So I'm pretty excited about the new Tactics skill and I'm trying to imagine what all could be encorporated into it. I know it has been mentioned that it will cover the old non-damaging brawling maneuvers. What about if it were to also cover the ADVANCE/RETREAT/FLEE mechanics? Will HANGBACK be covered with this skill? Will it cover acrobatics? Will you be able to flourish normal weapon strikes with it? Will Thieves be able to BACKSTAB after a successful FEINT with this skill?

I'm just trying to think of all of its applications in combat.

__
~Leilond
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http://soundsoftime.bravehost.com

>>Try being evasion tert for a decade, then whine about a skill thats not even out yet.

The difference, of course, is that right now training tertiary skills is simple. Mindstates returning still hasn't been ruled out. If it does, a passively learned Lore (tertiary) skill will pretty much destroy the benefit of being Weapons primary, so it's a valid concern for Barbarians. One that hasn't been addressed so much as it has been avoided.

It takes my Paladin 1-2 hours to cycle through his 10 weapons and TM (this is significant considering how horrible TM is to train). It takes my Barbarian 2-4 hours to cycle through 10 weapons (depending on if the cycle includes sling or light blunt or similarly underachieved weapon types, really). Identical mentals. Similar circle. Similar skill range (in that they can hunt the same monsters).

If I had to sleep to avoid mindstates because of Evasion on the Paladin, I would only be able to learn two, maybe three weapons and possibly TM before I had to go sit and wait for mindstate to recover. Apply that line of thinking to a Barbarian.

Fastest derail of a thread ever.

Tactics, I hope, involves your ability to position yourself in a given situation. I suspect it will be learned much like brawling...but think flanking, envelopment type stuff.

So, I envision your combat routine requiring active involvement in not only your attack routine, but also your position routine. I hope this skill is also used for effectiveness in group combat...adding either positives or negatives to the group as a whole.

I also hope you can train the skill if you are part of a group or leading a group.

By the by, just total speculation on my part.

Madigan

<<Fastest derail of a thread ever.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't read the whole thread first.

---

Mistrust is our only defense against betrayal.

Heyo!

I mentioned this briefly before in another post, but there are so many floating around on combat now it's hard to say where!

Tactics will be absorbing some of the brawling maneuvers, the non-damaging ones in particular, but will encompass far more than that. The main focus of the skill will be in improving your own position through minor temporary skill bonuses, as well as weakening your enemy through minor temporary skill decreases. Some of these will be exclusively Tactics, others will be a combination of Tactics and Weapon Skill (ie Feint will have a normal chance to hit and inflict damage via weapon skill, as well as a chance to temporarily penalize the enemy's parry skill via Tactics).

Yes, it will include features like attempting to move to a flanking or rear position if they are currently open (Circle), or at least get the combat modifiers appropriate to those positions temporarily (time for an attack or two) if not. It will also include a few situational modifiers, such as a bonus to evasion against ranged attacks (Weave) or a bonus to evasion against melee attacks (Bob). There will be several other uses, but hopefully this should give folks a better idea of what we are aiming for here -- a combat skill focused primarily on enhancing or penalizing combatants to alter the long-term odds in a battle at the cost of forfeiting immediate damage.

- GM Dartenian

Though my soul may set in darkness it will rise in perfect light. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night! - Sarah Williams

Hey Dart, this sounds really cool, a skill called tactics, that actually uses tactics. It sounds like a lot of the stuff in the tactics skill will use thought and well...tactics from the player. I, noticed you said it will be taking some moves from brawling...did you mean the bob/circle/weave <--- just them? Or is it sucking in moves like tackle, grapple, choke etc? Is brawling going to be strictly damage dealing moves?

Thanks!


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