Examples of a particular combat style?

[SixWingedAsura]

So, I've been working on a tabletop setting for a game that combines aspects of Pokemon, Shin Megami Tensei and a few others to create a sort of summoning based system. However, I'm having some difficulties with the combat system. I'm looking for examples of a fast paced game system that might reflect squishy, weak humans fighting each other with superpowered Spirits, Gods, ect. Something that focuses tactics and teamwork with disasterous and swift consequences if you try running solo. Any good suggestions for this style of combat?

[NichG]

Obviously 'protection' abilities need to be present on all of the summons, or 'target the summoner' will be the go-to tactic. I'd suggest making it so that attacking the summoner rather than the summon should actually be more difficult than attacking the summon directly when these protection abilities are in play. Then you can also have things which are sort of a gamble to summon because their protection abilities are weaker.

So for example, the default power could be:

Guardian: Any attack against the summoner of this creature must be sufficient to hit the creature and deals 75% of its damage to the creature instead of the summoner unless the attack would kill the creature. It also allows the creature to make a free counter-attack against the attacker.

The ramped-up version for very defensive summons could be:

Supreme Guardian: As long as this summon is alive, no harm can come to its summoner from any source.

The weak and risky version could be:

Warder: The summoned creature can attempt to intercept attacks directed at its summoner. If the attack would miss the creature, it misses, otherwise it continues through to the summoner in the normal fashion.

[SixWingedAsura]

Hm, interesting idea. It could sort of fit into the theme I had with how the summons worked.

You can have Ethereal which had the summoner still bound to the summon, but not physically, only being able to utilize their powers with none of the protection.

Secondly you have Summoned, which is where the summon is actually summoned and fights alongside the summoner. This can be done along the vein of a Pokemon battle where you call out attacks, or where it's a 2v2 fight with Summoners and Summons fighting.

Third is the Fused state, which you and your bound spirit, god, ect are fused to one another and gives the summoners all the powers and physical strength that their summon has. This however, is limited by the loyalty that the summon has to the summoner as well as the summoner's own physical constitution.

[NichG]

The balance factor I was considering would be that (in your terms) Fused would have to be the weakest offensively, and Ethereal the strongest offensively, otherwise you'd generally want to avoid Ethereal summons - there has to be a payoff for taking that risk, and simply having Ethereal be the easiest to find would tend to just make the early game have a very high-lethality.