I’m a big fan of Batman Arkham XYZ. I wonder, is there a way to capture the feel of combat in that game?

I’m a big fan of Batman Arkham XYZ. I wonder, is there a way to capture the feel of combat in that game?

I’m a big fan of Batman Arkham XYZ. I wonder, is there a way to capture the feel of combat in that game?

8 thoughts on “I’m a big fan of Batman Arkham XYZ. I wonder, is there a way to capture the feel of combat in that game?”

  1. You stand defiant, cape bellowing in the cold wind, as several clown masked goons surround you, jeering and cracking their knuckles.

    What do you do?

    –“I punch the nearest guy in the gut!” This is a Hack and Slash, let’s say with a roll of 8, meaning the goon gets a punch in of his own.

    Another goon swings for you with a metal pipe, roll to Defy Danger!

    –“I’ll roll Dex to swiftly move under his swing and come up close to him.” Roll of 10, so it happens as planned, I’ll even throw in that he knocks the first goon off his feet, because it works logically and with the kind of pulp fiction we’re going for.

    .

    I could be wrong but I think thats like the Arkham games, right?

    You could have a custom move like, erm…

    When you attack two enemies at once in melee, roll+Str.

    ✴On a 10+, you spread your damage between both enemies.

    ✴On a 7–9, you spread your damage between both enemies and one enemy makes an attack against you.

  2. I am the Night.

    When you say “I am the Night” or “I’m Batman” completely seriously, hold 1. At any time within the night you may:

    ✴Redirect an attack from yourself to an enemy

    ✴Halve the attack’s effect or damage

    ✴Disappear while Commissioner Gordon is talking

    ✴Have a flashback where you learnt a skill useful right now

    ✴Deal damage to an attacker equal to your level

    Okay I’m done.

  3. It would take some reconfiguring of the Hack and Slash move, but DW and Arkham share something in common – the concept of momentum. The fights in those games feel like they flow (a bit like a Zack Snyder fight scene) from high-speed to slow-mo and back and forth. So it’s like, you hit the thug but there’s another one coming and can you keep up your combat momentum or do you miss a block and get a pipe to the head?

  4. Whenever you inspire fear by being devious, gain +1 Tactic. At any time you can execute your strategy:  Get +1 forward (cost 1), Deal your damage to an enemy (cost 2), create a distraction or obstacle that the enemy must deal with before doing anything else (cost 3), the GM will help you reveal a great plan that puts you in a clear advantage (cost 4)

    Greatly inspired by the Battlemaster Gambit move in Grim World.

  8. Ah.

    I think the RAW rules would work just fine, especially with some genre-appropriate basic and advanced moves. But I was pondering potentially trying something a bit different, just for the sake of being different.

    In THE REGIMENT they use an entirely different system for combat. Has anybody tried it out? Does it play as wonky as it reads?

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