What do you all think about the more defensive meta in 6e? Do any of you enforce a +4 limiter to the skill dice you can add? And, what happy medium could be found between grunt group attacks and defensive actions?
I do think that SR6s combat meta is a bit too much on the defensive side as well. Actually so much that it often makes more sense for Athletik-heavy Streetsams to save up Minor Actions for Dodging instead of offensive options. This is especially true if is in a situations where a second attack isnīt possible. Say you have Wired Reflexes 2, but use one of the additional Minor actions for Moving. With the second attack being out of option, keeping the remaining 3 for defensive Actions is a very strong option if you have sufficient Athletics/Close Combat skills. Even if the GM chooses to not use Grunt attacks, itīs unlikely that more than 3 Dodges/Blocks will be needed. Keep in mind that in 6th Edition, you can choose to use Dodging/Blocking
after the attack roll, so you can also safe up Defensive if itīs likely that the Attack fails anyways (which is why I chose to tie this "privilige" to the AR/DR comparison as a houserule, see below).
IMO, the "grunt-group mega-block" isnīt even the big stink here. As Shinobi points out, itīs somewhat fitting if a Close Combat specialist keeps a group of gangers at bay with skillfull blocking. Using Grunt rules isnīt probably the mechanically "smart" choice, but itīs one that results in a more cinematic experience. And the GMīs job is not to be the big meanie who tries to take out PC as quickly as possible. If the players get to confident, a GM can chose to switch to individual attacks to chew down the defensive actions of the players and keep up pressure.
But thatīs where the problems start: Even if you split the attacks, every character can use the most powerfull of the defensive options for 2-5 (or 6?) times per round. This especially turns Athletics into a combat superskill, since itīs usable against ranged and melee combat. This also means that Athletic Dodging is always the supreme option if Athletics is higher than the Close Combat skill. Once the players get the hang of it, 6th Edition Combat can turn into a happy dodge dance pretty quick.
IMO, this by no means a game-breaking problem (of which the RAW has enough...), but it leaves some room for improvements and tactical depth. These are my current houserules:
- Each type of Defensive Action may only be used once per Combat turn.
- If the Attackerīs AR is higher than the defenders DR, the defender has declare the use of Defensive Actions before the attack roll
- Most notably: Every character can safe up to 2 unused Minor actions after the end of a combat round and transfer them to the next. Once itīs your turn again, you may add these remaining Minor actions to your current Minor actions
The first 2 rules makes defensive Actions a little bit more of tactical gamble, at least for Characters with Intiative enhancements: Do I want to use my "better" Athletic Dodge to avoid this melee attack or do I block it and save the Dodge for the next ranged attack? Do I risk to "waste" a precious Defensive options against a possibly weak melee roll with a high AR? This also means that
Hit the Dirt is still a valid "last effort" option even for athletic characters.
But itīs the last point that has proven to be a huge improvement at my tables: First, it makes all ratings of Initiative Enhancements worthwhile in all situations, even if they donīt grant you a second Attack straight away. Second, the option to safe up Minor Actions for an additional Major Actions in the following turn makes Blocking/Dodging an even tougher decision. This also means that keeping up the pressure becomes more important, since even unaugmented goons can go for a second attack every other turn if you donīt force them to waste actions on movement and defenses.
