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HackMaster Basic Review Part 2: Combat!

In yesterday’s article we looked at the character creation system in HackMaster, but let’s face facts, if you are interested in HackMaster, you want to know about the Combat system.  So let’s not waste any time and get right into it… Combat Overhaul With the new edition of HackMaster gone is THACO! The new combat system focuses around competing attack and defense rolls, but that is just the tip of ...

Johnny’s Five – Five Reasons/Ways To Get Out of A Not fun Combat

I recently ran a game that had a far too long and not fun combat in it. The party size is a little bloated, and I had planned out a combat with lots of combatants (mostly mooks who got taken out very easily, but a few actual threats) that became very un-fun. The mooks didn't get creamed like I expected, one character decided he wasn't going to participate ...

Spicing Up Combat

In our Suggestion Pot, Sektor asked: Perhaps a list of interesting combat tactics to use during an encounter? It could really beef up sessions, trying to get beyond the ‘You swing, you hit’ situations. I see two questions there: what are some interesting things I can have happen in a fight, and how do I get beyond boring hit/miss attacks? (Yes, I'm interpreting a bit.) I'll start with the second ...

Speeding Up Combat – “Shoot, Communicate, Move On Out!”

Faster than a Tectonic Plate Do your combats seem to take forever to resolve? Do you hesitate to begin an encounter in the last hour and a half of a session? When a combat is taking place, are your players’ eyes glazed over, or are they looking around for something less boring? Good news: We can rebuild your combats. We can make them better… faster… stronger. I find that faster combats ...

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