Thoughts on Combat

Combat is an essential part of most fantasy RPGs. For some games, it’s the centerpiece of the action as players brawl their way to heroic status. For some players, being a murder-hobo is half the fun (I have a load of stories about Ninjas and Superspies that were basically GTA one offs before GTA was a thing). That’s all fine by me, but I didn’t want Far Away Land to be in quite the same class. Sure, players can be heroic. And danger is everywhere so combat is going to happen. But in FAL, I wanted characters to consider the costs. Think you’re going to steamroll that Berzerk because it’s 3 v 1? Think again. Combat rules are simple and combat itself is brutal. With the dice pool system that FAL uses, it is not unrealistic for a couple of bad decisions followed by a couple of bad rolls to reduce your PC to near death, even if they are of a high level. Going into battle is sometimes necessary, but the risks involved should make it anything but the first choice for players. I’ve mentioned before that some level of risk needs to be on the line for players to feel the exhilaration of success. I think FAL’s combat system does a good job of helping to create this.