The Rules of Engagement:

Every Player and Game Master alike enjoys the thrill of an exciting combat session. Does the party barely defeat the great monster that blocks their way to final victory? Or does the creature force a hasty retreat from the players, or worse... kill them? Combat should be exciting and straightforward for an RPG, but at the same time, some element of risk and realism must also play a role, else it becomes mundane and ineffective as a motivator, or a way to solve problems. Players should lose engagements on occasion, just to show them, that they are not yet, all powerful. Game Masters, by the same token, must be lenient and fair towards combat and sometimes must learn to show mercy.

The Combat Rules of Aquilar (Rules of Engagement) were designed to provide a fair and easy way to play out combat situations, but were also meant to add a certain element of realism. The factors for determining combat statistics are easy to calculate, yet they take into account the offensive and defensive side of combat. In AD&D, for example, the rules break down combat according to attack modifiers, bonuses and penalties to hit. Certainly you can play defensive by using magical items, spells and your wits. In Aquilar, defensive combat comes from the characters abilities and experience and is combined into a statistic that directly conflicts with the attacking creatures' offensive capabilities; something that isn't necessarily done in other RPG's. My goal was to pit skill against skill and I think we've accomplished that to a fair degree. The system detailed here is meant to be played with Aquilarian characters built using the system, however it was originally designed for AD&D and is easily modified to those combat rules.

Combat System Basics:

Combat Situations: when a combat situation arises, or is about to ensue, there is a general method of the flow of the combat. Combat is measured in Sequences, each sequence being approximately 10 seconds of time. During each sequence a certain action is taken.

Each PC, and NPC's statistics directly relate to a portion of their combat effectiveness, whether it is offensive or defensive.

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