Good post! I haven't even thought about some of these extra inherent benefits of ranged vs melee (like the "create wall" calculation).
Some feedback, though:
1.
In places where there are screenshots, please clearly mark the two opposing sides in different colors or shapes. In Image 3 for example it's not at all intuitive that the token on the right is the enemy of all the other tokens.
2.
Regarding section 3.1,
> I have never heard of a single TTRPG which included proper aggro mechanics; at best, very rarely, you may see an ability which makes it disadvantageous to attack people other than the “tank”. This means your enemies are actually completely free to attack whomever they like (...) they simply cannot do their job (...)
This argument doesn't add up - "disadvantageous to attack" is completely in line with the goals of the "tank", because it reduces the danger to other party members (or hurts the enemy). The clearest example is Attack of Opportunity in D&D and PF, which is a mechanic that punishes enemies that try to move away from you. Enemies in melee with the "tank" will be punished by being dealt extra damage and potentially being stopped from advancing or acting. Another common ability is to Grab/Grapple, forcing enemies to stay near the melee and away from the ranged characters. Abilities like these two tend to have a very small radius of their own (forcing the "tank" to be a melee character).
Also, it's worth mentioning that in real life ranged combat has indeed absolutely dominated modern war. No one fights with swords anymore, when guns are cheap and effective and light and have a long range. Combat is much more about exploiting asymmetry between the forces. TTRPGs very often put groups in an unrealistic situations where two sides are roughly equal in capabilities and unaware of each other until the encounter begins. In these situations, melee attackers often get the benefit of starting very close to their enemies and ranged attackers often have no way of "kiting" (due to fast enemies, lots of walls, hazardous elements, etc).
By 'Zone-Based Combat', do you mean one-dimensional battlespace? I know Miserable Secrets uses that, but I've never played FATE.
Incredibly thoughtful article! Congratulations!
Good post! I haven't even thought about some of these extra inherent benefits of ranged vs melee (like the "create wall" calculation).
Some feedback, though:
1.
In places where there are screenshots, please clearly mark the two opposing sides in different colors or shapes. In Image 3 for example it's not at all intuitive that the token on the right is the enemy of all the other tokens.
2.
Regarding section 3.1,
> I have never heard of a single TTRPG which included proper aggro mechanics; at best, very rarely, you may see an ability which makes it disadvantageous to attack people other than the “tank”. This means your enemies are actually completely free to attack whomever they like (...) they simply cannot do their job (...)
This argument doesn't add up - "disadvantageous to attack" is completely in line with the goals of the "tank", because it reduces the danger to other party members (or hurts the enemy). The clearest example is Attack of Opportunity in D&D and PF, which is a mechanic that punishes enemies that try to move away from you. Enemies in melee with the "tank" will be punished by being dealt extra damage and potentially being stopped from advancing or acting. Another common ability is to Grab/Grapple, forcing enemies to stay near the melee and away from the ranged characters. Abilities like these two tend to have a very small radius of their own (forcing the "tank" to be a melee character).
Also, it's worth mentioning that in real life ranged combat has indeed absolutely dominated modern war. No one fights with swords anymore, when guns are cheap and effective and light and have a long range. Combat is much more about exploiting asymmetry between the forces. TTRPGs very often put groups in an unrealistic situations where two sides are roughly equal in capabilities and unaware of each other until the encounter begins. In these situations, melee attackers often get the benefit of starting very close to their enemies and ranged attackers often have no way of "kiting" (due to fast enemies, lots of walls, hazardous elements, etc).