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Author Topic: Solo Play Rules  (Read 4768 times)

Offline mratomek

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 68
    • Super Force Seven: Superhero Miniatures Battle Game
Solo Play Rules
« on: November 06, 2014, 04:40:07 PM »
With the talk of Solo Play, which pops up now and again, and which I find myself doing from time to time, I messed around with a simple rule set that could be easily adapted to most game rules.

Looking for any ideas that would improve upon them:

Solo Play Rules

Every character--both the player’s characters and his opponents--has a personality profile that defines his Actions, Morale, and Cooperation. These personality traits both enable and limit what a player can do with each character.

Personality Profile

Actions

   Goals
   Tactical
   Fight

Morale
   Stay
   Stand
   Flee

Cooperation
   Leader
   Team
   Solo


Actions
Actions describe what a character is likely to do with his actions during his turn. There are three Actions choices: Goals, Tactical and Fight.

Goals
A character who chooses Goals if focused on the primary and secondary objectives. All his actions are used to complete the goals--Primary first and then any secondary--unless he has been engaged in melee by an opponent.
    He will not engage an opponent unless the current goals states as much (i.e. eliminate the opponents). If he is currently engaged in melee combat with an opponent he will remain and fight until the fight has ended--either the opponent is eliminated or captured; or the opponent has withdrawn from combat more than 3”.
    If attacked with a ranged power, the character will not alter his current course of action.
    A Leader can command a Goal-oriented character to do something other than the current goal. The character will only follow the command for the current round. A Leader must re-issue the order each round to keep the a goal-oriented character focused on a different task other than the current primary or secondary goals.
    A Leader cannot command a Solo character with Goals.

Tactical
A character who chooses Tactical looks for the best course of action to take. A player should boil down all actions that a character should take to a primary action and a secondary action (i.e. the character should do this, but might also do that).
    Then the character rolls 1D6. On a 2-6, the character performs the primary action; on a 1, the character performs the secondary action.
    A Leader with Tactical does not make a 1D6 roll. Instead, the player is free to control the Leader, using his actions as he decides.
    A Leader can command a Tactical-oriented character to do something specific. If he does so, the Team character does not make a 1D6 roll, but instead does what he is commanded to do for the current round. A Leader must re-issue the order each round to keep a tactical-oriented character focused on a specific task.

Fight
This character who chooses Fight is focused on fighting. He will attack the nearest threat to himself and remain in combat with that opponent until either he or the opponent is no longer a threat.
    The character will not withdraw from combat if he is out-numbered or out-classed, unless his Morale would make him do so.
    A Leader can command a Fight-oriented character to do something other than fight. The character will only follow the command for the current round. A Leader must re-issue the order each round to keep a fight-oriented character focused on a different task other than fighting the nearest threat.
    A Leader cannot command a Solo character with Fight.


Morale
Morale describes whether a character will stand and fight or flee in the face of certain defeat. There are three Morale choices: Stay, Stand or Flee.

Stay
A character with Stay will stay and fight to the death. A Leader cannot command a character with Stay to flee.
    As long as there is an opponent to fight, he will stay.

Stand
Stand indicates that a character is likely to stand and fight. Once the character becomes wounded, he must make a Morale roll. The roll is a free action.
    To make a Morale roll, the character makes an action roll using is greatest power. The TN for the roll is equal to 0 + 1 for every opposing character (not minion) that has been eliminated from play; and - 1 for every friendly character (not minion) that has been eliminated from play.
    If the character succeeds, he remains in play. If he fails, he will use his 1 Action of movement and his fastest movement power to move to the nearest edge of the game board and leave the game.
    Once a character leaves the game, he remains at the edge of the game board and on his turn, can make a Morale roll. If successful, he can return to play.
    A character who has left the game counts as an eliminated character.
A Leader can command a Team character with Stand to remain in play. If a Leader does so, any characters that would make a Morale roll that round automatically succeed, regardless of the TN. However, a Leader cannot issue a command to characters who have already left the game baord.

Flee
A character with Flee will immediately exit the game from the nearest edge of the game board if one of two conditions occurs:

More than half of the teams characters and minions, measured in Point Value, are eliminated or captured.

The character becomes wounded.

Once a character with Flee leaves the game, he will not return to play.
A Leader can attempt to command a Team character with Flee to Stand, but the character makes an immediate Morale roll to determine if he stays or flees. If the conditions of the game have not changed, the Leader must issue a stay command every round or the character will automatically flee.

Cooperation
Cooperation describes how characters work with other characters in there team. There are three Cooperation characteristics: Leader, Team and Solo

Leader
A leader leads. He is the master strategist, field commander, and first into the fray. Leaders have several abilities that make them useful on the battlefield.
    While at least one Leader of either side is in play, only Leaders roll for initiative. If one player has a Leader character in play and the other does not, the player with the Leader automatically wins initiative.
Once there are no players with a Leader character in play, players may use a Team or Solo character to roll for initiative.
A Leader gains 1 free Action which he can use to issue commands to other characters and minions on hi steam. But he cannot issue commands to a Solo character. When commanding, he can command a single character or minion; a group of characters or a group of minions; or a mixed group of characters and minions. All characters and minions receiving the command must be within range 24” and have clear line of site. Certain powers, special abilities, game effects, or environmental conditions may affect a character’s ability to issue a command.
    The commands must be simple and cannot include conditional statements. They must be “Do this” and not “Do this unless…” or “Do this or that depending on…”
A Leader cannot choose Fight or Flee.

Team
A Team character is simply a core member of a team. This character is primarily governed by his Actions and Morale characteristics, unless commanded by a Leader to do something else.
    A Team member can roll for initiative if there are no Leader characters from either team in play. A Team member can also issue commands; however, he must use 1 Action to do so (this is not a free Action).
    A Team member can command other Team characters and Minions, and may not command Leader or Solo characters.

Solo
Solo characters are loose cannons that do what they want. They are governed entirely by their Actions and Morale characteristics. They cannot be commanded nor issue commands.
    A Solo character must choose one of the following: Goal, Fight, Stay or Flee.


Minions
Minions only act on orders. A character with Leader or Team can order minions to do something--a character with Solo cannot. The minion/minions will do what they have been told to do until their orders are changed or they have completed the task.
    If Minions have no orders, they will stand their ground and defend themselves--attacking targets that engage them in melee or that move within their range, but they will not move from their current location unless ordered too.
    They will fight who they are ordered to fight and require no moral check--they will fight to the death; however, if all characters are eliminated, incapacitated or captured, they will immediately flee from the game board.


Team Mix

A player can mix the characteristics any way he wants, but each team has certain requirements:

At least 1 in 4 characters must have the Leader characteristic.
At least 1 in 4 characters must have the Goal characteristic.
At least 1 in 4 characters must have the Fight characteristic.
At least 1 in 4 characters must have the Flee characteristic.
At least 1 in 4 characters must have the Stay characteristic.

Only 1 in 4 characters can has the Solo characteristic.

Personality Profile Format
Each character has a profile written as: Cooperation - Action - Morale. For example, Team - Fight - Stay.


« Last Edit: November 06, 2014, 04:42:03 PM by mratomek »
The only thing better than gaming... is more gaming!

Super Force Seven: Once upon a time, the Earth needed to be saved on a daily basis.

Offline chrisw

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 128
    • project Z
Re: Solo Play Rules
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2014, 09:24:25 AM »
I, too, am struggling with solo mechanisms.  I like your ideas and will have to give them some more thought as to how to implement them into scenario ideas.  My ideas have only got as far as group tactics/ tactical stance.  If the group consists of a number of members with an array of skills then some will be more offensive than others and some will be more supportive.  Having bricks whose role is a secondary, protective role will make the team play different to if the energy throwers are supporting more offensive strong men.  Teams will normally have practiced in some sort of danger room and will have a plan of attack.
Can I ask why you make some of the profiles compulsory for 1:4 members of a group? Why not randomly generated before the game or generated as part of the characters profile when it is made up and then just roll a random 'enthusiasm' level for that scenario to see how actively they follow their normal inclinations or how up for the fight they are?

Offline fourcolorfigs

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1912
    • http://www.four-colorstudios.com/
Re: Solo Play Rules
« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2014, 03:02:32 PM »
SuperSystem 4th ed. addresses this in the SoloSystem chapter. It is by no means the only answer, and it is a tinkerer's rule set for solo play, but I think it provides a solid framework for solo play using just about any rules.

YMMV!

Scott P.
http://scott-pyle.tumblr.com/
http://www.four-colorstudios.com/


======
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places."

--Ernest Hemingway

Offline mratomek

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 68
    • Super Force Seven: Superhero Miniatures Battle Game
Re: Solo Play Rules
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2014, 05:08:05 AM »
Can I ask why you make some of the profiles compulsory for 1:4 members of a group? Why not randomly generated before the game or generated as part of the characters profile when it is made up and then just roll a random 'enthusiasm' level for that scenario to see how actively they follow their normal inclinations or how up for the fight they are?

I suppose you could. I wanted to come up with a system that took control of the characters--to some extent--away from the player. Otherwise, I think I would always sort of bend the rules to make whatever outcome I wanted happen. And the characteristics that have the strongest sense of chaos are Solo, Fighter, Goal, Stay and Flee. That is why I wanted to mandate their use.

If every character were a Leader or Team, Tactical and Stand, it wouldn't be as random/chaotic. So there is some strategy as to what characteristics--and in what combination--you assign to a character.

But I would to hear your ideas and your playtests. I am trying to get all my notes together for another playtest this week or next week.

Offline chrisw

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 128
    • project Z
Re: Solo Play Rules
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2014, 09:03:17 AM »
Quote
SuperSystem 4th ed. addresses this in the SoloSystem chapter. It is by no means the only answer, and it is a tinkerer's rule set for solo play, but I think it provides a solid framework for solo play using just about any rules.

YMMV!
I know - I bought pdf for that alone, the rest is all a bonus lol. the whole set looks pretty good at the moment but haven't had time to have more than a quick glance. 


 

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