The Worst Game: Dodge, Block, Parry, Guard, Brace, and More

 Like many misbegotten souls, I have a homebrew system.

As a matter of fact, I have several. But I do not have time today to discuss the dynamic lift experienced at the bow of an airship or why I created a system with the semi-mystical ability to ravage a player's vocal cords in a single night, so instead I will discuss my most recently updated system. I call it The Worst Game. Forewarning, these images do not illustrate any specific concepts as I lack the time to sort through them. My apologies.

I do not actually consider The Worst Game the worst game, but the origin of the name is best saved for another post. At its fundamental essence, the system is a combination of features from nearly every game I have played up until this point, and several more I have yet to try. Some of the primary features are the maneuver lists which may be applied to skill checks or combat actions. They function as a strange hybrid of Honor+Intrigue, 5e,  Blade of the Iron Throne, and Interlock. The combat maneuver list is intended to allow players to recreate scenes of swashbuckling adventure, with rapid blows and parries and a touch of acrobatics for flavour. I even use scenes from certain films as a guide for designing the system by literally walking through frame by frame and trying to figure out how the blows on the screen would translate to the page. Needless to say, this system is going to need a lot more testing and editing before it will play nicely.

To achieve this swashbuckling effect, I felt it was important that attacks happen in frenetic clashes, with pauses between as opponents pull back to assess or climb on the scenery. Rather than abstract combat clashes to opposed rolls like some systems do, I instead chose to continue modelling each individual swing of a weapon. To keep a lethal feel, I did alter the representational nature of the game a bit by having it so that only critical hits deal appreciable damage in-universe. Non-critical hits work similarly to D20 Star Wars or Starfinder where they damage a regenerating stamina-bar. The Worst Game actually has two such bars, Stamina and Focus, which can be best summarized as hitting harder versus hitting more precisely. Both are also spent on using maneuvers, with certain weapon keywords letting a player discount the stam/foc cost with their skill level. For example, a sword has the slashing keyword, and so discounts the slashing-specific maneuver, cleave. Cleave here allows a player to attack multiple adjacent enemies rather than being overkill damage like in some other systems.

The danger of publicly writing about The Worst Game for the first time is going too in-depth about years of on and off tinkering, but I hope that the basic idea is apparent now. Combatants are able to use maneuvers to achieve powerful effects in combat, but risk their own energy reserves if they invest too heavily without pulling back to catch their breaths. Turn order has been compartmentalized in The Worst Game, meaning that between actions regenerating there are a number of "steps", named so because players are at minimum allowed to take an actual step on the battlespace. Player actions regenerate at different rates, and the less-powerful bonus action will eventually upgrade into a full action if the action slot is empty during this regeneration period. This means that while one player's action is regenerating an opponent's action may be ready. The reaction maneuvers, so-called because they may be used reactively or with the guard action, are intended to allow for that rapid strike-parry-strike-parry cinematic flurry as one player attacks while the other defends until their action regenerates and they take the lead in the dance of blades.

This is all subject to change, but as of the most recent update I am very pleased with the reactive maneuvers. Firstly though, a little more context. The guard action converts movement into defense for the duration of an action regeneration period. In The Worst Game AC only represents how hard an individual is to hit, with Armour itself working as a form of damage reduction like in Cyberpunk. AC no longer stands for anything and should probably have been renamed years ago. Guarding also allows a defensive maneuver to be readied without needing to spend a reaction but also tells your opponent what is being readied. Normally maneuvers are played in the form of cards to allow for bluffing during attacks. The guard action is good for players who wish to hold their ground for a time, or those who want to save their reaction for attacks of opportunity. The Worst Game uses levels of success, meaning that a higher AC can lead to a lower level of success from an attacker, and a critically failed attack allows for an attack of opportunity. Guard is the most defensive of the options, as only it increases AC.

Dodging meanwhile can cancel a series of attacks entirely, but it does so at a much higher risk than guarding. It is a proper maneuver rather than an action, and as such may only be used as a reaction response to an attack or as part of the guard action. It allows the defending player to attempt an acrobatics check to move to an adjacent tile of their choice. However, in The Worst Game facing does matter, so jumping directly away from the enemy is more difficult than jumping around their flanks or to your side. Critically failing to leap away results in becoming prone immediately, opening the way for automatically successful critical hits by the attacker. Dodging is intended to be used in response to an opponent trying to maximize the number of attacks in a step, as if used to get out of range or into a higher AC area such as the opponent's flanks it will affect all attacks moving forwards until the opponent can reposition. At the same time, it uses your movement points and means that you will have to reenter your opponents space in the future if you want to attack, giving them the advantage later down the line.

As part of that spacing system, Brace allows attacks against opponents entering, but not leaving, melee range. I dislike the way many games disincentivize leaving melee, but also understand that hit and run tactics can be frustrating. The step system solves some of this by allowing players to move in response to their opponents one tile at a time, but someone who has invested actions into moving more than one tile per step may still be able to strike and fade without consequence. Now, there is some risk to it unless approached more intelligently by trying to attack someone from behind or by attacking in pairs, for example.

Blocking is a very fun maneuver, intended to allow for players to trade a short-term risk to their energy for a long-term risk to their equipment. If a player can beat an enemy's AC, they will be able to treat their weapon as an additional level of armour. The caveat is that any damage which bypasses the hardness of the weapon is applied to both the weapon and the player, meaning that after enough blocked attacks a sword may shatter. While dodging is intended to be used against many attacks, blocking is intended to be used against single heavy-hitting attacks from large weapons or opponents applying multiple maneuvers to a single attack. That is why it targets an enemy AC, as someone who is investing totally in an attack will have a lower AC due to not taking the guard action. The same is technically true with regards to dodging many attacks, but dodging is intended to risk more and sacrifice more opportunity in the short term for a player and therefore not be as attractive against a single attack.

Parrying is the maneuver of masters. It targets the roll of an opponent's attack, and if successful will reduce their degrees of success by a certain amount. This can turn a success into a critical failure at higher levels of skill, opening the way for an attack of opportunity. Bonus actions may be used as less-powerful reactions, meaning that even if the guard action has not been taken parry still presents the highest chance of allowing for a riposte. It sits between the relative short-term safety of using block and the higher risk of trying to dodge, as a failure will result in a hit with no additional armour, but not risk falling prone or giving up much opportunity. At high skill level it promotes waiting for your opponent to make the first move as you guard, then slicing them to ribbons like a Samurai film. This is a thematic result of design.

For all of my talk, a demonstration of how these rules work would certainly come in handy. That will come in good time.