Here comes a horde!

[The Galactus Kid]

No it does not.

[The Galactus Kid]

So for the last year and a half I have been running deathwatch. One of the things I really love about their system is the horde combat. Where a few players can stand against and even destroy an onslaught of enemies. It created some very heroic moments in gameplay. So curious. Does rifts have any rules like this? If so what book would I need to look at.

While Rifts doesn't specifically have the same system, the same thing is certainly possible (and, indeed, has been done) by many players in many games. In one of our games, using a combination of magic, psionics, and tech, four players repelled a charge by 40 gurgoyles.

NICE!!!

[RoadWarriorFWaNK]

So for the last year and a half I have been running deathwatch. One of the things I really love about their system is the horde combat. Where a few players can stand against and even destroy an onslaught of enemies. It created some very heroic moments in gameplay. So curious. Does rifts have any rules like this? If so what book would I need to look at.

Thanks.

Although there are no official rules on running massive groups in the Palladium combat system, I have some house rules I have been using that have worked out well. I don't want to post them here because I'm also using them in a Dead Reign manuscript I'm working on and I'm not sure they'd want me to put them up on the internet forever.
But if you like, PM me and I will send them to you.

[Thinyser]

So for the last year and a half I have been running deathwatch. One of the things I really love about their system is the horde combat. Where a few players can stand against and even destroy an onslaught of enemies. It created some very heroic moments in gameplay. So curious. Does rifts have any rules like this? If so what book would I need to look at.

Thanks.

Although there are no official rules on running massive groups in the Palladium combat system, I have some house rules I have been using that have worked out well. I don't want to post them here because I'm also using them in a Dead Reign manuscript I'm working on and I'm not sure they'd want me to put them up on the internet forever.
But if you like, PM me and I will send them to you.

Ohh I want to see them too! PM sent.

[Thinyser]

So for the last year and a half I have been running deathwatch. One of the things I really love about their system is the horde combat. Where a few players can stand against and even destroy an onslaught of enemies. It created some very heroic moments in gameplay. So curious. Does rifts have any rules like this? If so what book would I need to look at.

While Rifts doesn't specifically have the same system, the same thing is certainly possible (and, indeed, has been done) by many players in many games. In one of our games, using a combination of magic, psionics, and tech, four players repelled a charge by 40 gurgoyles.

Interesting..How long did that take to play out? In deathwatch I've had 2 marines and an imperial arbitrator wade thru about 30 termigaunts in just a few rounds with their hordes system.

Thats the rub. In rifts you can take out 40 gurgoyles but you are looking at a huge consumption of real life time.

[RoadWarriorFWaNK]

So for the last year and a half I have been running deathwatch. One of the things I really love about their system is the horde combat. Where a few players can stand against and even destroy an onslaught of enemies. It created some very heroic moments in gameplay. So curious. Does rifts have any rules like this? If so what book would I need to look at.

While Rifts doesn't specifically have the same system, the same thing is certainly possible (and, indeed, has been done) by many players in many games. In one of our games, using a combination of magic, psionics, and tech, four players repelled a charge by 40 gurgoyles.

Interesting..How long did that take to play out? In deathwatch I've had 2 marines and an imperial arbitrator wade thru about 30 termigaunts in just a few rounds with their hordes system.

Well I was using a streamlined version of the combat rules so the whole thing was over in just a few rolls.
But depending on how many PCs you have and how many enemies they are facing, it shouldn't take any longer than a regular combat session.
The best part is you can assign 100+ zombies (or termi-guys or robots or gargoyles or whatever) to each PC, and then show them what that looks like when the numbers are added up. And then the smart PCs run away, and then you don't have to run combat at all!

[taalismn]

I believe there's a Rifter article that deals with mass-combat, but it's for PFRPG, not modern combat.

[say652]

I sat and rolled ny super vs 100 then rolled out him taking on a full army of 10,000. Roll until you die. Took like thirty hours for the army to finally kill him.

[kaid]

So for the last year and a half I have been running deathwatch. One of the things I really love about their system is the horde combat. Where a few players can stand against and even destroy an onslaught of enemies. It created some very heroic moments in gameplay. So curious. Does rifts have any rules like this? If so what book would I need to look at.

Thanks.

Although there are no official rules on running massive groups in the Palladium combat system, I have some house rules I have been using that have worked out well. I don't want to post them here because I'm also using them in a Dead Reign manuscript I'm working on and I'm not sure they'd want me to put them up on the internet forever.
But if you like, PM me and I will send them to you.

Dead reign would be a great place for horde combat rules cause if you are not quick with your zombie slaying hordes are exactly what you get to deal with.

[say652]

I kinda like the individual combat rolls for each attacker.

[say652]

Battles like that rock!!

[Thinyser]

Thats the rub. In rifts you can take out 40 gurgoyles but you are looking at a huge consumption of real life time.

About three hours of real time, but it was worth it!

Was that with regular palladium combat rules or some modifications to speed things along?

Curious because I've had battles of 6 PC's against 20-30 mobs that took 4-6 hours depending on how the battle progressed what tactics were used and countered etc.

[say652]

If you could funnel them 300 style to limit the number of attackers. I relied heavily on my Electric Flight power. Being able to cover a mile in two attacks is very very helpful. Combined with the electric field absorbing all damage. So Aps Electricity and Slow motion control helped BUT the laws of averages won in the ebd and I did eventually get crit'd to death.

[say652]

I posted the abridged version in March of The Thunderwolves. In the heroes unlimited forum.

[Thinyser]

Was that with regular palladium combat rules or some modifications to speed things along?

Curious because I've had battles of 6 PC's against 20-30 mobs that took 4-6 hours depending on how the battle progressed what tactics were used and countered etc.

No, just regular rules. But the PCs were very clever in their use of combat tactics. They had some advance warning that the gurgoyes were coming so they set up a ambush inside a abandoned missile silo they'd been using as a base. About 12 were killed outright by hidden bombs right at the beginning. A PC Mind Melter mentally possessed one of their leaders and led six of them to a pit trap where they ended up falling down a deep shaft, then got a River of Lava dumped on their heads. The party also used 'divide and conquer' tactics to split up the remaining group and took them out with a mix of spells, rail guns, and particle beam weapons. There was very little close combat. I ran the gurgoyles intelligently, too; it wasn't a give-away. I will admit that it did help that I rolled relatively low MDC for the gurgoyles: most had 100-300 MDC tops. All in all, it took about three hours. But I tend to run combat fairly fast and also the party was commited to their cause and used to working together.

In my experience, when combat is slow and ponderous, it's because: A) The players are not very familar with their own capabilities and keep having to look things up, and B) Don't work well as a team (ie. everyone is out for themselves and end up hindering each other). In contrast, a prepared well-oiled team, so to speak, can meet a superior enemy force with confidence and have a good chance of suceeding against them.

I agree completely that players that know their characters backwards and forwards and can work well as a group have a distinct advantage in combat, not only to survive as well as win more quickly.

[say652]

My idea of "teamwork" is you guys just try not to shoot me while I go beat the crap outa whatever.
Hack a computer? Fix stuff? Medical skills? Intelligence?? What are these things in which you speak of? Lol. But hey I'm like +8 to strike, who needs ti read a sign. Lol. #combatmonster
Makes for fun roleplaying, at least for me. I like characters that can punch through a tank but can't spell it.

[say652]

Bwahahaha

[Alrik Vas]

Margin of success can still work in Rifts. A hit with range is 8 or better, melee is 5 or better. For every 2 you beat the hit by, it's an extra margin of success. You subtract degrees based on what the enemy rolls to defend. Then you deal magnitude damage. The issue is figuring out how much magnitude things have, what spells deal how much damage to hordes and all that.

I think it's doable though.

On the other hand, i also like rolling it all out. 6 hours of combat can be fun as long as things don't drag.

[say652]

Now I have never played in a spaceship game.

[mobuttu]

I have recently though a minion/mock rule I call the Stormtrooper rule for my next CW campaign:

1) Give to the minion an AR depending on the type of armor worn. For instance, CS Soldiers would be AR15.

2) Should the hit beats that AR, the damage goes directly to the NPC's HP.

3) Should the hit rolls is below AR it impacts the armor and "only" does 10% of the rolled damage for every AR increment to the NPC and full damage to the armor. Treat damage rolled that pass through armor as SDC damage.

Exempli gratia:

My Rogue Scholar shoots a CS Grunt (14 HP / 29 SDC / Standard CA-4 "Dead Boy" Armor (100 M.D.C. AR15). The shoot rolls totals 17, so it beats the CS Soldier AR and does full damage (3D6 = 11) with his laser rifle to the CS Grunt HP, with only (14-11) 3 HP left. Poor CS Grunt won't probably resist another direct shoot.

Now, my Rogue Scholar shoots again but unfortunately rolls poorly and doesn't beat the CS Grunt AR. His damage roll (3D6) is 16. So, the CS Grunt receives 1 SDC damage (14 HP / 28 SDC left) and his armor is also damaged (100-16) with 84 MDC left.

[say652]

I dont nerf it. If its you vs a hundred soldiers. The soldiers are trying to kill you.
And @Nightfactory I understand the z.y.x axis of aerial combat (ran a milling machine) but it would indeed be cool to be part of a spacecraft game.