This system (and the Testerman/Trimmer system it is based on) determines the length of a battle by comparing the warfare (or psyche, or strength) of the combatants, factoring in Endurance in longer battles. It is designed with the standard Amber 4 attribute system, but could be easily modified for whatever system you use. It is designed for one-on-one battles, but can also be adapted to armies or group battles.
We need to compare the relevant attribute (psyche for power battles, strength for hand-to-hand, or warfare for weapons) of the two combatants. But we can't compare just the straight points of the attributes, because that would result in a character with a single point of warfare to be infinitely better than someone with Amber Rank(zero points). So, we need to scale the stats just slightly. When we scale, we'll quickly be converting character creation points, and attribute points into something similar, which for lack of a better term we'll call Conflict Points.
Let's consider Human Rank a single "conflict point".
Chaos
Rank, being twice as good, will be two conflict points
Amber Rank
will be equal to four conflict points.
As far as any "Ranked"
attributes are concerned, take the number of points spent on the attribute
and add five. This new total is the number of Conflict Points you have in that
attribute.
If the stronger character has:
For example, if Random has sword and dagger while Benedict has only a
dagger. Benedict normally has a Superior Advantage over Random, but in this case
it’s diminished to a Definite Advantage. If Random had a pistol and sword, plus
lightweight bodyarmor, and knew where the boobytraps were, he could be Dead Even
with Benedict or even have a Minimal Advantage against him.
If the factor just makes the battle more dangerous (such as both sides having
rapid-fire weapons) then instead of changing the category just speed up the
battle: allow everyone to die a few exertion categories sooner than normal.
By means of example: Corwin has a Minimal Advantage over Random. They
could normally fence until Exhausted or Collapsing. But if both have poisoned
blades, they could get knicked and die while just Tired or
Strained. The system also assumes the use of weapons that allow some dodging, parrying,
manuevering and/or use of cover; such as swordplay, sorcery, or karate. This, of
course, is not allways the situation. In contests of continuous direct conflict
such as prolonged wrestling, fighting in a pit or small contained area, or for
trump-based psyche duels, assume the kills happen one or two exertion categories
sooner than what the advantage level states.
For example, Fiona has just a Minimal Advantage over Brand in Psyche, but
in a continuous battle via trump, as soon as he becomes Tired (instead of the
normal Exhausted) she can defeat him (and if she became Strained, he'd be able
to defeat her).
The categories also assume an opportunistic battle plan. Going full Offensive
speeds up the time to a kill by an exertion level(for both sides), going full
defensive shifts the advantage category two steps in your favor.
Examples: Corwin can play pure defensive and tire out Eric, who has both
higher psyche and warfare, but rather lower endurance than Corwin. The psyche
duel took less time than the sword battle to determine a victor, because it's a
more direct and continuous means of combat.
Other factors such as weaponry, tactics, and setting...
One of
the strengths of this system is that it makes for easy improvising of the
results of outside factors. If some factor aides a particular combatant (such as
them having a sharper blade or better armor, attacking from ambush, being more
familiar with the terrain), swing the Advantage Level one step in their favor.
If using machineguns with explosive bullets in a burning
skyscraper in a radiation zone while wearing a full body anticontamination suits
might result in kills occuring while both were Fresh.
What the Advantage Categories mean in terms of storyline:
Definitions of terms such as: Exertion, Fresh, Tired, Strained, Exhausted, and
Collapsing
Fresh is the default starting level. Anyone who is rested and ready
begins at Fresh. If you’re at fresh, you can handle (or at least delay) anyone
who’s not at least twice the fighter you are.
Tired is the starting level if you’re the least bit sleepy or
unrested. Also, a person progresses from Fresh to Tired after a several minutes
of exertion. How long this takes depends upon Endurance. Figure approximately 1
minute per Endurance Conflict Point. At tired you begin to slow down, but are
still only vulnerable if your opponent is significantly better than you.
As your exert yourself further you pass from Tired to Strained. At
Human Rank, this happens after 10 minutes, and Chaos Rank after 20 minutes. At
Amber Rank or better, it happens after a time equal to the Endurance Conflict
Points times 15 minutes. At Strained, the first real mistakes begin to show up,
and a better warrior will take advantage of them to wound or even kill you in
short order.
Continuing to be active can move you from strained to exhausted. At
Human Rank this happens 15 minutes after you begin to exert yourself, at Chaos
Rank 45 minutes after you start. At Amber Rank and above, at 45 minutes times
your endurance conflict points. Exhausted level is dangerous. Even if your
opponent is just a little bit better or faster than you, s/he will be able to
capitalize on your numerous mistakes at this point. Death could soon be in your
future.
The final stage is collapsing. Humans suffer this after so minutes of
hard exertion, and standard Chaosites after an hour. At Amber Rank and above, it
sets in following their endurance conflict points, expressed in hours. At
collapsing, you become nearly incapable of defending yourself. Mistakes abound,
and your energy level and speed take a nosedive. As such, even those whom you
greatly outclass in skill stand a good chance of ending your life.
Corwin was approaching the Exhausted/Collapsing end of things when he
arrived in the courts of chaos, that's why he chose to trick Duke Borel instead
of waging a duel.
Recently, I discovered a webpage maintained by Doyce Testerman that
includes an excellent Holistic stat system, as well as a way of determining the
victor and speed of victory in Amber battles. This system, originated by Randy
Trimmer, is an great crib notes for Amber gamemasters, making the refereeing of
battles simpler.
However, their system does not however really factor in Endurance, and is
somewhat less balanced in the lower point value rankings for attributes. I have
attempted to patch these flaws and expand upon the system, my results are above.
Their system is less number-intensive than mine, but also less detailed. It's a
trade-off (elegance or completeness), and you might like their system more than
mine, so check it out!
© 1998-1999 by Rolfe Bergstrom,
developed upon the work of Doyce Testerman and Randy
Trimmer, and of course the game system by Erick Wujcick and the novels by
Roger Zelazny.Exertion:
there are 5 levels of exertion. They are entitled Fresh,
Tired, Strained, Exhausted, and Collapsing.