Generic Combat Task

[Glorelendil]

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a generic combat task, as I introduced in another thread, greatly vexing the thread's creator. (I will actually be surprised if nobody has suggested this...probably be multiple times...in older threads.)

It would work like this:
1) A player proposes something he wants to try, along with an associated skill and an appropriate stance. It is up to the LM to decide whether to allow it, and may require a different skill or stance.
2) There are three possible goals that can be accomplished: (a) provide an attack bonus to oneself or to a companion, (b) impose an attack penalty to an adversary, or (c) "other". The player must state beforehand the goal.
3) The player rolls the skill, either against the regular TN (14) or possibly higher, if the LM rules that it is a low-probability plan.
4) If successful, type (a) grants bonus dice as per preliminary rolls which must be used on the next round. Type (b) deducts the same number of dice from the target's next attack (to a minimum of zero). Type (c) grants success, and extra successes are treated as type (a).
5) On a failure with an Eye of Sauron, all enemies attacking that hero before his next turn get one bonus die.
6) Regardless of task or outcome, the player foregoes his attack for the current turn.

Example:
Our hero wants to smite that damnable goblin archer, but the LM says that the orc soldiers are in the way. The hero proposes using Athletics, in Forward stance, to leap through their lines, surprising the archer before he can get away. So type (c). The LM agrees, and the hero rolls a Great Success. Not only does he deftly evade the orcs' swords and spring upon the hapless goblin, forcing the little bugger into close combat, but next turn he will have a bonus die granted to his attack.

[Rue]

I like it. It's kind of like the "task" version of battle, rather than the "test" version in that the player is propelling the action rather than reacting to the scene created by the LM.

[Indur Dawndeath]

Ad 6) According to RAW, then if you want to perform an athletics task to get to the enemy Archer or leader, then you can attack if you score a great success. Can't give the page number because I'm at Work, but I'm sure that it is in their example of tasks in combat. On a failure you lose your action and land in Forward prone, or something similar.

I like the idea to streamline the results of tasks, at least as a guideline. In that other thread I also argued for creativity and not a fixed list of tasks. With a list like this you can have creativity and guidlines for how much advantage you can get out of a task...

Cheers

[Falenthal]

I like it as an outline of how to resolve proposals by the players "on the fly". Of course, some points are left so vague that nearly everything could fit in there (point 2.c.: "other").

The most important and interesting point is number 4. I feel this is the core of the guide and I agree with it. It mantains the spirit of the game, where bonus dice are used to represent whatever you want your character to do.

I could only probably discuss point 5: Every enemy has that advantatge, or only the first attack? Just something I'd left open to debate.