Episode 6: Multi-Attacks & Dual Wielding
In this all-out episode, we discuss dual wielding and various other kinds of multiplicative modes of attack. How can frequency-focused fighting styles make different characters feel different? And how can you balance attack and defense mechanics so that “just attack more” isn’t the only answer?
Violet trades a strike in the hand for two in the bush. Freya studies the studs. Violet decides Drizzt is a decent dude. Freya accidentally designs a videogame (again).
Timestamps
Mailbag - 8:29
Intro to the topic - 11:08
History - 26:23
Taxonomicon - 33:15
Design Dreams - 59:21
TTRPGs discussed
Band of Blades
Blades in the Dark
Exalted (various editions) & Exalted Essence
PbtA (in general)
D&D (various editions)
Lancer
Cosmere RPG
Empire of the Petal Throne
Runequest
Pathfinder
OSR (in general)
Dark Heresy
Old World of Darkness
Vampire: the (various things)
One Roll System (Reign, Monsters and Other Childish Things, etc)
Genesys
Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy
Tiles and Truenames*
Last Days at Honkwarts*
Other games and things discussed
Blue Prince
Gone Home
Animal Well
Link’s Crossbow Training
XCOM
Knights of the Old Republic 2
Battletech
Bushido
Knights of the Old Republic… 1!
Total War
Warhammer 40k
Dissidia: Final Fantasy
The concept of LARPing
Absolver
Combo Fighter
Yomi
Final Fantasy XIII
Signs of the Sojourner
Megaman: Battle Network
Cobalt Core
Paperback Adventures
Notes
*Dear listeners, allow us the brief indulgence of talking about our own games during the wrapup.
Some illustrated sources re the question of historic “studded leather armour”:
https://youtu.be/hmm_2GRa-o8?t=230
Pathfinder 2e does not use base attack bonus! It rolls the concept of weapon skill into its general tiered proficiency system, which applies the same rules to attacks, skills, saves, spellcasting, and probably several other things.
The referenced clown college gag on Tumblr is apparently from 2016 and the original poster has deactivated, but it lives on in our hearts and our reblog chains, e.g. https://sunbeamstarship.tumblr.com/post/656273434937016320/new-clown-in-town-juzavoices-im-in
Convention alert!
Freya will be at UK Games Expo in Birmingham on Saturday 31st May and Sunday 1st June. She will be wearing a white Journeymon promo t-shirt on at least one and possibly both of those days. Say hi if you see her!
Contact us!
Additional credits
Our intro music is
"Magic Escape Room" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
System Shop
Welcome to System Shop, the podcast where we deep dive into RPG design, one subsystem at a time.
Join us as we explore the origins, empirical trends, and future design space of all aspects of tabletop game design. What’s the point of mechanising carrying capacity or NPC attitudes? Why distinguish between armour and evasion, or attributes and skills? Many stories may begin with “because D&D did it”, but that’s far from the end…
We dig deeper by asking: how do differences in design decisions make players act and feel, and is this wholly intended? What is gained or lost by being able to sum up a monster with a challenge rating? How can initiative checks be used to make combat feel chaotic, tactical, or somewhere in between?
Finally, we suggest our own ideas for future innovations. Can we introduce new technologies and props? Can we shed assumptions of the past? Or should we bring them to the fore and embrace them to the extreme? Restrictions breed creativity, and our best ideas are often our most ridiculous.
System Shop is independent and ad-free. New episodes release whenever we have the time and energy to research and record a new topic.
Violet (She/her) is a recovering academic and alleged game designer, with a particular interest in system design and ludology.
Freya (She/her) is a demographer turned data engineer by day. She moonlights as collaborator, sounding board, and bad idea generator to her beloved and prolific game designer fiancée.
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Cover design by Fallible Things (fallible.net).
Font on-cover is Lineal by Frank Adebiaye, with the contribution of Anton Moglia, Ariel Martín Pérez. Distributed by velvetyne.fr.
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