BRP Strike Rank Option

[Sunwolfe]

Hi, all:

Strike ranks have been a concern of my players lately. We're thinking about rolling over into BRP from RQ. This possible switch has its origins in a strong dislike (notice I didn't say "hate" ) for the RQIII magic system and a desire to try something different, but not too different.

On page 200 of Edition Zero missile weapons are referred to as having “…a strike rank of 0, with their rate of fire being the number of times they can be used to attack in a round.” On page 201 it says under the optional strike rank system concerning Multiple Attacks and Strike Ranks: "If an attack strike rank is 5 or lower, your character can make additional attacks in a round on each multiple of his or her attack strike rank. If your character has an attack strike rank of 1 (not normally achievable) he or she will be able to go every round; with an attack strike rank of 2, your characters goes every other strike rank (2, 4, 6, 8, 10); an attack strike rank 3 equals movements on strike ranks 3, 6, and 9, etc."

Over on page 248 under the Weapons section in the explanation of the weapons table SR column it says, "1/SR means that the weapon can be used on your character’s initial DEX strike rank, then again on his or her DEX strike rank +3. For example, if your character has a DEX strike rank of 2 and is firing a composite bow, he or she can fire once on SR 2, than must nock an arrow and draw the bow (taking 3 SR), then adds his or her SR2, and can then fire again on SR 7.”

Okay…the questions:

Are the “attack strike rank” of page 201 the same as the “DEX strike rank” of page 248? If not, what is the difference? If so, then why is the +3 SR spacer between attacks on page 248 missing from the description on 201 when they seem to be talking about the same thing? Typo or a rule I’m just too thick to get? Give a GM a hand

Cheers,
Sunwolfe

P.S. for those of you in the know, RQIII is a bit oblique on this topic even though some of the same verbiage is being used in both. I know final BRP is yet to come, but I've got players yapping like hounds at the gate, so I thought I’d take a chance to get some answers here. I've been trying to allow RQ to inform BRP to little avail...not due to any short comings in BRP but because RQ seems hard to pin down on the issue.

P.S.S. Yo, Simon, if you addressed this one on the RQ-rules-request version I sent, you’re excused

[Shaira]

Hi Sunwolfe,

I'm going to be using SRs in my BRP games, so have found the same issue. I think Jason may be addressing this in the clarifications / errata / 1st edition edits, but in any case I think it's *deducible* from p201 & p248, if not actually *clear*. Personally (as firearms are rare to non-existent in my game) I'm using the whole "1/SR" explanation in the Equipment chapter, ie the DEX Rank / DEX Rank +3 thing, as it's the clearer of the two if you just use bows, etc. The p201 wording assumes no intermediate "action" of notching and drawing the bow - ie if this was a firearm, the p201 rules would apply verbatim, so at a DEX of 12 with a pistol you could fire 3 times a round at 3/6/9, whereas with a bow you can only do twice at 3 / (notch and draw) / 9.

Note that this means anyone with a DEX of 9 or under can't make 2 attacks per round with a bow, but just about can with a pistol. That sounds reasonable.

That's how I used to play RQ (but without the pistols ).

After that, things are a little less clear in my head, particularly as I personally want to use the 100%+ skill can make 2 attacks rule. The "Multiple Attacks and Strike Ranks" thing on p201 says that it's incompatible with the 100%+ multiple attack rule - and I can see that they haven't been designed to work together, so fair enough. I'm just creating problems for myself.

In RQ3, we used to play the 100%+ attack rule as spaced by 3 SR. So, if you attacked normally on SR7, and you had more than 100% in your attack, you could make a second attack on SR10 (but of course you'd have to divvie your skill appropriately). I still think that's a reasonable approach, but to be honest it's not something covered in the BRP rules.

So, if you want to bugger about like I do, you end up with two slightly different rules depending on whether you're using Missile or Melee weapons. It also means I have to try and work out what to do if you have a bow skill of 100%+. I can probably wing something fairly decent from implications in the rules, but as the rules stand if you're using SRs you don't get the 100% multiple attacks benefit - which certainly avoids the issue neatly!

Just my two-pennorth,

Cheers,

Sarah

[frogspawner]

I've never been sure of missile weapon SRs, and the whole strike-rank system seems unnecessarily complicated to me.

Why not just let everyone do all their moves/attacks for that round, in DEX-order?

(Flame away - I've got my asbestos suit on now...)

[soltakss]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

I've never been sure of missile weapon SRs, and the whole strike-rank system seems unnecessarily complicated to me.

It's never seemed complicated to me, but there again I've always used it.

Originally Posted by frogspawner

Why not just let everyone do all their moves/attacks for that round, in DEX-order?

Because it doesn't take into account people with great long arms and great big weapons.

Those who knew said that tall people with long weapons generally hit first, regardless of DEX. My martial arts experience is very limited, but even I know that having a stick in my hands meant I could hit earlier than when punching/kicking/grappling.

It all depends how "realistic" or gritty you want things to be.

Originally Posted by frogspawner

(Flame away - I've got my asbestos suit on now...)

Not worth a flame attack. Left my flamethrower at home anyway.

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by soltakss

Those who knew said that tall people with long weapons generally hit first, regardless of DEX.

Ok, but normal melee isn't the complex bit. It's when you add in missile weapons, multiple shots and spell-casting it gets tricky to work out, figuring SR-by-SR.

What are the options in BRP Zero?

[sdavies2720]

This is one of the first sections I looked at in vZero. My players tend to stand and pound (having been brought up in D&D) rather than run and fight.

For a while I did a SR-by-SR melee, allowing movment on every SR. Probably the crowning moment was when the party encountered wolves, which circled the party and darted in to attack wherever they could get at someone's back, then retreated. Within a round or two the party had formed a circle, with the most vulnerable people in the middle, and the wolves on the outside. It was beautiful.

But the downside was constant 'fiddling' during combat, which got on everyone's nerves. I've gone to a system of multiple actions per round based on DEX and a roll+Modifier Initiative. I keep cycling through the list of actors until everyone has run out of actions for the round. Actions can be used for movement, attacks and reactions. So there is some sequencing of activity, and a few combat options, but each characters' actions are bundled

Steve