Advanced Dragon Strike Combat

I found the original Dragon Strike game disappointing when it came to combat, but with interesting mechanics using
polyhedral dice. I got rid of the target number method and went with opposed rolls. I also use d3 and d4-d12
polyhedral dice for more variety. When attacking, a figure rolls 2 polyhedral dice, 1 for attack damage and the other
for attack skill. When defending, a figure also rolls 2 polyhedral dice, 1 for defense skill and the other for armor.
This is somewhat similar to the Ares combat system by Majestic 12 games, (free trial download from their site) but
with an experience system, defense skill, and a different point cost system.

Attack damage depends on the weapon being used. D3 for attacking unarmed, d4 for attacking with daggers, d6 for
attacking with clubs and slings, d8 for attacking with swords, axes, maces, flails, and bows, d10 for attacking with
crossbows, and d12 for attacking with 2-handed swords, axes, and mauls.

The armor die depends on the armor being used. D4 for no armor, d6 for leather or padded armor, d8 for chainmail
armor, and d10 for platemail armor. Using a shield increases the armor by 1 die level. So characters wearing
chainmail armor with a shield would have a d10 armor die and characters wearing platemail armor with a shield
would roll a d12 for armor.

Attack skill depends on how much experience the attacker and defender possess. Attack skill starts out at d4 for
level 1 attacking characters and progresses one die level for each level gained to a maximum of d12 at level 5 attack.
Defense skill is similar, starting out at d4 for level 1 defenders to a maximum of d12 for level 5 defenders. When
attacks are successful, the attacker gains attack experience, when attacks fail, the defender gains defense experience.
To gain attack experience, the character successfully damages a figure in combat. The harder it is to damage the
target, the more experience the figure will gain when attacks are successful. The same goes for defending figures.
Use the table below to determine the experience gained from a successful attack:

Skill Die level Difference Example Experience Points earned per success level
-4 d12 vs. d4 1
-3 d12 vs. d6 2
-2 d12 vs. d8 3
-1 d12 vs. d10 4
0 d12 vs. d12 5
1 d4 vs. d6 6
2 d4 vs. d8 7
3 d4 vs. d10 8
4 d4 vs. d12 9

Only attack and defense skill is used to determine experience gains not armor or attack damage dice. If the attacker
has a higher attack die level than the defender, the die level difference is negative; if the attacker has a lower die
level than the defender, the die level difference is positive. When 100 experience points are aquired in attack, the
attack die level increases by 1, and when 100 experience points are aquired in defending, the defense die level
increases by 1.

Instead of always doing 1 hit point of damage for each attack, an attacker inflicts 1 hit point of damage for each
success level of the attack to a maximum of 3 at the 3rd success level. Successful attacks (using both attack dice)
that inflict 2 times or more the defender’s total dice score inflict 2 hit points of damage and successful attacks that
inflict 3 times or more the defender’s total dice score inflict 3 hit points of damage. The same goes when defending.

Example 1, an attacking figure with d6 attack damage and d4 attack skill rolls a d6 and a d4 to attack. The
defending figure with d4 defense skill and d4 armor rolls 2d4 to block the attack. The attacker rolls a 4 on the d6
and a 2 on the d4 for a total attack score of 6. The defender rolls a 2 on the d4 and a 3 on the other d4 for a total
defense score of 5. The attacker’s score is higher and is successful in inflicting 1 hit point of damage on the
defender. The skill die level difference between attacker and defender was both the same at d4 so the attacker gains
5 experience points. If the defender’s attack score was higher, the attack would have been blocked and the defender
would have gained 5 experience points for each success level of defense.

Example 2, an attacking figure with d8 attack damage and d6 attack skill rolls a d8 and a d6 to attack. The
defending figure with d4 defense skill and d6 armor rolls a d4 and a d6 to block the attack. The attacker rolls a 7 on
the d8 and a 6 on the d6 for a total attack score of 13. The defender rolls a 1 on the d4 and a 3 on the d6 for a total
defense score of 4. The attack is over 3 times the score of the defender and counts as a success level 3 attack,
inflicting 3 hit points of damage. The attacker’s attack skill is 1 die level higher than the defender’s defense skill, so
the attacker gains 4 experience points for each success level. The attack was at success level 3, so the attacker gains
12 experience points.

Optional rules:

1) You could divide attack and defense skill into specific categories based on the weapon being used: sword attack
and defense skill, axe attack and defense skill, ranged attack skill, etc.

2) Shields could be made to only give the bonus defense die level for defending against frontal, not rear attacks.

3) Ranged attacks with bows, slings, crossbows, and daggers could be given a ranged limit. Daggers with a range of
5”, slings with a range of 10”, crossbows with a ranged of 15”, and bows with a range of 20”.

4) Magic resistance can be changed to be the die rolled when blocking offensive, as well as, helpful spells. The
magic resistance roll must be failed for a magic spell to take effect.

To make battles a little more even, especially if you just want a fight between 2 opposing sides like a wargame, I
have devised a point cost system. Both players pick a point cost limit and players choose figures without going over
the limit. For example, players choose to play a 500 point game. Each player would pick figures totaling up to, but
not going over 500 points. The basic formula is:

[Move+Attack Skill die+Attack Damage die+Defense Skill diex2+Armor diex2]xHPx.67

Move is the maximum number of squares a figure can move to in a turn.

Attack and defense skill dice is the average or most likely number the attack die will roll. D3=2, d4=2.5, d6=3.5,
d8=4.5, d10=5.5, and d12=6.5. (The idea is that a die, such as a d6 is most likely to roll either a 3 or a 4 since you
are rolling 2 dice, 1 for attack skill, and 1 for attack damage; it will be a bell curve result. There is a 50% chance of
the d6 rolling a 3 or a 4, so the point cost is 3.5). The defense skill die is multiplied by 2 because figures can block
more than 1 figure per turn, as opposed to only being able to attack once per turn.

Attack damage and armor dice is the average or most likely number these dice will roll just like skill dice above.
The armor die is multiplied by 2 just like the defense skill die because it can block more than 1 figure per turn.

The move, attack, and skill dice are multiplied by the hit points of the figure x.67. The hit points are multiplied by .
67 because figures can sometimes receive more than 1 hit point of damage from attacks.

Point cost example:

A figure with a movement score of 5, attack skill die of d6, attack damage die of d8, defense skill die of d4, armor
die of d10, and 3 hit points:

[Move+Attack Skill die+Attack Damage die+Defense Skill diex2+Armor diex2]xHPx.67

[Move 5+Attack Skill die 3.5+Attack Damage die 4.5+Defense Skill die 2.5x2+Armor die 5.5x2]xHPx.67

[5+3.5+4.5+2.5x2+x5.5x2]xHPx.67=58.29 or 58 points.