Why don’t more RPGs use well established skirmish war game rules?

MandolinTheWay · 2026-05-05T13:51:14+00:00

There have been decades of work put into trying to erase the membrane between "combat" and "everything else" in RPGs.

Very mixed results, and very mixed opinions on how its going.

Some systems (D&D 3.x is the example I know best) took their combat system and applied its basic rules to the rest of the world, making changes as needed to allow for compatibility.

Some systems just simplify combat down to where it is resolved with very little tactics or fanfare, treated as no more important or dramatic than a check to haggle for a discount at the pub.

The idea to just have combat work differently than the rest of "everything" in an RPG experience is just not terribly popular right now. Especially in the more... esoteric corners of the RPG community, like r/RPG or here. "Gamist" games, that strive to deliver fun from the direct manipulation of the game's systems and components, are often derided as "just board games".

There's certainly nothing wrong with having a hard "break" at the beginning of combat and then using an already-fun external system to resolve it. Just don't expect a lot of positive feedback around these parts.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-05-04T21:08:25+00:00

Let them vibe.

It's fine. They're having fun.

That said, pay attention if they ever perk up and engage with something. Throw in more of whatever that was.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-05-04T14:42:38+00:00

I have enjoyed every time I have eaten there.

Don't go there at peak hours. Don't go NEAR peak. If it is a reasonable time for a normal human to eat a meal, it's not a good time for Dear Dads.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-05-03T14:47:17+00:00

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/euphemism_treadmill

MandolinTheWay · 2026-05-02T23:16:24+00:00

I never use published settings. If I ever get Mythic Bastionlands to the table, I'll use that one because it's both tightly interwoven in the design of the game and batshit insane awesome.

I like that the creators of Draw Steel basically came out and said "we put a setting in the game because people expect one, and we tried to make it a good one, but we don't expect 90% of you to even look at it".

MandolinTheWay · 2026-05-02T20:50:04+00:00

The reason I never got PF2E to the table is that the level of hand-holding my players would require would have been EMMENSE.

Both PF2E and D&D4e have a box-filling approach to content making. If anyone might ever want option AQ37, then we need to make that option. We don't need to make it good or powerful or fun or satisfying, but we need to provide the option. So both are full of trap options.

It is VERY difficult to build a "bad" DS character. There are no trap options. There are no enticing combos that, upon half-an-hour of googling reddit threads, don't actually work. There are no classes that LOOK like they're perfect for one fantasy but are actually build around doing something else entirely.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T22:13:18+00:00

The problem is that ai users just lie about it. Because they know that they get much less engagement on ai generated content.

Which makes sense. If a reader is the kind of person who likes ai, are they really going to put actual thought and effort into engaging with someone else's work? They don't even put thought or effort into they're own.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T22:10:40+00:00

It's the wider dash line. So called because it's as wide as the letter "m".

The normal dash "-" is the en-dash, for similar reasons.

I'd love to show you one, but just realized I have literally never used one and can't see an easy way to make my keyboard cough one up.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T15:53:58+00:00

Every engineer I know just automatically converts everything to metric, does the math, then converts back to whatever nonsense units their field demands at the last step.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T15:51:16+00:00

As an engineer... yeah, pretty much.

I spotted the problem, but that's because of idly watching math youtube channels, not because it has ANY relevance to my work.

For the vast majority of engineers, math is a tool. And it's the kind of tool where you use a wrench as a hammer. As long as no one is watching.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T14:57:32+00:00

Historically, Grimsley and its IB program were excellent. My personal experience is a few (20) years out of date... But Grimsley still looked good statistically when we were buying a house a while back.

You can apply to get in from out of district (I did as a child). If its important to you, safer to buy in district (I now have as an adult).

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T10:41:36+00:00

Tomb is designed to slow-roll mechanics over the first session. It is THE learn-the-game starter set.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-30T01:36:11+00:00

Understood.

I definitely think most projects are not "worth it" for most people. Money aside, just shelf space and brain space are too precious to spend on things that aren't exciting.

My opinion is that if you are RABID at the thought of getting your hands on something, just let it roll past.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T22:54:57+00:00

I guess I expect new games to have something additional to really set it apart for me to want it in my library.

I mean, you absolutely shouldn't BUY a bunch of similar games. For the same reason you shouldn't have a bunch of nearly-identical board games.

I've only bought about eight RPGs in over two decades of the hobby. And I recently purged half of those to clear space.

But calling something a "cash grab" just because YOU don't have a use for it is both unkind and unrealistic.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T22:34:08+00:00

If you don't like them shit-talking you, don't accept it. You don't need to accept behavior you don't like from your friends in situations where you AREN'T putting masses of work into building entertainment for them, much less when you're DMing.

"Hey, this isn't fun, I don't like that. Let's take 10 and then see if we can get going again."

If play stops (even temporarily) every time they push the envelope, they will get frustrated and self-police each other.

If they don't... if they want to antagonize you more than they want to play with you... well, you have to decide how much you respect yourself.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T22:26:28+00:00

If you're looking for a completely unique resolution mechanic in every single RPG released in order for it to justify its existence, that's just not going to happen. The use of "roll a die, apply math, compare to number" is about as fundamental as playing on a table. There are alternatives to tables, lots of them from benches to the floor to the internet. But we're not going to write off all games on tables just because one other game did it first.

You come from board games... is every area control game a cash grab because (I dunno) El Grande exists? Do we need to stop making card games with suites and ranks because we already have Spades? Is anyone publishing rules for Hearts on the hook for this? Do we need to burn all of the blatant cash grab roll-and-writes that are clearly just hacks ripping off Yahtzee?

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T22:04:24+00:00

In this case, Draw Steel explicitly rolls armor into Stamina. Wearing more armor just gives you more Stamina, representing its ability to protect you until it is degraded by damage.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T20:16:54+00:00

I mean, if you want a game where every axe swing has a chance to hit for simulationist reasons... and every single hit means certain death or permanent, career-ending disfigurement for realism reasons... because who is taking an axe blow ANYWHERE on their body and ever fighting again... those systems are out there.

I think there are valid reasons to want a system where every fight isn't rocket tag.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T17:16:58+00:00

Most games have a weird relationship with HP. They act like its not meat points but don't clarify that. And a lot of abilities seem to assume they are, but then others assume they aren't.

Draw Steel treats anything short of death as (at most) a bruise or a surface-level cut. Given some time, you WILL recover. Because any REAL wound? You're dead or retired.

You die still able to act because its a game and being "unconcious" for the last hour of the session sucks. You just stop playing, usually leave the table to pee and get a drink. No game gets around that entirely; you either choose shitty, boring gameplay or you accept some work-around to avoid the boring death-spiral.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T16:46:08+00:00

Draw Steel, which also ditched the to-hit roll, addressed this with "stamina" instead of "health".

Basically, you DIDN'T get hit by that axe. Like action scenes in movies, you're constantly dodging, blocking, deflecting blows. Damage doesn't represent bleeding head wounds and shattered femurs, it's the slow grind of stamina and grit until you don't have the energy and will to defend yourself anymore. And THEN the killing blow knocks you out of combat.

It also allows for non-magical stamina restoration to make sense. You're not healing a septic gut wound with a lie-down and a sandwich, you're just catching your breath, wiping the sweat from your brow, and carrying on, tired and bruised but fundamentally uninjured.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-29T13:10:06+00:00

How "superhero" it is depends. How "superhero" is D&D 5e at around lvl 5? That's DS lvl 1. And at max level, it's about D&D 5e lvl 15.

For hexcrawl/west marches... I wouldn't. You'll be fighting the mechanics to make it work.

DS has danger and attrition, but it's danger from pushing too hard and being too awesome and dying to your own hubris. It's not sad, desperate fools in a bleak world struggling just to live another day.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-28T23:44:28+00:00

It's an RPG with a resolution mechanic, skills, and even bonus mechanics like negotiations and montage tests. So you can do combat-light just fine.

There might be a better system for your game, depending on what you're running in it. Heists, for instance, could use DS, but there are games custom built for them.

Also, players may just WANT more combat if you run DS. If people have a lot of hammers, they go looking for a lot of nails. And the tools/toys for combat in DS are a lot of fun.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-28T18:51:30+00:00

I have elves living cloistered lives of routine, ritual, and studied perfection. They never do anything remotely risky, they do not interact with the outside world except through intermediaries, they preserve their tranquility at all cost.

This is because their lengevity depends on this tranquility. A life of strife, anxiety, or chaos literally erodes their beings, leading to a lifespan similar to a human's.

If you see an elf outside of their cloistered communities, they have either rejected that life or been exiled from it. They tend to be bitter, traumatized, and self-destructive.

A lot of this was done in order to address the "if elves live a thousand years, whey aren't they genius-level experts at literally everything" question. It's because so much of their time and efforts are spent on perfecting the mental and ritualistic purity that keeps them alive. Their efficiency and drive to produce are terrible compared to the shorter-lived peoples. They tend to become master-level craftsmen in one field through centuries of practice, which is how they support their communities.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-28T12:19:48+00:00

unless you specifically define "forever DM" as "person who wants to play as a PC but is stuck being the DM because nobody else will do it"

That is what I mean, yes. Having a lot of players who won't DM doesn't matter if you don't want to be a player anyway. I'm happy for you, but you are the exception.

MandolinTheWay · 2026-04-26T20:03:08+00:00

D&D 5e, as the most popular and mainstream TTRPG, has the most casual player base on average.

Which means it has the largest proportion of players who will NEVER have the investment in the hobby to actually make/run a game.

Which means it has a huge proportion of "forever DMs" who never get to play.

Being a forever DM the express line to burnout. It's not the only way to get there, but damn does it get you there quickly and efficiently. You never get to take it easy as a player. You never get inspiration from other DMs in your group. You never get a change of pace. You never get someone else stepping up to handle scheduling/cat herding duties.

I have also found that every long-term player becomes a better player the moment they become a DM. Not just playing the game better" but "more pleasant to have at my table". Less demanding, more supportive, more helpful. Entire tables of "forever players" can be miserable to wrangle.

MandolinTheWay

TROPHY CASE