Questions tagged [combat]

For questions involving the specifics of combat.

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How should I organize the type advantages and disadvantages for my monster-catching RPG? [migrated]

I’m making a Pokémon-like game called Beasts of Iatu. The story is pretty cool but it’s not important to this question so here’s a basic overview. The protagonist, Gisu/Mari/Ell is training to become ...
Jobah619's user avatar
  • 127
3 votes
2 answers
155 views

How much of a strength boost is my magic drug giving someone if it makes them liable to seriously injure themselves with their own attacks?

In my setting there are various types of magical potions that provide a variety of effects. One of these is a highly potent but dangerous performance enhancer most commonly known by the name of "...
Cyrus Drake's user avatar
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52 votes
5 answers
9k views

How horny can humans get before it's too horny

Trying to create horns which are both ornamental and defensive, I've read somewhere that beards evolved in humans because we punch each other so much that even just a minuscule amount of hair cushion ...
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0 votes
0 answers
38 views

How do I make skeletons strong without using magic? [duplicate]

Skellies are just parasites that take over the bones of the deceased and use them like a mecha/gundam. A stick-insect but in the shape of a human, and made out of bone. the skeleton of the heaviest, ...
Alve's user avatar
  • 17
-2 votes
2 answers
147 views

What's a good way to give a character a realistic edge in a post-apocalypse setting? [closed]

What's a realistic way to give a protagonist character a fighting edge against enemies with great numerical superiority, without making them superheroes? What's something believable?
Yun Kirk Ackerman's user avatar
-4 votes
3 answers
186 views

What combat gear would a supersoldier wear? [closed]

Bill is a genetic freak who is far stronger and more durable than any person should be. Bill absolutely dominated the sports scene in highschool and college, and has become somewhat of a celebrity. ...
M S's user avatar
  • 1,784
-1 votes
1 answer
157 views

How can I translate fencing into a fast paced, high mobility and directional martial art, normally attributed to more aggressive and rogue chars? [closed]

So my main character in my story, is of a more aristocratic type house. Not necessarily in attitude, but in theme. So victorian style long coats and vests etc, while also being rogue/thief information ...
Mythror's user avatar
  • 69
17 votes
13 answers
4k views

How could a superhuman jump-attack be less telegraphed?

There's something of a trope in fiction, with one of the most famous examples being the Final Fantasy Dragoon, of a character jumping superhumanly high into the air and then coming down on their ...
Cyrus Drake's user avatar
  • 7,927
13 votes
18 answers
5k views

Modern era with magic that will stop gunpowder from igniting, what weapons are used instead?

One of the annoying problems with most urban fantasy series I've read is that they seem to mostly try to avoid discussing the fact that most of their fearsome magical foes could be felled with a ...
dsollen's user avatar
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1 vote
8 answers
442 views

How can medieval people defend their societies from Vanilla Puddings?

Puddings are a common strain of monsters that run amok on my fantasy world of Algernon. These slug-like creatures are about the size of a human head. Each species of pudding has a vibrant colour and ...
Jobah_HigherMind's user avatar
-2 votes
2 answers
132 views

Would foot weapons be viable in a street fight? [closed]

There are several weapons that are used to enhance a person's punches. These include brass knuckles, caestus, boxing tape, etc. These weapons are often used in disorganized conflict like bar brawls ...
Rhymehouse's user avatar
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6 votes
6 answers
700 views

How does having super strength/speed but similar mass to a regular person change close combat fighting?

How does having super strength/speed but similar mass to a regular person change close combat fighting? This world is a cultivation world. That's a world where people can cultivate abilities by using ...
Woli's user avatar
  • 327
2 votes
2 answers
214 views

How can medieval people defend their settlements against Licorice Puddings?

I’m back with a question about the monsters of Algennon, a fantasy setting full of magic and danger. This question is about a member of the Pudding family (sluglike creatures that vary greatly in ...
Jobah_HigherMind's user avatar
-2 votes
2 answers
113 views

How Well Would Humans Fare In A Romero-Styled Zombie Apocalypse? [closed]

The Story takes place in the modern world, and starting from one day anyone who recently died with their brain intact will revive as a zombie to feed on living flesh. In this question we will not ...
Hi0401's user avatar
  • 445
1 vote
5 answers
282 views

How can medieval people defend their settlements from Peasoupers (giant acid slugs)?

Yet another question about the world of Algennon and its many monsters, this one concerning Peasoupers. Basically, they are bright green slime-covered slugs the size of a human head. They have two ...
Jobah_HigherMind's user avatar
11 votes
5 answers
829 views

What would be the best technique to drink potions quickly in combat?

For the sake of scope, we'll assume the warrior already have the potion in their hand. Also for the sake of scope, we'll assume there's no magic to help a person drink faster. It all relies on ...
Mindwin Remember Monica's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
223 views

Limb and body replacement is common. How many casualities before these small squads retreat? [closed]

I'm running a Cyberpunk Red TTRPG. In the setting: Combat is mainly ranged with modern/near-future small arms. Cybernetic limbs and bodies which are equal (in some cases superior) to organic ...
HFOrangefish's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
88 views

How would you show battles that take place in temperatures of between -120 to -150 Degrees Celsius? [closed]

So basically what I'm talking about here are my Enslaver Aliens. This brings this back to my previous post. Such Aliens, when they appear, have an area wide effect. Whilst their main ability is to ...
ColonizeroftheSun's user avatar
8 votes
7 answers
3k views

What kind of daily combat or exercises should see regular soldiers burn 6,000 to 7,000 calories a day?

Basically I'm trying to create a combat situation and training where recruits and people on the front line are expected to burn 6,000 to 7,000 calories a day. Now despite how messed up the war is ...
ColonizeroftheSun's user avatar
12 votes
7 answers
2k views

What are some ways combat will occur in 0 gravity

While reading Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, I realized that most combat techniques don't work as well in space. Old fashioned hand to hand combat and swordplay don't work since there's no footing and ...
Qazi Talha's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
166 views

Alien war machines to non-lethally neutralize and disarm human combatants

In Designing a railgun to disable man-portable firearms, I asked about the specifics of the way that I had imagined for alien war-bots to disarm humans... but I was convinced by the accepted answer ...
Monty Wild's user avatar
  • 52.7k
8 votes
10 answers
3k views

Could my Anti-Regeneration spear technology work against this creature?

My story (set in the far future) has a bear-sized monster with a tough shell. The human settlers fighting it realize their ballistic firearms are not effective in killing it; though they may pierce ...
Mark Price's user avatar
  • 2,254
7 votes
3 answers
447 views

Advanced Soldiers using Echolocation/Sonar?

My story takes place on a dark, dusty planet full of canyons and tunnels. The atmosphere is compositionally similar to Earth’s, but it is too dark and cloudy for humans to see properly. The humans ...
Mark Price's user avatar
  • 2,254
25 votes
17 answers
9k views

How could people in the medieval times defeat an armored vehicle?

In my setting there is a mad artificer making armored cars for the army. The cars have wooden frames with 10 mm of steel on every side, wooden wheels with metal plates covering them, and are propelled ...
TheEmperorProtects's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
2k views

How can I make this sword useful?

The sword I'm talking about is about 7 human heads tall. In the lore the sword is magical or at least thought to be magical. It is swung around by a creature capable of going invisible, which gives ...
Drien RPG's user avatar
  • 382
6 votes
7 answers
1k views

How would modern naval warfare be altered by a complete lack of fossil fuels?

Long story short, a bunch of people terraformed a planet and then were immediately technologically and societally forced back to the Stone Age thanks to interference/extermination/general-not-goodness ...
KEY_ABRADE's user avatar
  • 11.3k
1 vote
3 answers
192 views

What weapons and equipment would be best for a Dullahan in this setting?

Note: Other than a detachable head, there isn't much in common with the standard Irish myth, and this makes use of a magic system. I'm also fine with a little hand waving if I must, I would just ...
Atriol's user avatar
  • 353
8 votes
8 answers
425 views

What melee weapons to use for small fireteams fighting many small enemies?

The fluff: As part of the world I'm building there is modern technology of firearms. However there is a problem: there are some categories of creatures (from some of my previous questions) that just ...
Demigan's user avatar
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3 votes
6 answers
2k views

How capable would this android be against a modern military?

So I was thinking about a concept where this scientist/engineer in a post-apocalyptic America/an America-esque country(the rest of the world is pretty much normal) makes this android(a female if you ...
Conan Highwoods's user avatar
11 votes
7 answers
3k views

What types of enemies would a two-handed sledge hammer be useful against in a medieval fantasy setting?

I'm trying to build up a set of weapons for an RPG system and I'm trying to make a semi-realistic system that tries to strike what I think is a good balance between complex enough for a semi-realistic ...
Arvex's user avatar
  • 3,034
7 votes
10 answers
3k views

How much of a tactical advantage does a single conspicuously dressed soldier give?

Why have one soldier dressed differently from the rest, ideally in a primary colour? Try looking at the picture bellow. This is the famous "black dot on a white page". As you can see, it is ...
LiveInAmbeR's user avatar
  • 10.5k
8 votes
4 answers
970 views

Would silverbloods actually make for better soldiers?

Silverbloods are those whose blood gleam like polished silver when alive and are a dull grey when dead, an image of them bleeding being much like the spilling of mercury. They have the ability to ...
Lemming's user avatar
  • 6,097
0 votes
4 answers
237 views

What weapon would this aircraft use against drones? [closed]

I need a weapon pod for anti-drone use to be mounted on a plane. The plane's performance is (roughly) equal to the Japanese Ki-10 biplane, but without all the extra combat bits attached (guns, ammo, ...
KombatAce's user avatar
  • 472
2 votes
1 answer
140 views

Specific Seashells for Self-defense

Mermaids in my setting have the power to manipulate shells. In more specific terms, they can alter a shell's shape as if they are made of putty, as well as fuse them seamlessly. This enables them to ...
Alendyias's user avatar
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32 votes
17 answers
6k views

Pragmatically, what is the ideal shape for enchanted jewelry to take?

Enchanted jewelry is a major mainstay of basically any genre of fiction involving magic. It comes in many forms, but the concept is the same: wear it, and it gives you certain powers or protects you ...
Cyrus Drake's user avatar
  • 7,927
44 votes
26 answers
12k views

How do I stop annoyed wizards from killing people all the time?

How do I stop annoyed wizards from killing people all the time? In my fantasy world, wizards are quite powerful, and they can kill anyone they know the location of with just a thought. The usual ...
Firedestroyer's user avatar
5 votes
8 answers
1k views

Can compressed air be used as a weapon?

Obviously guns or similar weapons can use air to propel projectiles, but I'm thinking more about close combat, or even a medieval setting, or generally less technologically advanced setting. If ...
Mattna's user avatar
  • 562
4 votes
1 answer
290 views

Ups and Downs of being a 7ft+ (2.13 m) female [closed]

I’ve read about people of certain heights having health and lifestly issues: I've read some have back problems; one guy died from a foot infection e couldn’t feel; additionally, being taller comes ...
Brown's user avatar
  • 121
21 votes
25 answers
5k views

How hard magic could make bows, swords and other early/mid- medieval weapons relevant alongside fairly advanced gunpowder weapons?

Introduction In a quite a lot of games swords, bows and so forth exist on a regular basis alongside guns, and often are as powerful, if not more so, than firearms. In a realistic, non-magical setting, ...
acki02's user avatar
  • 387
9 votes
16 answers
6k views

Why Would Naturally Evolved Monsters Have Weak Points?

This is akin to Why do my monster minions all have obvious weak points that instantly kill them?, but with one important difference: these monsters developed more or less naturally, they're animals ...
Alendyias's user avatar
  • 13.4k
34 votes
19 answers
9k views

Why do my monster minions all have obvious weak points that instantly kill them?

A malevolent force is lurking the shadows creating monsters to be its army and take over the world. WHY in the world does it put a highlighted weak point on all of them? It makes sense from a writers' ...
LiveInAmbeR's user avatar
  • 10.5k
16 votes
10 answers
5k views

Taking the bayonet to its logical conclusion. Or, the pike-rifle

Due to some copious amount of handwavium, projectile weapons are not as effective as their melee counterparts. They are still very useful, but not to the point of replacing close combat. Historically, ...
Rhomaioi's user avatar
  • 769
22 votes
12 answers
5k views

Why do the enemies have finite aggro ranges?

Edit: (September 18 2021) So far there are are many good answers that address why a group of guard monsters or unaffiliated group of humans might have a finite aggro range. However these answers are ...
Daron's user avatar
  • 65.5k
5 votes
3 answers
176 views

secret underground tunnel underneath the city that the emperor doesn't know about- is it possible?

in the draft of my story, there is a city which is the capital of an empire. the empire has conquered many territories, but underneath the city, there is underground tunnels. the enemies infiltrate ...
user90189's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
121 views

How can I improve my pressure based magic system?

My fantasy world Treyidal tentatively has a pressure based magic system. This started as an outgrowth of the inability of my merfolk to do a whole lot, and this is my hopeful solution to construction, ...
WasatchWind's user avatar
  • 3,157
3 votes
10 answers
362 views

Why do the nations in my world use tactical nuclear weapons but not strategic ones while still having both?

Exactly what it says on the tin: why do the nuclear bomb-having nations in my world use tactical nuclear weapons but not strategic ones while still having both? They're not launching ICBMs at one ...
KEY_ABRADE's user avatar
  • 11.3k
2 votes
4 answers
502 views

Weapons that are highly impractical for infantry use IRL but more practical if wielded by something stronger or larger than a human

TL;DR: what normally crew-served or heavy weapons could be used as infantry weapons by something larger and/or stronger than a human? Let's take the M2 Browning, or, rather the .50 Browning round it ...
KEY_ABRADE's user avatar
  • 11.3k
7 votes
4 answers
2k views

How effective would a scythe be in a one-on-one, sword-versus-scythe fight?

In one-on-one combat, with one combatant using a sword, the other the aforementioned false Death, how effective would a scythe be in combat? What tactics could be utilized with it, and what tactics ...
Bill's user avatar
  • 99
4 votes
1 answer
134 views

Cryogenic Hydrogen Powered Fighter Jets Design [closed]

A possible future power source for passenger airline aircraft is liquid hydrogen, and assuming we solve the safety and infrastructure issues, it's doable and much less sci-fi, as for example, a Martin ...
itisyeetimetoday's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
166 views

can I have a world where woman vs men in combat sports if they have superpowers?" [closed]

I don't know why but people still have a push back against the women fighting men in fiction thing. Because it's not realistic some say. Because men are biologically stronger than women. Despite ...
BackBack33's user avatar

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