Proposed Cover for Melee, 2nd Edition

A 2nd edition of Melee, done properly, could have been a real step forward for the system. In some respects it would have been based on the Advanced Melee rules, but following to some degree the minimalist approach taken by Dragons of Underearth, and included a few (non-magical) aspects of In the Labyrinth. The key features I would have added to the rules would be the following:

(1) As mentioned in my earlier post on a different approach to publishing TFT (HERE), having IQ introduced as a statistic along with all the combat related talents (non-combat talents would be part of ITL) would have been the best approach. While ITL can cover the stats in general in more detail, having the basic concept in place would make the system work that much better, and allow one to omit Wizard altogether if a historical or modern non-magical role playing environment is desired.

(2) Definitely would add the proposed Defensive Quickness talents from Interplay No. 8.

(3) Combat scenarios, based on those found in Dragons of Underearth, along with some based on historical ancient and medieval battles, would be presented.

(4) A small, truncated bestiary of real world (and perhaps a few prehistoric) creatures would be included, to allow for the kinds of fights seen in the Roman Collusiums, or any sort of "encounter with nature" from pre-history to the Renaissance. No fantasy creatures (or races) would be included - see Wizard and the Bestiary guide for that.

(5) Revised and accurized weapons lists, to include early firearms, would be a feature. Armor would be similarly modified, and probably expanded in its effectiveness. For example, I would have mail stop at least 4, and likely 5 hits per attack. This still understates its effectiveness, but the game still needs to be playable so some exaggeration of combat effectivity for the weapons is quite all right. I would also modify armor to have a "ST" rating and a basic DX and MA penalty for each armor type. The ST rating is based on that found in the benefits of very high ST as described in ITL, but inverted so that having too low a ST translates into penalties to DX and MA, rather than assuming that a high ST reduces the "base" penalty for a given type of armor.

(6) Addition of a "penetration" stat to reflect that some weapons can overcome armor better than others, though not necessarily be better at wounding a figure. By way of extreme, modern example there have been instances of people surviving multiple hits from 5.56mm rounds fired from M-16s and similar rifles. Were one to model the damage based solely on armor penetration ability, one would greatly exaggerate the damage caused, and create a situation where even a couple hits would be almost universally fatal, which is at odds with real accounts of people surviving in excess of a dozen hits. I would argue that a 5.56 SS-109 semi-armor piercing round should probably only do 1d-2 damage per hit, but can ignore or penetrate (in a fashion identical to giant spider bites and giant scorpion stings as described in ITL) a significant amount of armor (~5-6 hits, at least).

(7) Terrain effects on movement and melee would also be covered.

(8) The map would be larger, probably like the one for Dragons of Underearth. Perhaps even two sided, one being an arena, and the other more wide open to simply cover a larger space that can be customized with terrain features.

(9) Some sort of fast cavalry rules, based on those found in Advanced Melee and Space Gamer No. 18 would be incorporated.

So the idea is for a robust, standalone game that can be played by itself for many hours of enjoyment or combined readily with ITL for role-playing in any historical, pre-modern epoch, and with Wizard 2nd Edition for any fantasy type world. I would further envision a follow on supplement to cover modern and future weapons and technology, to make a "GURPS before it was GURPS" type game with a fraction of the rules overhead of the published GURPS.

For the cover art I chose Loubet's arena combat art that was used for the cover of GURPS Man to Man, reasoning that had Metagaming not folded this art may well have graced the cover of a 2nd Edition Melee or other TFT product. Indeed, Denis Loubet had provided the cover art for both Lords of Underearth and Dragons of Underearth, so this is not at all an unlikely outcome. Here are the final front and back covers, as might have been realized in a late 1983/early 1984 Metagaming product: