Nerdy comparison: Sodier vs. Skeleton

#1

So I nerded out on the fundamentals of the combat mechanics (it’s how I process new stuff). I was curious to see how using different weapons scaled when a solder and a skeleton face off.

I wrote a Python script that runs 50000 skeleton and soldier attacks to determine how often they each successfully hit. It’s posted publicly on Kaggle in case anyone is as nerdy as I am. :slight_smile:

Skeleton attacks soldier
Player defense is 6+DEF-ATK. If d20 check is over the player’s defense, then attrition damage is taken.

  • Player DEF: 3
  • Skeleton ATK: 3
  • Odds skeleton successfully hitting the player: 70%

Player attacks skeleton
Player rolls attack die (d4-d20), enemy subtracts their DEF from the rolled number and takes hit-point damage.

  • Skeleton DEF: 3

Odds of soldier hitting the skeleton with different die:

  • d4 = 25%
  • d6, = 50%
  • d8, = 63%
  • d10, = 70%
  • d12 = 75%
  • d20 = 85%

I haven’t done this with D&D or other systems but it could be interesting to see the differences. I’m a fan of Sly Flourish’s Forge of Foes and will probably try to create something similar for C&S.

Anyhow, it’s a start of an idea.

Cheers!

#2

This is a good fundamental base to start off. Keep in mind, that a soldier may have different types of weapons that could have DEADLY and BALANCED effects.

#3

Thanks! :slight_smile:

It’s kind of tricky. Right now I’m thinking of expanding the basics.

There’s a lot I can do with straight up math instead of simulation. I could have calculated the odds of hitting a skeleton with each die instead of simulating it (die_sides - SkeletonDEF) / die_sides. But I’m a sucker for doing things the long way. :laughing:

Next steps will be to account for what Forge of Foes calls “economy of actions”, which is basically that the balance between actions available to the adventurers and the enemy affects who has the advantage in an encounter.

Should be fun!

Now… to find a group to play with IRL …

#4

The Action Economy will affect all games. but here, the GM has a dial for managing it in different ways such as:

  • how many enemies (most common way in any RPG)
  • how many phases they act in?
  • how many Tactics per phase?

This can make one powerful and overwhelming enemy take on a big group and give them hell. Remember that each phase, the players only get 1 move or action. If they do both, the enemy gets a +5 to ATK value.

#5

Yup!

Thinking through the number of actions an enemy party has in a round and turning it into an algorithm is where my brain is at.

I think then the damage types can come into play…

In the end, the goal is to have a tool that makes crafting good encounters fun. With any luck a simple method can be distilled that is accurate enough to use on the fly.

GMing isn’t fun if I get hung up on the precision of 50000 simulated encounters. A good mental approximation is more useful and more fun.

Philosophically, I feel that C&S is about liberating the GM to weave great stories, not be the arbiter of complex math. So a tool like this is only useful if it simplifies technical problems and supports the GM’s creative drive.