Simple albeit complex RPG combat system?

hi folks,
one of my designs is a RPG with a strong focus on combat, equipment and leveling. The game is also influenced by MMO's and console action RPGs (Please: no discussion if this fits a RPG or would be better a board game, just focus on the topic).

I tried to simplify the combat system as much as possible, while maintain as much freedom as I could. The system also has a strong board game or card game flair to it. Now, Im wondering if the system is really that simple or if the amount of mechanics slows it down unnecessarily (especially the interaction of Range and Aura, see below). Here is a short overview:

1. DICE
Only six-sided dice are used. When attacking you roll dice equal to your Attack statistic, 4+ counts as success. The defender rolls dice equal to it's Defense statistic. When the attacker scores more success results than the defender, the remainder is deducted from health. point.

there are a few modifiers, im not going too much into detail: 1 is a "fumble" result while 6 is a "perfect" or "critical" result. There are rolls that succeed on 3+ while others only succeed on 5+ and there is a re-roll mechanic as well. thats it.

2. RANGE
The game uses a mat that symbolizes distance between monsters and heroes. The distances are like range bands (referred to as zones) and compromise: Vanguard, Center and Rearguard (I got that idea from games like Agon, Ancient Odysseys - Treasure Awaits! and Meikyuu Kingdom!!). Both monsters and heroes can be positioned at one of the three zones. See this example from Meikyuu Kingdom:

http://mondbuchstaben.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/meikyuu-battlefield.jpg

* While at Vanguard, you can only melee attack others that are also positioned at vanguard. If the opposing vanguard area is empty you can attack the zone behind it and so on.

* Attacking from the Center or even from the Rearguard zones is only possible with pole arms, missile weapons or magic spells.

3. AURA
Aura is one of the main statistics in the game and is actually composed of two numeric values (written as X/Y). Aura represents willpower and battlefield dominance and can be compared to the "Aggro" rating found in MMO's. The first Aura value is referred to as "Control" while the second is "Aggro".

The basic aura rule is like this: A character MUST attack the enemy within range with the highest Aggro rating, if there are several enemies with the same rating, he can choose one of them.

Only if the Control rating of a character is equal or higher than the highest Aggro rating among the enemies in the same zone, he may choose his target freely.

Many skills and magic spells manipulate the two aura values, this creates lots of interesting situations.

4. EXAMPLE
Four Heroes are fighting four Monsters. the numbers in brackets are the aura values, for simplicity we assume the heroes are attacking the monsters and only the heroes Control ratings are shown while the monsters only show a Aggro rating:

Hero side of the mat: Knight(3) and Rogue(4) at Vanguard. Cleric(1) at the Center and a Wizard(2) in the Rearguard zone.

Monster side of the mat: A goblin(1) and a minotaur(4) in the Vanguard zone and two goblin archers(1/1) at the Center zone.

Now the heroes plan their actions:

Knight. Being in Vanguard, he must choose either the goblin or the minotaur when attacking (or he decides to do something else). But the minotaur features the higher Aggro rating, so he MUST be chosen as target.

Rogue. Also in Vanguard, so only goblin and minotaur are legal targets. But, the rogue has a high control rating of 4, equal to the minotaur. this allows him to choose his target. he chooses the goblin and defeats it with a single, deadly blow.

Cleric. As the cleric chooses to make use of a healing prayer, he is not affected by the aura values of opponents.

Wizard. The wizard uses a magic spell targeted at one of the goblin archers in the center zone. He can choose freely as both have the same aura value.

Thats all. The main question is now if the combination of both, range and Aura is too complex and fiddly. Another point is that the Aura system might limit the players too much (but gives them a reason to boost their aura values or nerf the aura of opponents). Keep in mind that I have not talked about dice rolling in the example yet, so this would add some extra complexity to the system as well.

As you might have noticed from my previous posts, im always very careful about how fast and easy a game plays. Also i like to reduce book-keeping to a minimum.

Thanks for any thoughts and feedback!

-Fhizban (alias Tobias)