I was talking about "medieval MMA" on twitter the other day and another user (@D20Gary) made a good point about how every attack "hits", and we could just roll damage instead of "to-hit" like Cairn does.
Gary makes a good point - in melee, almost every attack "hits" - even if only "hits" shield, armor or weapon.
It is very rare that someone would hit air.
However, I disagree with the solution (and don't use a Cairn-like system), because not every attack DAMAGES.
Look at the video below, for example. Several attacks "hit" armor but not necessarily HURT.
It is often said that a "miss" in D&D could be a glancing/weak hit.
Although practice might vary from table to table, it is obvious that it must be so - just think about the numbers and what AC means.
E.g.: say your fighter "hits" by rolling 8 or more against an unarmored foe.
If the foe is using plate, a 8 or more obviously mean you still "hit" the target, but with not enough skill to bypass/defeat armor.
This can be seen in the video, over and over.
Another problem is that each fight like the video takes dozens of "hits" or more to finish.
Even with an average of 1d6 damage per round, every fighter would need 60+ HP, leading to HP bloat.
(This could be avoided by adjusting damage - apparently, Cairn does this by subtracting armor from damage, which is good).
So, even in the context of the MMA-melee video, a D&D-like system seems to make more sense - decent level fighters constantly "hit" but not always "damage".
HOWEVER...
I agree that needing TWO rolls for attack AND damage is redundant, ESPECIALLY if you consider "misses" are not necessarily MISSING the target.
The hit/miss binary is just too "low resolution" - doesn't measure quality or even separate "misses" from actual misses (i.e., "hitting air").
My favorite solution would involved a single d20 roll with some nuance. This has been attempted in several ways in here (see links below), and by many before me.
Anyway.
On a related topic.
What we said above is true for "MMA melee", but not so for actual MMA or boxing - it is not unusualk to "hit air". Same for shooting bows, etc.
Now think of the various forms of combat:
- Unarmed, which includes striking AND grappling.
- Melee with armor.
- Melee without armor (e.g., fencing).
- Bows.
- Firearms.
These are so incredibly DIFFERENT in reality that a single system is unlikely to work well for ALL types.
A dagger fight ends in minutes without armor, but can last HOURS in plate.
Add a knife to a boxing (or wrestling) fight and it changes EVERYTHING.
Just change the surroundings - from forests to tight dungeons - and the whole dynamic is different.
Lethality, speed, distance, % of hits landed, lasting wounds, etc. are just too diverse.
So, you either have SEVERAL combat systems or accept that these things will be mostly abstract.
It is difficult (maybe impossible) to have a system that is both realistic AND simple - not to mention FUN to use at the table.
Still, we keep trying...
Additional reading:
https://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2024/02/hitting-armor-in-d-glancing-blows.html
A slightly different perspective: I practice and teach Kali, a Filipino martial art that primarily focusses on sticks, knives, and swords. When sparring "hitting air" is relatively common. Part of the reason might very well be that there's not much in the way of armor, so evasion is a big part of the art. Also, for what it's worth, the primary target is the opponent's hand. Hit their hand, they might drop their weapon. It's called "defanging the snake."
ReplyDeleteThis definitely makes sense; without armor, behind hit by a knife and sword only ONCE is too likely to be fatal or at least incapacitating.
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