Lacco
2016-12-18, 01:54 PM
Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild Practice Arena!
Link to Recruiting Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508364-ROS-Re-recruiting-Expedition-to-Barrow-of-Siviniak-(beginner-friendly!))
How to start: State your interest in fighting by writing a short intro (how you enter the arena). Select your opponent. You will be informed when your fight begins.
Let me know which part of the practice field you enter - "archery range" - ranged practice, "small arena" - one-on-one combat or "large arena" - group combat. Large arena is closed until at least everyone survives at least one fight.
Combats will be one on one, but there is possibility to arrange combat for whole group (only one though). When the combat ends, next of kin will be informed... :smallsmile:
Here you can try out the combat without "endangering" your PCs in game. Nothing here transfers to the IC - nor wounds, neither gained equipment.
Feel free to try anything out (even different weapons, builds, etc.). Of course, start with the one you have to make yourself comfortable with your fighting style. Beginners - follow the steps below! It's important that you learn the combat procedure (initiative in the beginning of combat, aggressor states his intents, defender states his intents, dice are rolled, damage is determined, initiative is determined, aggressor states his intent and ad nausium or ad deathsium... :smallsmile:). Please, don't skip to the fancy manuevers before you learn to "walk"... stick to cutting, thrusting and parrying.
Rolling here will occur in plain view - no need to hide it in spoilers. Just separate the OOC part from IC part.
Each of you can try out several opponents. So feel free to select opponent (or two if you want to die quickly) - and we'll start.
The players that don't want to fight can bet on the outcome or cheer for the warriors :smallbiggrin:
absolutely harmless bag of hay
a strong peasant with a sling and staff
farmboy holding a sword for the first time
spear-wielding hunter
drunk pirate with rapier
a sword-and-board soldier
powerful barbarian with large axe
well-armoured obese knight with halberd and longsword
the above-average fencer
Combat lineup:
Step 1: Combat Preparations
For beginners - we will start easy. Do step 1, wait for response, then step 2. Additional manuevers and other things will be explained on the way. Experienced players may jump right into the fight.
1. Check your CP. This is your combat pool - the number of d10 dice you have for both one round. It "refreshes" at the start of a round and you spend it for your actions. Dice can not be "spared" for next round.
2. Each melee round is divided into two exchanges. Think of the exchange as one action. Usually - you get one attack-your opponent defends, the opponent gets one attack-you defend. End of round. Refresh dice.
3. Initiative! It's a wonderful thing.
Take one white and one red dice. Imagine, that the red dice means attack, the white defence. Now hide them from everyone in your hand and select one - red if you want to attack, white if you want to defend yourself.
When I say "throw" we both throw the dice which we selected.
If we both throw white, we circle each other. We wait. No one attacks.
If one of us throws red and the other white - the red one has initiative and attacks. The white one defends.
Red-red means, we both attack. That can get messy, quick.
Since we are not at one table, you will "throw" your dice here. I promise not to cheat - what would the fun be there?
Initiative is resolved this way only if we begin the combat or if there was a pause in combat. During combat the initiative shifts based on the tactics and rolls. We'll get there.
And one info - you don't have to roll the dice. It's just statement (I attack/I defend) of your action, hidden from the opponent.
Step 1 is over. Now - select your opponent...enter the arena...and INITIATIVE!
Step 2: First attack, first defence
You have CP at ready, you know the initiative.
Now the aggressor (the one who threw RED) states his intention in the form of
used offensive manuever
attack zone (if applicable)
dice used for the manuever
The defender (the one who threw WHITE) then states his intention, usually in the form of defensive manuever and allocated dice.
Basic offensive manuevers are cut (uses cut ATN), thrust (uses thrust ATN) and for blunt/mass weapons also strike ATN.
For cuts and strikes, if you want, you can strengthen your attack by spending an additional 1 dice for +1 to damage.
Usually you should pick the lower TN and choose attack based on the weapon you use (usually it's of no use cutting opponent with a rapier - only if you want to humiliate him).
The attack zones - since both fighters move for the whole time, it's hard to pinpoint exact place you hit. So below are the zones (usually you don't need to state which one you attack directly - a "overhead slash"/"diagonal strike"/"lunge at his chest" is enough for me to understand; but for this simulator, state the exact zone to the OOC spoiler) and the places you can hit.
Strike/cut zones
overhead (vertical) - shoulders, chest, head
diagonal - upper body
horizontal - from torso to thighs
arms - arms. Really.
from below (vertical) - legs, squishy parts, underbelly, belly
upper legs - the area around thighs
low legs - from knee below,
Thrust zones
head - head and neck
arms - arms. Really.
chest - torso and abdomen
abdomen - exactly what it says on the tin and below (again the squishy parts)
upper legs - the area around thighs
low legs - from knee below,
Yes, this RPG lets you kick people in the balls - and it hurts.
State what amount of dice do you allocate from your CP to the attack and wait for the opponent to select his defence.
Remember, if you don't plan to kill him by the first blow, there will be a second exchange - if you are left without dice and he has some, you have given him free ticket to wound you - and in this system, often the first wound wins the match.
Per attack
Thrusts (and punches) to the head: -1 CP (= you have to pay additional die to do this attack)
Thrusts to lower legs: -2 CP
Thrusts to the arms/hands: -1 CP
Cuts (and swings) to the lower legs: +1 CP against shield defence (=you get additional die for this attack)
Cuts/swings to the arms/hands: +1 CP
Per round (modify pool at the beginning of round)
Higher footing: +2 CP
Visibility - Near-darkness (dusk): -1 CP
Visibility - Night (with moonlight): reduce CP by -1/4
Visibility - Pitch darkness: reduce CP by -1/2
Weapon length (per attack)
Length steps: Hand-Short-Medium-Long-Very long-Extremely long
Length disadvantage for attack - each step: -1 CP
When shorter weapon hits, the person moves to "ideal" length
If the short weapon has advantage, the opponent gets -1 CP per step for attack and defence!
Botches (fumbles)
If you roll two or more "1s" on dice and no successes, you fumble. Usually - your weapon gets stuck, breaks, gets dropped.
On next exchange, you reduce your combat pool by 1/2 of dice you invested on attack.
E.g. you roll 10 dice. No successes, two 1s. Next exchange you lose 5 dice.
Fatigue
You can fight for (ENx2 - CP penalty for armour) rounds without fatiguing yourself.
After that you lose 1 CP per this number of rounds.
E.g. Character's armour penalty is -2 and EN 4. He can fight for 6 rounds, then loses 1 CP at beginning of his 7th round, 13th round, 19th...
For the defender:
Basic defensive manuevers are:
full evasion - you try to run away, get out of harm's way. You roll against DTN of 4 (very good), but you can not use it in exchange after you attacked.
partial evasion - you try to dodge the opponent's attack and stay close enough. You roll against DTN of 7. If you win the exchange (he misses), you can pay 2 dice from CP to get initiative.
duck & weave - you try to find optimal attack position after you dodge. You roll against DTN of 9 (very dangerous), but if you win, you are at your ideal length and the opponent is considered to have botched the roll (he additionally loses 1/2 of his invested dice)
parry - you try to parry with your weapon. Assign CP dice to defence and roll against DTN of your weapon. If you win the exchange, you automatically have initiative.
block - the same as parry, however you block with you shield - and use the DTN of shield.
Consider the amount of dice your opponent invested when choosing yours - it's always safer to defend with more, attack with less - only if you are sure that he has unwieldy weapon or you think you can withstand the punishment.
You do not have to select a zone you cover, however:
you are able to parry only one attack per round with one weapon (you can still parry second one by the off-hand weapon or by your hand)
using evade/dodge/duck&weave you dodge all attacks that are directed at you at that round
you are not able to parry an arrow, however you can try blocking it with the shield (there is a slight increase in DTN for that)
As soon as the opponent allocates his dice to his attack, you can state your defensive manuever and amount of dice.
And then we roll.
Step 3: Add more options and killy stuff!
When you are already sure about the basic manuevers, test the manuevers below in the arena as your next step!
Additional manuevers:
Offensive
Feint is an offensive manuever, which consists of changing of attack direction before the attack connects in effort to evade the defender's defence entirely.
It's one of the first "tricks" of fencers and swordsmen.
Procedure:
You state attack normally ("I swing downwards at his head for 4 dice).
You let defender to state his defence ("I parry with 4 dice")
You declare FEINT, change the direction of attack ("FEINT! I swing horizontally") pay the activation price (1 if the second hit zone is near, 2 if on opposite side of body) and you can add dice into your hand, at price of 1 die per 1 added (e.g. I want to add 3 dice to the attack and so I remove another 3 dice).
The result? You use 11 dice of your CP and roll 7 for attack against opponent's 4. The opponent can not change his defence at the moment.
There are two types:
Feint & cut - you swing and change into different swing.
Feint & thrust - you swing and change into a thrust; rapier proficiency is the only one that can use the "feint thrust, change to thrust" manuever. It still has to land on different zone.
Every time you repeat a feint - state the same original attack and changed attack - the activation cost rises by 1.
Beat is an offensive manuever, which consists of aggressive attack aimed on opponent's weapon or shield at the beginning of combat - it serves to remove the weapon/shield temporarily from combat.
Beat can be used only in first exchange of the first round (at the beginning of combat) or after a break in combat (still, only in first exchange).
Procedure:
You state that you use beat normally, paying the activation cost (usually 1 die) and allocating dice from CP.
You let defender to state his defence.
If you win, the weapon/shield is beaten aside and can not be used in defence on the following exchange. Additionally, every net success means a "shock" of 2 dice for opponent.
Another advantage: beat halves the range penalties coming from opponent's longer weapon.
The result? You use e.g. 6 dice of your CP + 1 die for activation cost to attack opponent's shield and roll e.g. 3 successes. Your opponent gets only 1 success. He loses 4 dice and can not use shield to defend, usually leading to higher DTN.
Bind and strike is an offensive manuever, which consists of pinning the weapon of the opponent with your off-hand weapon or shield, before launching your own attack.
It is very similar to the block open & strike manuever, however, it takes dice from the opponent.
Procedure:
You state attack with off-hand weapon ("I bind his weapon with my shield for 4 dice").
You let defender to state his defence ("I parry with 4 dice")
You roll against your DTN.
If you get net successes, you remove the same amount of CP from your opponent's dice pool for next exchange.
The result? You use 6 dice of your CP and roll 3 successes for against opponent's 1. The opponent loses 2 dice from his next exchange.
Simultaneous block & strike uses both hands - either two weapons or a weapon and shield. It is a maneuver that allows you to block opponent's attack and simultaneously launch an attack of your own - thus being ideal for Red/Red situations.
Procedure:
You state use of this maneuver.
Pay activation cost.
Divide CP between offense and defense - take into account that one must be half of the other (e.g. 6:3, 4:2, 2:1...)
You let defender to state his maneuver and roll.
The biggest advantage is that if your opponent attacks and has a two-handed weapon, he usually has no way to defend against your attack...
Defensive
Counter is a defensive manuever, which uses the force of the attacker against him.
It has activation cost (usually 2 dice), which needs to be paid if you want to execute the manuever.
Dice are normally allocated to defence. However, if you succeed (=your successes > opponent's successes), you gain for the next attack bonus dice equal to opponent's successes on the attack (=you use the force of his attack against him).
However, since there are many types of counters, you need to roll for the exact result.
Roll (d10, normal)
Effect
Roll (d6, rapier & half-sword)
1
Swing at lower legs
2
Swing at upper legs
3
Horizontal swing
1
4
Diagonal swing
5
Vertical swing
6
Pommel to face
2
7
Thrust to face
3
8
Thrust to body
4
9
Grapple
5
10
Disarm
6
It's quite handy manuever, especially for attackers who spend many dice in first round ("overextend themselves").
This is a defensive manuever, which consists of pinning the weapon of the opponent with your off-hand weapon or shield, before launching your own attack.
It is very similar to the bind & strike manuever, however, it provides dice to you.
Procedure:
You state attack with off-hand weapon ("I block open his weapon with my shield for 4 dice").
You let defender to state his defence ("I parry with 4 dice")
You roll against the DTN of your shield.
If you get net successes, you receive the same amount of CP for next exchange.
The result? You use 6 dice of your CP and roll 3 successes for against opponent's 1. You get 2 dice from his next exchange.
Bodily harm
Of course, there is the possibility of immediate death, but if you survive the wound, here are the things you have to deal with.
Negative effects of wounds come in three "flavours".
This one is what kills you slowly - and it can kill you even if you survive the fight.
When you receive a wound, you can get a value of blood loss. These are cumulative. You have to check your bleeding every round in combat and every circa 60 seconds out of it (more often if you carry out tiring actions).
Each round you have to roll HT against the TN equal to your cumulative blood loss. If you manage to get at least one success, no harm occurs for the moment.
If you don't succeed, you temporarily lower your HT by 1.
If your HT is 1, your CP and all dice pools are halved.
If your HT is 0, you bled out and are dead.
Try to patch yourself up. One First aid skill check can lower your bleeding by (net successes x2) blood loss points.
This is the immediate shock after a wound.
When you get shock, you decrease your current CP by the value of the shock. If you simultaneously attack and get a wound, it at first lowers the invested CP, then the reserve.
If the shock is higher than amount of CP you currently have, it overflows to the next round.
After that, it's gone.
After shock is gone, pain enters the game. Pain is the long-term issue of wounds. Each point of pain removes equal number of CP dice each round and lowers also your other rolls (exceptions are e.g. blood loss rolls).
If you have more pain points than CP, you can only lie on the ground, bleed (if applicable) and whine/cry/grunt.
Pain heals after a time. Each week you get to roll your HT with positive modifiers for healthcare and negative for environment/activity. Each success removes one point of pain.
Yes, it takes loooong time to heal - and there are no "potions of healing".
Initiative issues
The initiative flows back and forth during the fight, and sometimes it's hard to decide who has it.
To make it easier, I have prepared what I think is easy way how to deduce it:
Are you starting a fight, both fighters aware of each other or was there a short break in the fight? Roll initiative.
Are you starting a fight and one of you is surprised? Initiative is with the "unsurprised" party.
Did you attack successfully in last exchange? You have the initiative.
Did you make a successful defensive manuever (other than evasion) in last exchange? You have the initiative.
Did you make a successful full evasion in last exchange? Roll initiative.
Did you make a successful partial evasion in last exchange and paid 2 dice to get initiative? You have the initiative.
Did you make a successful partial evasion in last exchange and did not pay additional 2 dice to get initiative? Your opponent keeps initiative.
Was the roll (both offensive/defensive) a tie? Initiative stays unchanged.
If you don't have the initiative and want to attack, your attack will land second (if you don't steal initiative).
If you have RED-RED situation, you both have initiative and which hit lands first is decided by a roll of REF at TN equal to ATN of your weapon. In case of ties, this is resolved by looking at REF (higher wins), WIT (higher wins). If these both are the same, both hit at the same time (usually resulting in doublekill).
I'll add procedure for buying/stealing initiative later.
Ranged Combat
Ranged combat runs on turns, as opposed to exchanges.
Yes, while you nock the arrow and shoot, several rounds may come to pass.
Let's start:
Each ranged weapon has a "prep time" attribute. This is how long it takes (in rounds) to prepare the weapon.
For bow this is usually 2-4 rounds:
2 rounds to pick an arrow from quiver (or 0 rounds if you have it in hand)
1 round to nock the arrow
1 round to draw and begin aiming
Until this point your MP (missile pool) was 0.
At the start of next round you gain into your MP an amount of dice equal to Proficiency. You now decide, whether you want to continue aiming or shoot.
If you aim, each round spent aiming will give you dice equal to your AIM attribute, up to your maximum MP.
If you shoot, you take all dice from your MP and roll them.
It is possible to reduce the preparation time - it usually costs an amount of MP dice and requires a REF roll, parameters of which are given by the weapon. It may be done only once and it reduces the prep time by 1.
Your dice pool may be modified by:
range (point-blank +1, short 0, medium -1, long -3, extreme -5; beyond extreme -10 or not possible)
target movement
your movement
lightning conditions
wind/poor weather
Hit location is determined randomly (by roll of 2d6). You can choose to concentrate and place your shot more precisely to the point where you want it - by setting dice aside (not using them for the shot). Each die provides a modifier of +1 or -1, depending on where you hit (i.e. GM will tell you where you can move it). Maximum amount of dice you can use for this depends on your AIM attribute.
Further options to be explored in combat:
...crossed-out options were already written down...
Stances (neutral, defensive, offensive, charging, advanced)
Terrain rolls (evading multiple opponents, difficult fighting conditions, movement in combat including pushing & luring opponents)
Skills in combat (style analysis, acrobacy, body language)
Favouring (defensive) - preparing for enemy's attack
Advanced manuevers - single weapon (beat, disarm, hook, stop-short, toss, expulsion, evasive attack)
Advanced manuevers - double weapon/weapon & shield (bind & strike, simultaneous block&strike)
I will slowly post these here.
Let's start with...
Basic Stances
At the beginning of combat or after a break in combat you can compose yourself and select a stance.
Basic stance is neutral (something like the Plow) - it doesn't give you any specific advantages but it doesn't hinder your actions. If you don't state your stance, I will assume this one.
Aggressive stances - these provide +2 dice at beginning of round that can be spent on offensive maneuvers, however, increase activation cost of all defensive manuevers by 2.
Defensive stances - provide +2 dice at beginning of round that can be spent on defensive maneuvers, but increase activation cost of all offensive maneuvers by 2.
Charge is considered an offensive stance...
The benefits and drawbacks of stances are gone at the end of the first round. They last only for the first round of the combat - during combat, when the blades are flashing, there is no time to pick a stance.
However, if there is a pause in combat (after full evasion...), you can select a stance...
The character with lower REF selects the stance first (giving chance to the "quicker" one to adapt his stance and tactics).
Terrain rolls
If you are fighting in the arena, which is flat, without any hindrances or terrain unevenness, you usually can ignore the terrain.
However it is not always so. You can fight on ice-covered lakes, tight spaces, have to move among trees in forests, and even fight against several opponents.
For these, there are terrain rolls.
Terrain rolls is a catch-all title for all actions that happen within the combat not covered by maneuvers. Usually by terrain rolls you:
attempt to overcome difficult fighting conditions (e.g. footing, space)
attempt to select your opponent for a round from multiple opponents
force movement beyond the standard movement in combat
attempt to hold the line or do anything that is not covered by rules for manuevers (e.g. retrieve weapon, jump on the table, etc.)
Difficult fighting conditions
Your PCs will notice that they are fighting on ice, or slippery cathedral roof in rain, or in small, cramped space. Thus the GM will tell you what roll you need to pass each round.
The target number is set by GM (usually following guidelines on p. 53 of Flower of Battle) and your actions (attacker moves as hurried, defender as normal - and thus has lower TN).
You have to allocate dice from your CP to overcome these conditions. If you fail to do so, it is assumed that you allocated 0 = failed the roll, usually landing on ground/losing 1/2 of your CP for the duration of the round.
These rolls are usually done at the beginning of the round.
Multiple opponents
Fighting 2 or even 3 opponents is a risky matter even for experienced warriors due to the fact, that you need to split your dice pool to deal with the multiple opponents. If you however have some space for moving around, you can confuse them and make them get in each other's way so that you face only one or, in the worse case, two of them.
Against 2 opponents the TN is 6 (or 7 if you "sprint", giving you more fatigue)
Against 3 opponents and more TN is 8 (or 6 if you sprint).
Usually no more than 3 opponents can attack you at one round (only if long reach weapons are used...or ranged combat). Trained opponents may oppose the terrain rolls.
Pressing opponents
Usually you move back and forth during combat - the specific amount of movement can be checked by comparing the MO of both opponents. This is usually not necessary, but in case you want to get your opponent into disadvantageous terrain, there is an opportunity for pressing & luring.
To press opponent, make a terrain roll (usually opposed) with any amount of CP. The TN is 3 while attacking and 4 while defending. Net successes of combat roll determine how far in feet the combatants move during the exchange. Successes in pressing terrain roll then add to whichever side rolled them.
Example: A soldier swung his blade at Kate (6 dice), who attempted to block a soldier's strike with her shield (4 dice). Soldier got 2 successes, Kate got 3 successes. They moved 1 feet forward, as the initiative switched. If the soldier invested 3 dice to press her and got 2 successes, they would have moved 1 foot backwards (from Kate's point of view). Now if they fought on a battlement, and Kate was 3 feet from the end of battlement...
Other kinds of movement
The fencer lost his weapon due to wounded arm. How can he retrieve it? Terrain roll, TN 7.
A team-member is throwing you his sheated sword so you can fight back, while dodging the enemy? Terrain roll, TN 8, limited by your REF attribute.
You want to jump on the table so you gain a height advantage? Terrain roll, TN is equal to acrobacy skill.
You want to swing on the chandelier...? Ok, you got my drift.
Link to Recruiting Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508364-ROS-Re-recruiting-Expedition-to-Barrow-of-Siviniak-(beginner-friendly!))
How to start: State your interest in fighting by writing a short intro (how you enter the arena). Select your opponent. You will be informed when your fight begins.
Let me know which part of the practice field you enter - "archery range" - ranged practice, "small arena" - one-on-one combat or "large arena" - group combat. Large arena is closed until at least everyone survives at least one fight.
Combats will be one on one, but there is possibility to arrange combat for whole group (only one though). When the combat ends, next of kin will be informed... :smallsmile:
Here you can try out the combat without "endangering" your PCs in game. Nothing here transfers to the IC - nor wounds, neither gained equipment.
Feel free to try anything out (even different weapons, builds, etc.). Of course, start with the one you have to make yourself comfortable with your fighting style. Beginners - follow the steps below! It's important that you learn the combat procedure (initiative in the beginning of combat, aggressor states his intents, defender states his intents, dice are rolled, damage is determined, initiative is determined, aggressor states his intent and ad nausium or ad deathsium... :smallsmile:). Please, don't skip to the fancy manuevers before you learn to "walk"... stick to cutting, thrusting and parrying.
Rolling here will occur in plain view - no need to hide it in spoilers. Just separate the OOC part from IC part.
Each of you can try out several opponents. So feel free to select opponent (or two if you want to die quickly) - and we'll start.
The players that don't want to fight can bet on the outcome or cheer for the warriors :smallbiggrin:
absolutely harmless bag of hay
a strong peasant with a sling and staff
farmboy holding a sword for the first time
spear-wielding hunter
drunk pirate with rapier
a sword-and-board soldier
powerful barbarian with large axe
well-armoured obese knight with halberd and longsword
the above-average fencer
Combat lineup:
Step 1: Combat Preparations
For beginners - we will start easy. Do step 1, wait for response, then step 2. Additional manuevers and other things will be explained on the way. Experienced players may jump right into the fight.
1. Check your CP. This is your combat pool - the number of d10 dice you have for both one round. It "refreshes" at the start of a round and you spend it for your actions. Dice can not be "spared" for next round.
2. Each melee round is divided into two exchanges. Think of the exchange as one action. Usually - you get one attack-your opponent defends, the opponent gets one attack-you defend. End of round. Refresh dice.
3. Initiative! It's a wonderful thing.
Take one white and one red dice. Imagine, that the red dice means attack, the white defence. Now hide them from everyone in your hand and select one - red if you want to attack, white if you want to defend yourself.
When I say "throw" we both throw the dice which we selected.
If we both throw white, we circle each other. We wait. No one attacks.
If one of us throws red and the other white - the red one has initiative and attacks. The white one defends.
Red-red means, we both attack. That can get messy, quick.
Since we are not at one table, you will "throw" your dice here. I promise not to cheat - what would the fun be there?
Initiative is resolved this way only if we begin the combat or if there was a pause in combat. During combat the initiative shifts based on the tactics and rolls. We'll get there.
And one info - you don't have to roll the dice. It's just statement (I attack/I defend) of your action, hidden from the opponent.
Step 1 is over. Now - select your opponent...enter the arena...and INITIATIVE!
Step 2: First attack, first defence
You have CP at ready, you know the initiative.
Now the aggressor (the one who threw RED) states his intention in the form of
used offensive manuever
attack zone (if applicable)
dice used for the manuever
The defender (the one who threw WHITE) then states his intention, usually in the form of defensive manuever and allocated dice.
Basic offensive manuevers are cut (uses cut ATN), thrust (uses thrust ATN) and for blunt/mass weapons also strike ATN.
For cuts and strikes, if you want, you can strengthen your attack by spending an additional 1 dice for +1 to damage.
Usually you should pick the lower TN and choose attack based on the weapon you use (usually it's of no use cutting opponent with a rapier - only if you want to humiliate him).
The attack zones - since both fighters move for the whole time, it's hard to pinpoint exact place you hit. So below are the zones (usually you don't need to state which one you attack directly - a "overhead slash"/"diagonal strike"/"lunge at his chest" is enough for me to understand; but for this simulator, state the exact zone to the OOC spoiler) and the places you can hit.
Strike/cut zones
overhead (vertical) - shoulders, chest, head
diagonal - upper body
horizontal - from torso to thighs
arms - arms. Really.
from below (vertical) - legs, squishy parts, underbelly, belly
upper legs - the area around thighs
low legs - from knee below,
Thrust zones
head - head and neck
arms - arms. Really.
chest - torso and abdomen
abdomen - exactly what it says on the tin and below (again the squishy parts)
upper legs - the area around thighs
low legs - from knee below,
Yes, this RPG lets you kick people in the balls - and it hurts.
State what amount of dice do you allocate from your CP to the attack and wait for the opponent to select his defence.
Remember, if you don't plan to kill him by the first blow, there will be a second exchange - if you are left without dice and he has some, you have given him free ticket to wound you - and in this system, often the first wound wins the match.
Per attack
Thrusts (and punches) to the head: -1 CP (= you have to pay additional die to do this attack)
Thrusts to lower legs: -2 CP
Thrusts to the arms/hands: -1 CP
Cuts (and swings) to the lower legs: +1 CP against shield defence (=you get additional die for this attack)
Cuts/swings to the arms/hands: +1 CP
Per round (modify pool at the beginning of round)
Higher footing: +2 CP
Visibility - Near-darkness (dusk): -1 CP
Visibility - Night (with moonlight): reduce CP by -1/4
Visibility - Pitch darkness: reduce CP by -1/2
Weapon length (per attack)
Length steps: Hand-Short-Medium-Long-Very long-Extremely long
Length disadvantage for attack - each step: -1 CP
When shorter weapon hits, the person moves to "ideal" length
If the short weapon has advantage, the opponent gets -1 CP per step for attack and defence!
Botches (fumbles)
If you roll two or more "1s" on dice and no successes, you fumble. Usually - your weapon gets stuck, breaks, gets dropped.
On next exchange, you reduce your combat pool by 1/2 of dice you invested on attack.
E.g. you roll 10 dice. No successes, two 1s. Next exchange you lose 5 dice.
Fatigue
You can fight for (ENx2 - CP penalty for armour) rounds without fatiguing yourself.
After that you lose 1 CP per this number of rounds.
E.g. Character's armour penalty is -2 and EN 4. He can fight for 6 rounds, then loses 1 CP at beginning of his 7th round, 13th round, 19th...
For the defender:
Basic defensive manuevers are:
full evasion - you try to run away, get out of harm's way. You roll against DTN of 4 (very good), but you can not use it in exchange after you attacked.
partial evasion - you try to dodge the opponent's attack and stay close enough. You roll against DTN of 7. If you win the exchange (he misses), you can pay 2 dice from CP to get initiative.
duck & weave - you try to find optimal attack position after you dodge. You roll against DTN of 9 (very dangerous), but if you win, you are at your ideal length and the opponent is considered to have botched the roll (he additionally loses 1/2 of his invested dice)
parry - you try to parry with your weapon. Assign CP dice to defence and roll against DTN of your weapon. If you win the exchange, you automatically have initiative.
block - the same as parry, however you block with you shield - and use the DTN of shield.
Consider the amount of dice your opponent invested when choosing yours - it's always safer to defend with more, attack with less - only if you are sure that he has unwieldy weapon or you think you can withstand the punishment.
You do not have to select a zone you cover, however:
you are able to parry only one attack per round with one weapon (you can still parry second one by the off-hand weapon or by your hand)
using evade/dodge/duck&weave you dodge all attacks that are directed at you at that round
you are not able to parry an arrow, however you can try blocking it with the shield (there is a slight increase in DTN for that)
As soon as the opponent allocates his dice to his attack, you can state your defensive manuever and amount of dice.
And then we roll.
Step 3: Add more options and killy stuff!
When you are already sure about the basic manuevers, test the manuevers below in the arena as your next step!
Additional manuevers:
Offensive
Feint is an offensive manuever, which consists of changing of attack direction before the attack connects in effort to evade the defender's defence entirely.
It's one of the first "tricks" of fencers and swordsmen.
Procedure:
You state attack normally ("I swing downwards at his head for 4 dice).
You let defender to state his defence ("I parry with 4 dice")
You declare FEINT, change the direction of attack ("FEINT! I swing horizontally") pay the activation price (1 if the second hit zone is near, 2 if on opposite side of body) and you can add dice into your hand, at price of 1 die per 1 added (e.g. I want to add 3 dice to the attack and so I remove another 3 dice).
The result? You use 11 dice of your CP and roll 7 for attack against opponent's 4. The opponent can not change his defence at the moment.
There are two types:
Feint & cut - you swing and change into different swing.
Feint & thrust - you swing and change into a thrust; rapier proficiency is the only one that can use the "feint thrust, change to thrust" manuever. It still has to land on different zone.
Every time you repeat a feint - state the same original attack and changed attack - the activation cost rises by 1.
Beat is an offensive manuever, which consists of aggressive attack aimed on opponent's weapon or shield at the beginning of combat - it serves to remove the weapon/shield temporarily from combat.
Beat can be used only in first exchange of the first round (at the beginning of combat) or after a break in combat (still, only in first exchange).
Procedure:
You state that you use beat normally, paying the activation cost (usually 1 die) and allocating dice from CP.
You let defender to state his defence.
If you win, the weapon/shield is beaten aside and can not be used in defence on the following exchange. Additionally, every net success means a "shock" of 2 dice for opponent.
Another advantage: beat halves the range penalties coming from opponent's longer weapon.
The result? You use e.g. 6 dice of your CP + 1 die for activation cost to attack opponent's shield and roll e.g. 3 successes. Your opponent gets only 1 success. He loses 4 dice and can not use shield to defend, usually leading to higher DTN.
Bind and strike is an offensive manuever, which consists of pinning the weapon of the opponent with your off-hand weapon or shield, before launching your own attack.
It is very similar to the block open & strike manuever, however, it takes dice from the opponent.
Procedure:
You state attack with off-hand weapon ("I bind his weapon with my shield for 4 dice").
You let defender to state his defence ("I parry with 4 dice")
You roll against your DTN.
If you get net successes, you remove the same amount of CP from your opponent's dice pool for next exchange.
The result? You use 6 dice of your CP and roll 3 successes for against opponent's 1. The opponent loses 2 dice from his next exchange.
Simultaneous block & strike uses both hands - either two weapons or a weapon and shield. It is a maneuver that allows you to block opponent's attack and simultaneously launch an attack of your own - thus being ideal for Red/Red situations.
Procedure:
You state use of this maneuver.
Pay activation cost.
Divide CP between offense and defense - take into account that one must be half of the other (e.g. 6:3, 4:2, 2:1...)
You let defender to state his maneuver and roll.
The biggest advantage is that if your opponent attacks and has a two-handed weapon, he usually has no way to defend against your attack...
Defensive
Counter is a defensive manuever, which uses the force of the attacker against him.
It has activation cost (usually 2 dice), which needs to be paid if you want to execute the manuever.
Dice are normally allocated to defence. However, if you succeed (=your successes > opponent's successes), you gain for the next attack bonus dice equal to opponent's successes on the attack (=you use the force of his attack against him).
However, since there are many types of counters, you need to roll for the exact result.
Roll (d10, normal)
Effect
Roll (d6, rapier & half-sword)
1
Swing at lower legs
2
Swing at upper legs
3
Horizontal swing
1
4
Diagonal swing
5
Vertical swing
6
Pommel to face
2
7
Thrust to face
3
8
Thrust to body
4
9
Grapple
5
10
Disarm
6
It's quite handy manuever, especially for attackers who spend many dice in first round ("overextend themselves").
This is a defensive manuever, which consists of pinning the weapon of the opponent with your off-hand weapon or shield, before launching your own attack.
It is very similar to the bind & strike manuever, however, it provides dice to you.
Procedure:
You state attack with off-hand weapon ("I block open his weapon with my shield for 4 dice").
You let defender to state his defence ("I parry with 4 dice")
You roll against the DTN of your shield.
If you get net successes, you receive the same amount of CP for next exchange.
The result? You use 6 dice of your CP and roll 3 successes for against opponent's 1. You get 2 dice from his next exchange.
Bodily harm
Of course, there is the possibility of immediate death, but if you survive the wound, here are the things you have to deal with.
Negative effects of wounds come in three "flavours".
This one is what kills you slowly - and it can kill you even if you survive the fight.
When you receive a wound, you can get a value of blood loss. These are cumulative. You have to check your bleeding every round in combat and every circa 60 seconds out of it (more often if you carry out tiring actions).
Each round you have to roll HT against the TN equal to your cumulative blood loss. If you manage to get at least one success, no harm occurs for the moment.
If you don't succeed, you temporarily lower your HT by 1.
If your HT is 1, your CP and all dice pools are halved.
If your HT is 0, you bled out and are dead.
Try to patch yourself up. One First aid skill check can lower your bleeding by (net successes x2) blood loss points.
This is the immediate shock after a wound.
When you get shock, you decrease your current CP by the value of the shock. If you simultaneously attack and get a wound, it at first lowers the invested CP, then the reserve.
If the shock is higher than amount of CP you currently have, it overflows to the next round.
After that, it's gone.
After shock is gone, pain enters the game. Pain is the long-term issue of wounds. Each point of pain removes equal number of CP dice each round and lowers also your other rolls (exceptions are e.g. blood loss rolls).
If you have more pain points than CP, you can only lie on the ground, bleed (if applicable) and whine/cry/grunt.
Pain heals after a time. Each week you get to roll your HT with positive modifiers for healthcare and negative for environment/activity. Each success removes one point of pain.
Yes, it takes loooong time to heal - and there are no "potions of healing".
Initiative issues
The initiative flows back and forth during the fight, and sometimes it's hard to decide who has it.
To make it easier, I have prepared what I think is easy way how to deduce it:
Are you starting a fight, both fighters aware of each other or was there a short break in the fight? Roll initiative.
Are you starting a fight and one of you is surprised? Initiative is with the "unsurprised" party.
Did you attack successfully in last exchange? You have the initiative.
Did you make a successful defensive manuever (other than evasion) in last exchange? You have the initiative.
Did you make a successful full evasion in last exchange? Roll initiative.
Did you make a successful partial evasion in last exchange and paid 2 dice to get initiative? You have the initiative.
Did you make a successful partial evasion in last exchange and did not pay additional 2 dice to get initiative? Your opponent keeps initiative.
Was the roll (both offensive/defensive) a tie? Initiative stays unchanged.
If you don't have the initiative and want to attack, your attack will land second (if you don't steal initiative).
If you have RED-RED situation, you both have initiative and which hit lands first is decided by a roll of REF at TN equal to ATN of your weapon. In case of ties, this is resolved by looking at REF (higher wins), WIT (higher wins). If these both are the same, both hit at the same time (usually resulting in doublekill).
I'll add procedure for buying/stealing initiative later.
Ranged Combat
Ranged combat runs on turns, as opposed to exchanges.
Yes, while you nock the arrow and shoot, several rounds may come to pass.
Let's start:
Each ranged weapon has a "prep time" attribute. This is how long it takes (in rounds) to prepare the weapon.
For bow this is usually 2-4 rounds:
2 rounds to pick an arrow from quiver (or 0 rounds if you have it in hand)
1 round to nock the arrow
1 round to draw and begin aiming
Until this point your MP (missile pool) was 0.
At the start of next round you gain into your MP an amount of dice equal to Proficiency. You now decide, whether you want to continue aiming or shoot.
If you aim, each round spent aiming will give you dice equal to your AIM attribute, up to your maximum MP.
If you shoot, you take all dice from your MP and roll them.
It is possible to reduce the preparation time - it usually costs an amount of MP dice and requires a REF roll, parameters of which are given by the weapon. It may be done only once and it reduces the prep time by 1.
Your dice pool may be modified by:
range (point-blank +1, short 0, medium -1, long -3, extreme -5; beyond extreme -10 or not possible)
target movement
your movement
lightning conditions
wind/poor weather
Hit location is determined randomly (by roll of 2d6). You can choose to concentrate and place your shot more precisely to the point where you want it - by setting dice aside (not using them for the shot). Each die provides a modifier of +1 or -1, depending on where you hit (i.e. GM will tell you where you can move it). Maximum amount of dice you can use for this depends on your AIM attribute.
Further options to be explored in combat:
...crossed-out options were already written down...
Stances (neutral, defensive, offensive, charging, advanced)
Terrain rolls (evading multiple opponents, difficult fighting conditions, movement in combat including pushing & luring opponents)
Skills in combat (style analysis, acrobacy, body language)
Favouring (defensive) - preparing for enemy's attack
Advanced manuevers - single weapon (beat, disarm, hook, stop-short, toss, expulsion, evasive attack)
Advanced manuevers - double weapon/weapon & shield (bind & strike, simultaneous block&strike)
I will slowly post these here.
Let's start with...
Basic Stances
At the beginning of combat or after a break in combat you can compose yourself and select a stance.
Basic stance is neutral (something like the Plow) - it doesn't give you any specific advantages but it doesn't hinder your actions. If you don't state your stance, I will assume this one.
Aggressive stances - these provide +2 dice at beginning of round that can be spent on offensive maneuvers, however, increase activation cost of all defensive manuevers by 2.
Defensive stances - provide +2 dice at beginning of round that can be spent on defensive maneuvers, but increase activation cost of all offensive maneuvers by 2.
Charge is considered an offensive stance...
The benefits and drawbacks of stances are gone at the end of the first round. They last only for the first round of the combat - during combat, when the blades are flashing, there is no time to pick a stance.
However, if there is a pause in combat (after full evasion...), you can select a stance...
The character with lower REF selects the stance first (giving chance to the "quicker" one to adapt his stance and tactics).
Terrain rolls
If you are fighting in the arena, which is flat, without any hindrances or terrain unevenness, you usually can ignore the terrain.
However it is not always so. You can fight on ice-covered lakes, tight spaces, have to move among trees in forests, and even fight against several opponents.
For these, there are terrain rolls.
Terrain rolls is a catch-all title for all actions that happen within the combat not covered by maneuvers. Usually by terrain rolls you:
attempt to overcome difficult fighting conditions (e.g. footing, space)
attempt to select your opponent for a round from multiple opponents
force movement beyond the standard movement in combat
attempt to hold the line or do anything that is not covered by rules for manuevers (e.g. retrieve weapon, jump on the table, etc.)
Difficult fighting conditions
Your PCs will notice that they are fighting on ice, or slippery cathedral roof in rain, or in small, cramped space. Thus the GM will tell you what roll you need to pass each round.
The target number is set by GM (usually following guidelines on p. 53 of Flower of Battle) and your actions (attacker moves as hurried, defender as normal - and thus has lower TN).
You have to allocate dice from your CP to overcome these conditions. If you fail to do so, it is assumed that you allocated 0 = failed the roll, usually landing on ground/losing 1/2 of your CP for the duration of the round.
These rolls are usually done at the beginning of the round.
Multiple opponents
Fighting 2 or even 3 opponents is a risky matter even for experienced warriors due to the fact, that you need to split your dice pool to deal with the multiple opponents. If you however have some space for moving around, you can confuse them and make them get in each other's way so that you face only one or, in the worse case, two of them.
Against 2 opponents the TN is 6 (or 7 if you "sprint", giving you more fatigue)
Against 3 opponents and more TN is 8 (or 6 if you sprint).
Usually no more than 3 opponents can attack you at one round (only if long reach weapons are used...or ranged combat). Trained opponents may oppose the terrain rolls.
Pressing opponents
Usually you move back and forth during combat - the specific amount of movement can be checked by comparing the MO of both opponents. This is usually not necessary, but in case you want to get your opponent into disadvantageous terrain, there is an opportunity for pressing & luring.
To press opponent, make a terrain roll (usually opposed) with any amount of CP. The TN is 3 while attacking and 4 while defending. Net successes of combat roll determine how far in feet the combatants move during the exchange. Successes in pressing terrain roll then add to whichever side rolled them.
Example: A soldier swung his blade at Kate (6 dice), who attempted to block a soldier's strike with her shield (4 dice). Soldier got 2 successes, Kate got 3 successes. They moved 1 feet forward, as the initiative switched. If the soldier invested 3 dice to press her and got 2 successes, they would have moved 1 foot backwards (from Kate's point of view). Now if they fought on a battlement, and Kate was 3 feet from the end of battlement...
Other kinds of movement
The fencer lost his weapon due to wounded arm. How can he retrieve it? Terrain roll, TN 7.
A team-member is throwing you his sheated sword so you can fight back, while dodging the enemy? Terrain roll, TN 8, limited by your REF attribute.
You want to jump on the table so you gain a height advantage? Terrain roll, TN is equal to acrobacy skill.
You want to swing on the chandelier...? Ok, you got my drift.