches how to use the T&T combat mechanic and the deadlier version. With the perspective that this is for M!M!, does that change how deadly this new combat mechanic is? Or am I missing a salient point?

[zanshin]

Aug 24, 2020 21:30:02 GMT -5 ProfGremlin said:

Quick question, zanshin: The description states Battle School is a Monsters! Monsters! solo and teaches how to use the T&T combat mechanic and the deadlier version. With the perspective that this is for M!M!, does that change how deadly this new combat mechanic is? Or am I missing a salient point?

Hi Profgremlin. If you are playing a Monster with loads of CON it would be more survivable for sure, but for any given level of equal opposition it would be more deadly. That aspect is working as intended.

[order99]

I can assume then that Stunts (SRs) would become even more important in combat under the Deadlier Rules?