Post originally by Travis Casey at 2003-04-23 07:36:43
Converted from Phorums BB System

Bonehead wrote:
-----------------------
A game with detailed hit charts that moves slow isn't realistic. It is simply wacking at other players. Where is the skill and strategy involved? Where is the dynamism and energy of combat, besides in waiting for the dice to fall?

This is why I like www.theriddleofsteel.net. All of the detailed injuries, plus many real-world combat options, mixed in with management of tempo and commitment, in a super-fast combat system. You make the difference, not so much your luck with the dice.
-----------------------

I think you're making a common mistake -- namely, confusing <I>realism</I> with <I>detail</I>. A more detailed system isn't necessarily more realistic -- what makes a system realistic is how well its results agree with those seen in "reality" (noting that in some cases, the "reality" being modeled may not be that of the real world -- e.g., with magic systems).

Now, there are systems that are both detailed and realistic, and I'd number tRoS's combat system as one of them -- but a high level of detail isn't <I>required</i> to have realism.
Something else to consider is that tRoS, as you mention above, requires a certain level of skill on the part of the player. This is something which goes along with having more detail, but actually makes a system <I>less</I> realistic -- the same character can be more or less effective in combat depending on who's playing him/her, and that simply isn't realistic. A <I>character</I> who is a veteran swordsman realistically should know how to fight effectively, regardless of whether or not the player controlling that character does.

--Travis