I just gave the quickstart rules a quick read-through. I like the idea so far with the back and forth in the combat with the reactions. I am worried that starting levels in the game are super lethal for players who roll poorly in their starting HP.
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That's a good point! Our game is about as lethal as the average OSR product. We wanted to enable character survivability through mechanics (qi abilities, reactions, armour, etc.) and table interactions (player-first initiative, player-driven initiative orders, and player strategy). The next two classes we're working on will include a physician that, at the moment, will have a lot of abilities associated with adding/removing statuses and augmenting rests. One thing that is not in the quickstart are guidelines on encounters. Because the world is meant to feel deadly, the players are meant to learn that not every encounter is meant to be solved with violence.
As for starting HP, I think a good rules amendment would simply have it that 1st level characters start with maximum HP!
Related to reactions, might need to tweak Parry a bit, compared to Counter Attack and Withdraw. The play example indicates you can choose to Parry after you know what the attacker rolled (and whether they hit)–just like Counter Attack and Withdraw. But I could use it against a hit or miss.
- If the triggering attack is already too low to hit, it is probable the Defender would have a better chance of landing a hit against the missed attack than the attacker’s Dodge.
- Parry also doesn’t trigger any subsequent reactions because every other reaction only triggers against an Attack. Downside being, no opportunity to Crit or use of techniques that require you to make an attack.
- Compared to withdraw, you don’t get to move, but worst-case you take damage and miss. Failing at the check with Withdraw, you take damage and the next attack is at +5 against you.
I think if you made the PC use the reaction when the attack is declared (before knowing hit or miss) or only usable when you are hit, it might mitigate some. But probability wise Parry is a much better deal. Especially because it can also mitigate damage from an attack against you.
Great points! I think we can break it down like this in the next version:
- Guard - powerful way to negate attacks, but limited to shield users and has "charges"
- Counter - straightforward reaction based on missed attacks
- Bind - similar to counter in that it is triggered by a missed attack, but has functionality for group play (synergize with other abilities and create openings)
- Parry - change its trigger to being when an attack hits you. This way, it is similar to guard yet has a chance of failure. This also differentiates it from counter better.