I Want to Hit That – Home on the Range Edition

“I Want to Hit That” is a segment where I ponder the crazy things that go in combat in table top rpg's.

The group enters the villains lair. The villain and his retinue are on a dais before the party. He chuckles evilly, “There is nothing you can do.”

“I shoot him,” says player one.

“I throw an explosive at him,” says player two.

And player three says, “I run up and hit him.”

In some games, like one in which you have a table with miniatures and maps, it may be readily apparent that only the shooter will have a chance of actually hitting when you compare the size of the lair to where you think that everyone is. Other games, they leave it in the abstract, or the player confusion zone.

The matter of range is one of those things that some games attempt to add a bit of seriousness to, but lack the engine to really run it. Even in some of the crunchier table-top miniatures games, range is an abstraction. In the grim dark future, rocket propelled, explosive rounds can only go 24 meters, give or take. High arcing mortar fire in a steam fantasy setting might only make it 42 yards, and that's with an advantageous over-shoot. Abstractions are necessary at times.

So, when it comes to more story driven rpg's of a non-indie nature, we dutifully write down the range of weapons that may as well be “whatever.” In Vampire, the sniper rifle and the shotgun are never going to be checked for range to see if they can hit that ghoul on the next building.

You may be asking why this idea even matters. Is it important to have some range guidelines in place?

Game mastering, on a certain level, requires an amount of social engineering. Some players are going to be more active than others, being comfortable with taking the lead in certain situations. Other players may feel overlooked in many circumstances with these players. The stand-offish player that wanted to be the lone sniper might feel upset if they are unable to shine in the manner that they chose by picking off enemies from insanely far away. Remember, a happy party tends to keep playing through campaign after campaign, or might be willing to try something different.

Is there a solution?

I have the Dresden Files RPG, which runs on the Fate System. On a whim, I picked up the Fate Accelerated mini-rule book to have so that players could look up some rules without needing the big book. The range rules in that system are quite interesting.

The GM establishes zones. Players can directly interact with something in the same zone. A player can move one zone and act. Two zones away is too far to interact without some for of ranged ability. An abstraction that is easy to envision as well as implement.

Going back to the original example, the group enters the lair of the villain. The overlord and his minions are on the dais. The chapel floor lies between the group and the dais. The players are in the nave. This means that the archer gets to shoot at the overlord. The alchemist runs forward and throws a vial of explosive acid onto the dais. The berserker charges forward, readying his axe for when he'll be able to attack.

Besides, you can always reroll if it doesn't work.