SPEEDING UP COMBAT IN OGRE GATE

Sometimes flow and momentum in a game is important and you don't want to get bogged down managing lots of NPC combatants. This is something I find is particularly the case when I have groups of PCs with many allies or disciples. This is a quick and dirty method for managing that. I sometimes call it the One-Two-Three approach. I talk about it on the podcast HERE. 

Here is how it works. For every major NPC involved in combat that isn't directly fighting a PC (so big heroes and villains clashing on the periphery of the player's field of vision) I assign a d10 dice pool rank equal to their Qi level. This sort of assumes each of the NPCs pair up to duel one another, but you can mix and match, or roll multiple times against one target when they are surrounded. You can also give them a +1d10 to +2d10 Bonus for having exceptional techniques or advantages. 

Over the course of three rounds I have the characters roll against each other. Whoever gets the best two out of three wins, incapacitating the target. If they win three out of three, it is assumed the can kill the target. 

Here is how it might work with two 'off-screen' NPCs clashing: 

Lady Plum Blossom: 6d10
Laughing Fox: 4d10

I assigned Lady Plum Blossom 6d10 because she is Qi rank 6, and I assigned Laughing Fox 4d10 because he is Qi rank 4. 

Each round I have them roll against each other. Here are the results:

Round One: Lady Plum Blossom 10, Laughing Fox 6
Round Two: Lady Plum Blossom 9, Laughing Fox 10
Round Three: Lady Plum Blossom 9, Laughing Fox 8

This means Lady Plum Blossom won 2 out of 3 rounds and is therefore victorious, having incapacitated Laughing Fox. Had she won 3 out of 3, she could have killed him

Here is an example of what it might look like with multiple foes: 

Opponents	Rating	Outcomes
Lady Plum Blossom	6d10	W	X	W
Laughing Fox	4d10	X	W	X
Jagged Blade	5d10	X	X	X
Iron God Meng	7d10	W	W	W
Jade-Faced Lion	3d10	X	W	X
Smiling Cub	3d10	W	X	W
Fourth Iron King	6d10	X	X	X
Red Mantis	5d10	W	W	W

It is also possible to mix things up or have characters team up on one another. Assume that when a character has lost two rounds they are on the brink of death but still alive.

If you really want to keep things simple, don't worry about doing it over three rounds and just make one roll for each character.