Melee Melee Melee

I have to apologize for taking so long to get back to making a blog entry. So much has happened its hard to no where to begin.

#1 The system has been renamed the The D100 Melee System. This change was made, mainly because we found in play testing that we did not really need rules for role playing. The skill system is so flexible and so easy to follow that we found rules for the actual role playing to be of little value and so they were dropped. Yet another simplification achieved!

#2 Terminology changes, these are too numerous to list, but mainly they involve switching to terms that firstly make sense and secondly are easy to remember. We have been avoiding acronyms completely. There shall be no terms like "THACO" to learn in the D100 Melee System.

#3 Melee has had some HUGE changes. The round has been made a little more complicated, by breaking it into 10 phases. Each phase is 1 second. Each phase is played out for actions. In the beginning this was tried, because in melee, the fight was often over before some characters acted. On the surface it sounds more complicated and as it happens it is a change all of us working on the system resisted making. However once we tried it, we realized we would never go back. It actually made melee much easier to execute and simplifies things for the players greatly. Furthermore it added emphasis to maneuver and position that was not present before.

#4 Spells & Magic in melee have been completely re-worked and fits neatly into melee now. The round/phase system really facilitates the caster. The caster has to play smart and be well positioned and/or protected to be of magical value in melee. However in play testing this has proven to add excellent balance with fewer rules and A LOT OF FUN!

#5 Maneuvering in Melee is now as important as the attack/defend actions themselves. Combats that used to play out in the 4 or 5 rounds, now play out in 1 or 2 rounds. Characters who are outnumbered and not careful can get surrounded. Characters have many options and for changing their position, reducing their risk and maximizing their threat that simple does no exist in D20 or any other RPG today. Players have to consider their characters location and proximity to threats constantly. No more D20 style, stand in the room and knock down all comers. Even the powerful and skilled in this melee system will have trouble when outnumbers by foes of even low threat level. The character has to be aware of where he is all the time in melee. This model allowed for the elimination of many rules relating to melee: charging, back stab, attack of opportunity, surprise, flat footed, spell casting, missiles and many more. They are not needed because the simple maneuvering model when combined with initiative makes them irrelevant. Yet another simplification achieved!

#6 Bruise Damage: We just dropped it. In play testing we kept forgetting to use it and realized it just was not needed except in VERY rare circumstances. Yet another simplification achieved!

#7 Shields, we completely reworked how these work. They are clean, useful, and do not slow down melee as they did before. Yet another simplification achieved!

#8 A new D100 public portal has been set up, but the content is not loaded up. A draft rules set is set for publication there in December 2007.