So I've been playing some RPGs with just my wife recently.  Combat is probably her least favorite part of the game.

Or there are just those fights that happen, but are so clearly one sided that the round-to-round fight system is just a formality and boring as hell.

So, what systems do you guys use to speed thru these fights?   

One that I found is from a very rules light game called Freeform Universal. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/89534.  It's a free RPG based on almost no numbers at all.  It uses a 1D6 table:

6.  You succeed and get an extra benefit too.
5.  You succeed. 
4.  You succeed, but there was a cost
3.  You fail, but something went right too.
2.  You fail.
1.  You fail, and there was an extra cost.

The basic way to make the roll is to count up the things you have in your favor, subtract what your opponent has in their favor, and roll that many D6 dice.  If you have more advantages, pick the best D6 of the bunch.  If your opponent has more, you pick the worst. 

Example.  I'm leading an army into battle.  I have seduced the enemy general's wife, and she told me his battle plan.  Also, we have better troops.  However, the enemy general is more experienced.  I have two advantages, the enemy has one, nullifying one of mine.  I still have another advantage, so I roll 2D6.  I get a 3 and a 2.  I pick the 3, meaning we lose the battle, but something good goes our way.  The GM determined this.  In this case we killed that general. 

One dice roll.  An entire day's battle condensed to just a single dice roll.

When the party's enemies are vastly overmatched I sometimes use this "system:"  "You vastly outmatch these guys.  Do you want to play through the battle?  Okay, they're all dead and you take 1d6 damage each.  What now?"  If the fight's one sided the other way we always play it out.

Savage Worlds has a "Quick Encounters" option built in

Quote from: Savage Worlds, page 134
Sometimes the Game Master may want to quickly sum up an encounter rather than track every action round by round. "Quick Encounters" resolve these kinds of situations with good collaborative storytelling, tension, and risk.

When to Use These Rules: Use Quick Encounters when you're pressed for time, the group isn't as interested in tactical fights, or they do something the GM isn't prepared for, like infiltrating a large complex she hasn't detailed.

The Basics: Characters make a skill roll based on the type of encounter and their goal and interpret the results narratively with the Game Master.

Otherwise GM fiat comes in to play. There is no need to roll when the outcome is certain.

Quote from: Wisithir on April 08, 2022, 08:58:26 PM
Savage Worlds has a "Quick Encounters" option built in.

Otherwise GM fiat comes in to play. There is no need to roll when the outcome is certain.

GM fiat has always been an option.  I just thought that Freeform Universal repurposed as a speed run system makes for a much more interesting game. 

Truth be told any game that includes GM described results sound intriguing.  It might be because I'm always the GM, so getting more things to do is more fun for me. 

In fact there are some crunchier games that incorporate GM interpreted results.  The problem is that my current games are played semi-solo.  I'm using solo play tools to create my scenarios, and teaming up with my wife as a pair of players vs the random tables.  In this setup I want to stay away from GM fiat as much as possible. 

I'll admit that our scenario is get real weird real fast.  Sometimes it's clever as hell, other times it's just weird with no payoff. 

FFG Star Wars: Edge of the Empire had one-roll (of dice pool, not a single die) resolution for battles that the PCs were going to win, but there might be some cost (some Wounds or Strain, possible a Critical Injury or loss of some gear). Fights that were a true challenge were not intended to be resolved in such a manner. Strangely. this rule was not reproduced in Age of Rebellion or Force and Destiny (and I'm not sure if it reappeared in a Gensys book or not).

FU is a great system. But it is just an oracle system and it can be as detailed or not as you want. That same one roll battle could have also been broken down into any number of moves based on the questions

I often use a D6 resolution akin to the OP for off-screen battles. Where the outcome seems inevitable and not interesting to play through I may just say "OK, you clear the ruins of Goblins..." in much the same way as I'd narrate "OK, you ride from D'Ashe Hall to Ravensburg..."

This is for D&D type games that have a combat system, it's just not worth using in this case. There are games that don't have a combat system, Hero Quest RPG comes to mind - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeroQuest_(role-playing_game) - these use the same resolution system for combat as for other tasks.

Which RPGs have you been playing? Playing an old school game, or in an old school style, where gold and treasure is rewarded with XP, and not combat, might be a good option. Then combat is something to be avoided, fleeing is encouraged, and if you are forced to fight it's not a formality. It also gives it more significance. Call of Cthulhu, or a similar game would also be like this.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on April 08, 2022, 08:21:33 PM
So I've been playing some RPGs with just my wife recently.  Combat is probably her least favorite part of the game.

Or there are just those fights that happen, but are so clearly one sided that the round-to-round fight system is just a formality and boring as hell.

So, what systems do you guys use to speed thru these fights? 

In general, I don't use Initiative or Combat Rounds in games. Fights are quick. They're done in real-time, much like all great role-play is done. If wives are involved at the table, social and/or emotional combat is preferred over weapon combat.

Honestly I vastly prefer quicker resolution to smaller challenges like this. There are times when I want to get that crunch of a turn-by-turn combat, but I find it extremely tiresome if every encounter with minions turns into an hour and a half long combat (See: 3rd, 4th, 5th, Pathfinder 1&2, etc).