Nerdy Kombat

[MasterPain]

I've come up with an idea upon having a conversation about D&D with one of our new guys.

We had a thing we call quick draw sparring. 2 people stand toe to toe, hands by their sides on the mat, suited up with as much protective equipment as possible. A third person standing off to the side would count to 3. Not to 4, not to 5, 6 is right out, neither count thou to 2, unless proceeding thereby to 3. Upon reaching 3, the two combatants will fight for roughly 20 seconds, with the goal of either establishing control and a dominant position, or expelling their opponent, and thereby enabling escape.

Here's my tweak to this system. At the start, have both combatants roll dice, without the other person seeing, to see what count they start fighting on. That way one person will be taken unaware, thus increasing the realism. Old RPG nerds will recognize this concept as rolling for initiative.

A second die roll could be added, with the higher roll having a friend on the side. Roll a 20 and your friend is armed.

Yes I have a D20, and yes, I quoted from the Book of Armaments.

A note on quick-draw sparring- be careful and suit up well. This game is exciting and can get nasty.

[Wolfman08]

Old RPG nerds will recognize this concept as rolling for initiative.

First of all, I resent the 'old RPG nerds' comment, since I am not old, and am generally resistant being called a nerd. Regardless, that's more like coming up with a way to create surprise then initiative.

A second die roll could be added, with the higher roll having a friend on the side. Roll a 20 and your friend is armed.

That sounds like a quick way to completely screw the other person. Although I guess that, yah, that would increase the realism.

[Groinstrike]

I've come up with an idea upon having a conversation about D&D with one of our new guys.

We had a thing we call quick draw sparring. 2 people stand toe to toe, hands by their sides on the mat, suited up with as much protective equipment as possible. A third person standing off to the side would count to 3. Not to 4, not to 5, 6 is right out, neither count thou to 2, unless proceeding thereby to 3. Upon reaching 3, the two combatants will fight for roughly 20 seconds, with the goal of either establishing control and a dominant position, or expelling their opponent, and thereby enabling escape.

Here's my tweak to this system. At the start, have both combatants roll dice, without the other person seeing, to see what count they start fighting on. That way one person will be taken unaware, thus increasing the realism. Old RPG nerds will recognize this concept as rolling for initiative.

A second die roll could be added, with the higher roll having a friend on the side. Roll a 20 and your friend is armed.

Yes I have a D20, and yes, I quoted from the Book of Armaments.

A note on quick-draw sparring- be careful and suit up well. This game is exciting and can get nasty.

And after the D20 hath been rolled, we shall feast upon the doves, and the geese, and the fruit bats, and the orangutans, and the breakfast cereals!!!!

[Groinstrike]

I would like to sincerly apologize for the level of Monty Python contained in this thread.

[Wastelander]

I like the idea (although the only D&D I ever liked has been Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale video games) but I am a bit lost on something--they count to three after having rolled (I'm assuming a D6) to find out when they go, but that means that they each have a 50% chance of not going at all. Do you relabel the die?

Also, incorrectly quoted Monty Python is incorrectly quoted

[MasterPain]

I'll address some issues here.

First we used to do this where both people go on 3. With the dice system, you would go upon hearing your number.

Second, I am about to turn 29, which is not old, but aging. Old is still better than the alternative and I take pride in my nerd status.

Third, rolling for initiative determines the order of attack, which is what we're doing here.

Lastly, I'm not intelligent enough to quote correctly. I sure hope there is intelligent life somewhere out in space cause there's buggerall down here on earth.

[Wastelander]

I'll address some issues here.

First we used to do this where both people go on 3. With the dice system, you would go upon hearing your number.

Second, I am about to turn 29, which is not old, but aging. Old is still better than the alternative and I take pride in my nerd status.

Third, rolling for initiative determines the order of attack, which is what we're doing here.

Lastly, I'm not intelligent enough to quote correctly. I sure hope there is intelligent life somewhere out in space cause there's buggerall down here on earth.

I understand the concept of using the dice, but there are more than 3 numbers on a die--what happens if someone rolls a 4, 5 or 6 when you're only counting to 3?

As for the quotes, I was just poking fun because a few years ago I had actually memorized and acted out the entire Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie with my friends

[MasterPain]

I'll address some issues here.

First we used to do this where both people go on 3. With the dice system, you would go upon hearing your number.

Second, I am about to turn 29, which is not old, but aging. Old is still better than the alternative and I take pride in my nerd status.

Third, rolling for initiative determines the order of attack, which is what we're doing here.

Lastly, I'm not intelligent enough to quote correctly. I sure hope there is intelligent life somewhere out in space cause there's buggerall down here on earth.

I understand the concept of using the dice, but there are more than 3 numbers on a die--what happens if someone rolls a 4, 5 or 6 when you're only counting to 3?

As for the quotes, I was just poking fun because a few years ago I had actually memorized and acted out the entire Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie with my friends

You count to 6 if using a D6. The old way was to go on three. the speed of the count would be changed, sometimes with a 2 and a half thrown in to throw you off. the idea of the dice is to give someone an unfair advantage.

[Wolfman08]

I understand the concept of using the dice, but there are more than 3 numbers on a die--what happens if someone rolls a 4, 5 or 6 when you're only counting to 3?

This might diverge somewhat from what Master Pain is saying in this thread, but it seems like something he might be saying is that with the first method (where someone on the outside counts to three, and both people go) is that the major thing being trained is your ability to as quickly as possible land the first shot. I'm sure that if someone decided to sit down and tape a hundred such matches over the course of a few weeks, they would find that the person in the superior position at the end of the twenty seconds is the one who landed the first strike. However, with the second method (where you go on your number, and you know what your number is, but your opponent doesn't) it is your ability to react to an unknown strike that is mainly being developed. You don't know if you're going to be on the attacking or receiving end of an attack, which forces you to adapt very quickly to number of different possible situations. Again, I'm sure that if someone recorded a hundred or so such matches, the person in the dominate position after twenty seconds is most often going to be the person who initiated the conflict.

Now, debates about whether or not this is initiative in the DnD sense or something else are for another time.

[MasterPain]

I understand the concept of using the dice, but there are more than 3 numbers on a die--what happens if someone rolls a 4, 5 or 6 when you're only counting to 3?

This might diverge somewhat from what Master Pain is saying in this thread, but it seems like something he might be saying is that with the first method (where someone on the outside counts to three, and both people go) is that the major thing being trained is your ability to as quickly as possible land the first shot. I'm sure that if someone decided to sit down and tape a hundred such matches over the course of a few weeks, they would find that the person in the superior position at the end of the twenty seconds is the one who landed the first strike. However, with the second method (where you go on your number, and you know what your number is, but your opponent doesn't) it is your ability to react to an unknown strike that is mainly being developed. You don't know if you're going to be on the attacking or receiving end of an attack, which forces you to adapt very quickly to number of different possible situations. Again, I'm sure that if someone recorded a hundred or so such matches, the person in the dominate position after twenty seconds is most often going to be the person who initiated the conflict.

Now, debates about whether or not this is initiative in the DnD sense or something else are for another time.

That was a perfect articulation of what I was going for. I thank you for that.