As theorized yesterday, we ran a few test scenarios with combat using our existing Warhammer characters, versus basic threats utilizing basic Rolemaster Arms Law mechanics. The general conclusion from the group (almost all of which had no prior experience) was that the combat was much improved. The flow of the rounds was much smoother, the mechanics easier to understand, and the detail in the combat much improved. The number of criticals was of course increased, and in a few cases made major shifts in the combat but felt to be in line with the spirit of Warhammer.
From a functional standpoint, we settled on some standard mechanics for conversion. In Warhammer, attack and damage is two rolls, in Rolemaster it is all combined. Defense is similar. As such, the most appropriate was some juggling of stats. The primary change is in Health, converted to Hit Points, which really just boiled down to Multiply by 5. Simple, straightforward, and easy to manage.
Using the baseline of a human with a 30 stat (and no training), Defensive Bonus is defined as Agility (natural quickness) + Toughness (resistance to damage) + Dodge advances – 60 (removing the baseline for both stats). An average human thus has no Defensive Bonus, which is the default in Rolemaster. A character with a higher Agility, higher Toughness, or training in Dodge thus improves their Defense, in a scale similar to that of Rolemaster.
Using similar logic for attacks, Offensive Bonus is defined as Weapon Skill (natural ability) + Strength (physical impact) + Specialized training (if any applies for a particular weapon) – 30. In this case, Weapon skill covers both training and natural talent, so we did not do a baseline reduction. This is somewhat adjusted for Ranged attacks; in which case we use Ballistic Skill (natural ability) + Weapon Strength (based on weapon capability) – 60. In this case, the Ballistic skill is identical to melee. “Weapon Strength” is a modifier based of the Warhammer table – a bow does Str+3 damage, a crossbow does +9 damage. Compared to melee, this comes down to baseline strength (30) + an amount based on the weapon mechanics. Using a standard bow as the baseline (+3), and considering we are using tables tuned for the specific weapon, we reduced the inherent bow bonus, thus the overall -60. For comparison, that results in Crossbows (+9) receiving a scale bonus of +30 above the character’s ballistic skill. The tradeoff here is the length of reload – a heavy crossbow is 3 rounds to reload, followed by a very strong attack, vs a Bow fires every round using only Ballistic Skill.
The biggest challenge in the process is the conversion of Warhammer Talents – a number of them exist to influence combat, and in some cases no longer apply. Mainly these were around Advantage changes, since we are no longer using Advantage. For those, we either adapt to appropriate mechanics, or simply drop the talent entirely as no longer valid.
At a high level, this is the basics. We of course covered many other layers of combat, including Stun, health damage, flanking, etc., generally speaking modelled off a rather basic Pathfinder style combat. I will be working on creating a summary sheet for the various weapon options, as a conversion from Warhammer to Rolemaster style details, and we will likely adapt some more of the mechanics as we go forward.
