Comparison: The mechanics of a melee attack in various RPG systems

This is part 3 of 3 in a series of articles comparing (part 1, part 2) GURPS' melee mechanics to a few other generic systems, the one popular system, and one slightly obscure system that doesn't put battling at the forefront. This has been a lot more content than I expected it to be, but OH WELL, IT'S ALMOST DONE, and now the end is in sight, let's sally forth and take a detailed look at the workflows of only the most elementary melee attack mechanics!

GURPS

An important part of GURPS is the one second battle turn. This means that turn "resolution" is pretty "fine" with very specific small actions being performed each turn instead of in a single turn. Some people like the added tactical complexity that gives a very apparent advantage to quicker weaker weapons, but some bemoan the tedium this can create with a character that feels like they are not doing anything for several turns.

The resolution mechanic in GURPS for almost every single roll is "3d6, roll equal or under." 3d6 gives a bell curve that means that results close to 10 or 11 are far more likely than critical successes or failures at 3 or 18 respectively. This means that small bonuses or penalties can have a bigger effect than in other systems, but larger bonuses or penalties reach a point of diminishing returns, unlike a system that uses a single dice for its resolution mechanic. The more dice used, typically, the smaller the standard deviation, and the more predictable the outcome.

Workflow

1. Turn order is determined by Speed. There is no roll, players or NPCs with higher speed go before those with lower speed.
2. An attacker needs to make sure a weapon is ready. If he is not armed, he must take one turn to get a weapon ready.
3. An attacker must consider the reach of his weapon. Typical weapons have a "reach" of 1 yard, but some are longer, and some are shorter. If an opponent is within a "step" (For most intents and purposes, 1 yard, unless you are incredibly fast, or are much smaller or larger than a human) of a character's reach, the character may attack an opponent. Otherwise they must spend the entire turn moving within range of the target defender. The distance one can move in a second is determined by the Speed secondary characteristic: a user can move Speed Yards/second.
4. When a defender is in reach, and an attacker has a ready weapon, an attack is started by rolling against an attack skill. (For example, if a user is using a broadsword, he needs to succeed a roll for broadsword skill.) If he succeeds, the attack may potentially hit; if he fails, he missed, his turn is over, but he may end by taking a step if he hasn't already. If he rolls extremely well and gets a "critical hit" his attack has special properties according to a random lookup table, and the opponent does not get a chance to defend. If he rolls very poorly, and gets a "critical miss" he must roll against a critical miss table for an especially disastrous result.
5. If the attack skill succeeded. The defender may choose an active defense. Typically, the best of the possible three is used, but he or she does have a few tactical reasons to consider otherwise (save a high defense for a stronger enemy, playing with more advanced rules that can allow some skill rolls or other options for defense bonuses) If the defender succeeds this roll, then he successfully dodged the hit, interposed a weapon between himself and his attacker, or blocked it with a shield, and the attack does no damage. Otherwise, the attack is a success, and the attacker rolls damage.
6. The character rolls to discover how much damage he does using a formula figured out earlier, He subtracts the opponents DR from this roll if he has any, and the result is the damage. A wounding modifier is applied to the damage depending on what type of attack it is. Usually damage is multiplied by 1, but, especially important for melee attacks, a cutting attack does an extra 50% damage, and an impaling attack does an extra 100% damage.
7. At this point, the defender can potentially experience shock and/or knockdown. Shock is a penalty up to -4 on all rolls, one for every HP of damage done by the attack, if any at all, that will last until the end of the opponents turn. Knockdown occurs if he lost more than half of his maximum hit points. He must roll against his HT to remain standing, or fall over, and are "stunned." Stunned means losing a turn. Recovering from stun requires rolling against HT; after each turn stunned, roll against HT to see if you may act next turn or remain stunned.
8. At less than 1/3 max HP, a character has halved move and dodge from reeling. A character that is at 0 or negative HP needs to roll every turn against HT to stay conscious.
9. When HP reaches -1xHP (Eg, if a character has Max HP of 12, then -12) you must roll immediately against HT to not die. Every time your total passes a negative multiple of HP, you must roll with a penalty to HT to stay alive equal to the amount of additional multiples (At -2xHP, you roll HT-1, at -3xHP, you roll HT-2) etc.
10. If a character lives until -5xHP, (EG, if Max HP = 12, then -60) they immediately die.

Streamlining Mechanics

GURPS can be customized to be simpler, in fact, it is one of the somewhat secret, not-so-secret, tenets of the system. In How To Be A GURPS GM, for example, it is recommended that for the simplest combat possible, to skip wounding modifiers (extra damage for cutting and impaling), shock, stunning, and knockdown, and to abstract movement so that time doesn't go towards negotiating distance from opponents. I personally ignore "Reeling" at 1/3rd or less HP, but play with those other rules. Furthermore, it is often recommended that trash mobs are defeated with a single effective hit, and that slightly more powerful enemies are defeated at 0 HP. Only important characters get the luxury of rolling to stay conscious or alive at negative hit points.

Advanced Mechanics

GURPS, even in the basic set has a bunch of extra options for more precise play, Extra Effort attacks that allow one to expend FP for bonuses when attacking or defending; hit locations to disable limbs or hit weak spots; All-Out-Attacks to (rather dangerously) forego defense for special stronger maneuvers. A supplement, Martial Arts and several child expansions of it give incredibly fine detail for people interested in even more technical combat. Besides that, several advantages and disadvantages can dramatically impact the rules by either allowing players to bypass or lessen negative consequences, improve advantageous conditions, or adversely, make negative consequences stronger and negate advantageous circumstances.

Synergistic Mechanics

I want to spell out when a system is actually using a common mechanic repeatedly, therefore simplifying the process in a way that isn't exactly obvious from looking at the steps. First off, in the above process, all rolls, except for damage are 3d6, roll under a target number; in fact, there is only one other important non-combat mechanic that has different rolling mechanics (reaction rolls.) So these procedures are mostly similar to what someone would do in any GURPS situation. All important melee mechanics extend from the attributes ST, DX, and HT (also speed, but that is a calculation based off of DX and HT) and usually one or two combat skills. All survival rolls follow a pattern of being based off of rolling against HT as well. Nominally, this is a 6 step process, with even simpler optional rules for a 5 step process, and extra steps when someones life is on the line. The formulaic many steps in GURPS however allow for the easy insertion of more systems and more complexity in ways that make sense, if particular extra options are intriguing to a given group.

D&D 5e

D&D resolves the majority of its combat with a single D20 die. This means that each face is, in a perfect world, equally likely upon a roll, lending to a more "random feel;" that is, it has a higher standard deviation than systems that use many dice. Using one die also makes the game feel simpler and combat seems to flow more smoothly. Let's look at the workflow of a single very simple attack maneuver. One "round" is six seconds meaning that it is also possible to do several things in a single turn in D&D that would take multiple turns in GURPS. This has the reverse of the benefits and drawbacks that you see listed under GURPS for 1 second turns.

Workflow

1. Turn-order is determined by initiative. Players roll initiative using the appropriate modifiers; monsters have a pre-determined initiative. Higher initiative goes before lower initiative.
2. A character has enough time to get his weapon, it is always ready so this is not a concern. A character can move up to an enemy at a rate of "speed" feet in one turn. Speed is typically determined by a character's race and armor. If he can come adjacent to an enemy, he may attack.
3. To attack the player rolls a D20 dice. To the number they rolled, they add proficiency if using a weapon they are proficient in, and the strength modifier. If this number is equal to or greater than the opponents Armor Class, a hit is registered, and damage is rolled.
4. If the attack hit, a character rolls the damage dice determined by the weapon used, and adds the same modifiers that applied to the roll to hit (eg, the proficiency bonus if appropriate, and strength always.) The opponent loses this many hit points, unless they have a particular resistance or weakness to the type of damage being done, similar to the wounding modifier in GURPS.
5. If an NPC monster reaches 0 hit points, it is defeated, if a player character reaches 0 hit points, the character falls into critical state, and must perform the procedure detailed in the previous post on defensive mechanics for stabilizing.

Streamlining Mechanics

I am not a D&D expert, but I believe many players prefer not playing on a grid which may simplify our process from 4 steps to 3 steps. In the small amount of time I played, the damage type never came into consideration, so it seems like it may be an edge case... or maybe it only comes up in high levels of play.

Advanced Mechanics

I can't speak to D&D in depth on this, but from what I've seen, choosing particular classes like Fighter which are geared towards melee combat allows more advanced options in the form of feats that allow taking multiple attacks and the like.

Synergistic Mechanics

The same modifiers for both attack and damage are the same making it easy to remember. Armor Class typically also uses proficiency as well, so increasing proficiency (nominally only happens through a great deal of experience) helps for all three. The D20 mechanic for hitting against armor class is similar to many other situations in D&D which also require rolling a D20 with appropriate modifiers against a specific challenge. Melee combat and ranged combat is usually not very different in D&D, so knowing the procedure for one usually means understanding the procedure for the other.

Fate

Fate uses a unique dice which looks like a typical d6, except that it has plus signs on two faces, minus signs on two faces, and blanks on two faces. Numerically speaking, we can think of these as -1,0,1 and add them together. Because Fate dice have an even smaller spread (3 possible outcomes) and a bigger pool (4 dice instead of 3) it has an even smaller standard deviation than GURPS, meaning results are even more predictable than either D&D or GURPS.

Workflow

1. Turn order is determined by "Notice" skill, and ties are broken by comparing "Athletics," and then "Physique" if there is still a tie.
2. An "actively opposed conflict" occurs. An attacker will use the "Fight" skill to "Attack." The target will typically use the Fight skill to "Defend." The attacker rolls her dice and adds it to her fight skill; the defender does likewise. We subtract the defenders total from the attackers total. If it is a negative number or 0, through whatever measure of skill, the defender resisted all damage. If it is positive. The number is called a "shift"
3. The defender dealt the shift chooses a stress track box or consequence box to place the shift into.
4. If it is impossible to fit all the shifts into stress track boxes or consequence boxes, the actor is "taken out," and what that means is decided in narrative according to the objective of the attacker. This could be a non-lethal take-down or a grisly violent end or something entirely different even.

Streamlining Mechanics

This is as simple as Fate gets and there is no way to make it simpler. In fights against large crowds, GMs are encouraged to use "unopposed checks" for grunts to make it easier to defeat them, or use "mobs" a mechanic for representing many nameless mooks as one entity.

Advanced Mechanics

Using fate points and aspects to one's advantage can add a layer of strategy built right into the fundamental rules. Often "overcoming" can be used to remove disadvantageous aspects, and "creating an advantage" can be used to create advantageous aspects. Foregoing offense can give a sizable defense roll.

Synergistic Mechanics

All mechanics in Fate derive from skills and the four actions they use, and "combat" is just an extrapolation of these common usages. Fighting isn't anything extraordinarily different than anything else done in Fate on a mechanical level, with the exception that the consequences of a battle can usually be many times more physically drastic than other interactions.

Savage Worlds

In Savage Worlds, like Fate, turn length is indeterminate. Most rolls, besides damage are resolved with a single die roll, which gives a high standard deviation like D&D; though, because most dice are lower than D20, the standard deviation is not as high, that is, results are slightly more predictable. A high standard deviation subjectively creates a more exciting feeling knowing that one has nearly as much of a chance of failing disastrously as succeeding spectacularly. Savage Worlds also has an exploding die mechanic, unique among the games I chose for this analysis. If one rolls the highest number possible on a given die, they can roll again and add the additional result. One can consecutively add these exploding dice if they continuously roll the maximum value; this can lend extreme critical hits a kind of sense of magnitude as an enemy can be defeated, pulverized, liquefied, or vaporized.

Workflow

1. Initiative has a very unique resolution mechanic. In Savage Worlds, every character and "mob" draws a card from a standard playing deck with 2 jokers. Order is determined by best card and suit. Jokers have the special advantage of going anytime they want, even interrupting someone's turn to begin, and get a +2 on all rolls.
2. All players have a "Pace" of 6 meaning they can travel 6 inches per round. If they can move within range of an opponent, they may make a skill roll to attack.
3. If attacking the player uses the dice determined by their "Fighting" skill and must roll at least the target's parry. Both of these concepts are explained in earlier articles. If a "raise," the equivalent of a critical hit in Savage Worlds, is scored, that is, rolling 4 over the parry, the damage gets a bonus 1d6 added. The player's get a "wild dice" for this roll that lets them roll two dice at once and choose the best result.
4. The attacker now rolls again for damage which is based on the character's strength dice and the weapon's damage dice. These must score higher than the opponent's "toughness" to have a mechanical effect. Toughness is explained in a previous entry. 
5. If damage is less than toughness no mechanical effect occurs, If damage is greater than toughness the opponent is "shaken." Shaken opponents lose their next turn and can only spend it trying to snap out of it, similar to a "stunned" character in GURPS. If the attacker got a raise on top of doing enough damage, they inflict a wound as well, and an additional wound for each additional raise beyond the first. If attacking a shaken opponent already, each of these tiers inflict one additional wound.
6. Trash enemies are defeated when they are inflicted with one wound. Important characters, called "Wild Cards," like the playable characters and major villains can sustain at minimum, three wounds. A wildcard has a penalty of -1 for each wound inflicted upon them. At three wounds, a player must roll to live and/or stay conscious. If they get a raise, they stay conscious; if they only succeed, they faint; if they fail, they are dying, and can only be saved by continuously rolling better than a 1, and someone performing first aid on them.

Streamlining Mechanics

It is recommended that any hordes or "troops" of enemies are grouped into one entity, similar to Fate. Savage Worlds tries to keep things as streamlined as possible by using wounds instead of hit points, and is already about as simple as it can make itself.

Advanced Mechanics

I haven't played, but there are references to advanced tactics using support skills to inflict shaken upon opponents that are more difficult to defeat otherwise. "Bennies," short for benefits, can add bonuses to most rolls, or allow people to overcome shaken or even "soak" wounds to recover quickly.

Synergistic Mechanics

Rolling for Fighting skill follows commonly used rules in Savage Worlds so is consistent with most mechanics. The initiative, though interesting is a very different mechanic than what is used widely throughout the system normally for resolution. Likewise, like many other systems, the mechanic for resolving damage also follows slightly different rules than anything else.

Ryuutama

Ryuutama uses a mechanic of each stat being paired with a particular dice depending on each level, and almost all abilities being derived from a combination of two stats. So one "skill" might be "STR + DEX" or "INT + SPI," meaning it is based on strength and dexterity together, or intelligence and spirit together. This gives something of a small curve, meaning it has a smaller standard deviation typically than D&D and Savage World, but a bigger one than GURPS or Fate, putting it squarely in the middle in terms of "randomness." You could say this kinda reflects on the gentle, but imprecise, pastoral experience that Ryuutama tries to intimate: Small joys and surprises, some disappointments and let-downs, but a little even all together.

Workflow

1. All actors in a combat roll initiative based on DEX + INT, higher initiative means higher resistance to damage as well as earlier turns. Enemies and monsters have a predetermined initiative.
2. Combat is abstracted into the player's front and back rows, and the enemy's front and back rows, and a melee fighter generally makes most sense in the front row. She may attack anyone in the front. If there are no enemies in the front row, the entire enemy back-row is pushed into the enemy front-row.
3. To hit a target, the attacker must roll higher than her target's initiative using the formula specified by the weapon they chose. Typically two different dice. Otherwise, they miss.
4. If the attacker does not miss, she rolls for damage. This formula is also determined specifically by the weapon used. If the enemy has armor, that number is subtracted from the damage they are dealt.
5. An enemy is defeated at 0 or less hit points. A player faints at 0 or less hit points. An enemy or player dies if they accrue -condition damage. (EG, if a character has rolled a 10 for today's condition, and she is at -10 HP, she is dead. Monster's have predetermined condition.)

Streamlining Mechanics

These mechanics are as simple as Ryuutama gets. As far as I see, there are no rules (yet) to make it any easier.

Advanced Mechanics

All battlefields have at least 5 objects that can be used if the player describes its use in an interesting way, even if not directly manipulated by the player. The manual gives an example of "The dog barks at the monster startling it." Any interesting description of leveraging a prop is worth a +1, and the object is removed. Some terrain options specify only a certain amount of players might be allowed in each row, for example if it is a narrow bridge, maybe only one member can be in front on each side, and the others must wait on the opposite side of the bridge. If the GM chooses to play as a Red Dragon, extra battle mechanics are activated, which includes a defense mechanic similar to GURPS's "active defense." Characters can learn Feinting later to similar effect as what one would see in GURPS.

Synergistic Mechanics

Initiative, attack rolls, and damage rolls all follow the same skill usage mechanics as any other skill in Ryuutama. Damage is sometimes a little different, but it follows the pattern of just describing itself as "roll the dice associated with these particular attributes" making it simple to learn. The battle mechanics of HP and fight position are pretty much almost unique to fighting though.

Final Notes

Fate by far has the shortest workflow, with D&D and Ryuutama closely following. If not for the complex dying mechanics, GURPS and Savage Worlds would be tied for a not-so-distant second place. I like observing how the systems compare and contrast, and what elements are similar in each. I personally still like GURPS the most, even if demonstrably it requires more mechanical steps, but the great thing about the hobby is that every game offers something different for someone else. I also prefer the roll under system of GURPS to the modifier system of D&D; there is no way to exactly quantify it, but it feels more complicated to me than GURPS. Savage Worlds and Ryuutama use a different idea of associating a high attribute or skill with a dice with more facets, which solves the almost objective issue I have with calculating modifiers in D&D, but creates the entirely subjective problem of having a flatter probability curve. If you have read this all the way through, I hope it was informative, and I appreciate any of your comments and corrections.