Being a wargamer first and a pen & paper RPG player second, combat has always played a major role in my RPGs. These days there are as many combat systems as there are RPG mechanics. Much like I did a long time ago, I think a comparison is in order. This comparison of various combat systems will look at two areas of combat, personal and mass (or unit-level) combat. For each comparison I will use a mid-level character (whatever that means!).
No production timeline promised, but I will look at the following games:
- Classic Traveller Book 1 (Personal)
- Classic Traveller Book 4: Mercenary (Mass)
- Classic Traveller: Striker (Mass)
- Mongoose Traveller (Personal)
- Mongoose Traveller Book 1: Mercenary (Mass)
- Hammer’s Slammers (Mongoose Traveller) (Personal)
- Cortex System Serenity and Battlestar Galactica (Personal)
- Star Wars Saga Edition Core Rulebook (Personal)
- Star Wars Saga Edition Clone Wars Campaign Guide (Mass)
- Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition (Personal/Mass)
Is that enough to start with?