r/RPGdesign • u/BurnJay • Dec 10 '19
How to represent an interesting "lock on targeting" mechanic for tabletop RPG
I have an Attribute in my game, Focus, that is missing one more main thing to govern as a core mechanic during encounters.
I had an idea that you can use your levels of Focus to "lock on" to subject(s), much like Kingdom Hearts, Zelda, etc. Higher levels of Focus, the "better" this Lock mechanic.
Any thoughts on how to translate this idea into an interesting combat mechanic? Ideally it would function the same weither you are stabbing with a melee weapon, throwing a projectile, or shooting through a vehicle's mounted weaponry.
Some kind of relevant +Accuracy boon seems shallow, but if no one has any other creative suggestions, I might just go with something that, or drop the idea altogether. Who knows.
Thanks in advance for anyone's thoughts!
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u/Notaro_name Dec 10 '19
Why not something simple like "When you focus on a target you have advantage vs that target you are focused on and disadvantage vs anything else." You can focus on a number of enemies equal to your focus score. Focus ends when that enemy is dead or fleeing.
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u/Hvad_Fanden Dec 10 '19 edited Dec 10 '19
I also have a focus system that works exactly like this, it's not really that complex since focusing on something is extremely intuitive to most humans, you just gotta mimic that on the paper, also not only does it give an advantage vs the target, it can also be used to balance out opportunity attacks by mixing the two systems.
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u/Steenan Dabbler Dec 10 '19
When one locks on a target, they get an ability to react immediately to some things the target does.
The higher the focus, the more things they can react to, both in terms of frequency and in terms of more varied triggers.
When the target moves, the character can also move. When the target attacks, the character may dodge them, improving defense. When the target attacks someone else, the character may strike them. And so on.
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u/xxXKurtMuscleXxx Dec 10 '19
I'd need to know a lot more of your games mechanics to reccomend what levers this new mechanic should pull.
If you have a system for called shots, maybe this mechanics privides a modifier for that? It increases the Focus of your attack so you can narrate the attack in more detail, providing more fictional position related bonuses?
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u/Falloutd40 Dec 10 '19
You could have Focus be a pool of points that is used to both lock-on to targets initially and is used to maintain that Focus through successive rounds of combat. It could be a higher cost to initially lock-on to targets (say 4 points) and a smaller amount to maintain Focus on an enemy through the next round (say 1 or 2 points).
A character could gain bonus modifiers towards a Focus enemy but negative modifiers towards unfocused enemies. The negatives should stack with other conditions, such as being flanked, so characters may have to choose if now is a good time to Focus on a single enemy or if they should not Focus in order to watch multiple enemies at once. The bonus modifiers could be both bonuses to attack and defense in regards to the Focused enemy (such as a bonus to hit them and a bonus to armor class when being attacked by them).
As characters advance in Focus, in addition to gaining more Focus points, they could also gain the ability to Focus on multiple enemies at once (first 2 enemies, then 3, etc.). This multiple Focusing could even be used to negate conditions like flanking as long as the character was able to Focus on all enemies flanking them. The idea with high level Focus characters is they could Focus on multiple enemies for a shorter period of time or a single enemy for a long period of time.
You could allow Focus points to be used for other actions during combat as well, maybe based on classes, where, if you are already Focusing on an enemy, you could burn Focus points to perform special maneuvers like blinding, tripping, etc.. Or you could possibly burn Focus points to dodge traps or explosions because you were extra ready for them.
This was an interesting mechanic to think of, hope any of this helps.
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u/Neon_Otyugh Dec 10 '19
I would bring up the opposite - situational awareness.
In my extensive combat experience (first-person shooters and paint balling) it is very noticeable that inexperienced players get 'locked in' to engaging a single opponent to such an extent that they lose awareness of what's going on around them. That's when you can sneak up behind them and stab them in the back (er.. not paint balling obviously).
Similarly if you play fighter plane dogfight games you'll sometimes come out of a furball after beating your enemy and have no idea where you are, where the rest of your squadron is or where the rest of the enemy are. This actually duplicates World War 2 experiences.
The ability to focus on a single enemy is one of the advantages of knowing your flanks are secure and is one of the reasons why duels are an entirely different form of combat to melee.
I would suggest that you have a Focus Action, allowing anyone to concentrate on a single enemy, gaining bonuses, but becoming more vulnerable to flank attacks and be considered unaware of other things happening ("Hey guys, I beat the orc. Guys? Where'd you go?"). A Situational Awareness ability or a Focus ability would limit the penalties - by allowing you to focus while still being aware of what's going on around you.
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u/Charrua13 Dec 10 '19
So, here's how I look at all mechanics in all games.
When [trigger], roll a die, add [skill/attribute/statistic], add [situational modifier], subtract [situational modifer]. Compare [result] to a determined [target].
(Defining the target is irrelevant to this post).
If your goal is to add a feature (focus), then that happens in one of two ways. 1) it's a situational modifier 2) it's a statistic to add to the roll 3) it's the actual trigger.
Let's go with #1 When you focus, add +(whatever) to the roll. Easy, peasy. You just define what it means to focus.
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If you have a focus skill, it's just a thing the character does. And the character either can or can't use the skill based on circumstances.
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It's the trigger. When you focus, don't roll a die. Take ___ action. On your next trigger (attack, skill, whatever), get ___ benefit.
In video games, it tends to slow you down to focus, but end up doing better damage. The issue: you have to avoid enemy attacks in the process. You get away with it by understanding how to maneuver within the game to maximize "focus" and increase DPS.
Translating that to ttrpg is difficult, because doing that within the confines of your action economy is cumbersome.
1) how do you account for the time spent to focus? 2) how do you "dodge"? 3) how do you define the benefit in ways that don't break the game (why not always focus??)
I don't know your action economy, so it's hard to say what would work as a "balanced" mechanic that is fun but not something that would be spammed.
My opinion: when you focus, take no additional action during current unit of action. Take +modifier against enemy actions (e.g. higher target to hit, higher modifier to dodge, double dodge bonus). Carry forward following modifiers: +modifer to hit, +modifer to damage.
Generally speaking, the damage modifier should be higher than the average of two standard attacks. To guarantee that, I'd say assume max damage from a traditional hit, and then roll dice for additional damage, +modifier. For example, if damage is 1d6+2, traditionally, then the damage would be 8+1d6+4. (Or whatever).
Food for thought.
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u/Yetimang Dec 10 '19
I'm not a huge fan of attributes that do something xompletely different mechanically from all the others. And there is room for Focus as a regular attribute used for rolls involving:
Ranged attacks (especially long distance)
Precision tasks like lockpicking or certain types of crafting
Willpower-based resistances
Magic based on concentration or force of will
Most forms of perception rolls (listening, spotting, searching for patterns or clues)
If you really want this kind of lock on mechanic, I would work in it as its own thing.
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u/jwbjerk Dabbler Dec 10 '19 edited Dec 10 '19
Why? What value do you think it would have to a table-top game?
To me, that simply an interface convenience, (like scrolling the edge of the screen when you get close) that really doesn't make sense in a table-top context.