The Manor Training Grounds

[Lacco]

Welcome to the Manor Training Grounds!

How to start: State your interest in fighting by writing a short intro (how you enter the arena). Select your opponent (start with few passes against the bag of hay or wooden mannequin; if you know basics, feel free to select other opponent).

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 (against a mannequin).

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 nauseum or ad deathsium... :smallsmile:). Please, don't skip to the fancy manuevers before you learn to "walk"... stick to cutting/thrusting and parrying/blocking.

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
wooden mannequin (you know, the rotary one with wooden sword in one hand, shield in the other)
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.

[Sleepy Shade]

OK going to start this off

CP total =5+3=8CP
So Fedrick has walked into the training hall he looks over his blade and the test dummy. Better start with the basics he thought. He raised the rapier in his right hand and took the traditional fighting pose. He took a moment attacked the dummy's left arm hoping to disarm it of it's shield.

I attack with a thrust to his arms and use 5 of my dice.
So white dice
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[Lacco]

The lunge was firm, but flexible and Fredrick followed all the rules his old master taught him in the short time of the few lessons he had.

But the lessons paid off - he hit the upper arm, in the opening just below the wooden shoulder and above shield...

...it was a masterful strike and even few observers could not help but applaud...

...and the dummy started turning, making it harder to hit again, and gaining momentum for its own "attack" with the wooden stick.


Round 1, Exchange 1
Initiative: White.
The dummy defends, but uses no maneuver.

Fredrick's thrust to arm: 5 successes
Dummy's defence: 0 successes

5 net successes for Fredrick!

Hit location: [roll0]

Damage: 3 + 2 (ST+2 for weapon) + 5 net successes = 8
Resist: TO 4

Level 4 wound to upper arm

Fredricks retains initiative!

Results below would be for similar "live" opponent.
Blood loss: 5 (dummy does not bleed, but live opponent would have to roll HT each round with TN of 5; failure would mean his HT goes down by 1 due to bleeding... HT at zero means he bled out)
Shock: 6 (dice lost immediately due to shock; you get "shock" once and then it leaves - once it leaves, pain arrives)
Pain: 7-WP (dice lost every round after the shock is gone, until you heal the wound)

The dummy starts turning around, so it will attempt to "evade" your next attack.
Round 1, Exchange 2:
Fredrick has initiative. Your next attack?

-----

Initiative: when combat starts (let's assume it's one-on-one), you pick a red and white die. Red for attack, white for defence. And when initiative is "thrown" (not rolled!) you show me/throw the die you select without me knowing which it is.

At the same moment, I throw initiative for your opponent.

Due to PbP issues, you'll be announcing first - at the table we throw simultaneously so it has the uncertainty of real combat.

Now that Fredrick has initiative, he keeps it until he loses it (e.g. by the opponent parrying successfully) or until he gives it up (by stating he does not attack) or until a natural break of combat occurs (e.g. opponent's death, full evasion or both opponents give up their attacks). In first two cases the initiative is switched around, in third you have to throw it again.

If you don't have initiative, you still can attack. Your attack however lands second (after your opponent's lands) unless...but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Second exchange - what does Fredrick do?

[Sleepy Shade]

Fredrick eyes the dummy whirling after his last blow and thrusts at it's sword arm at the shoulderhoping to send a short jolt and stop the spinning contraption.

Red dice
So is there any mechanical benefit to saving dice on a turn or should I just spend ALL my dice?
thrust
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

[Lacco]

Fredrick lunged again, this time however losing much power to the rotation of the dummy. The blow hit the "hand" of the dummy, just below the wooden stick, splitting it cleanly into two parts.

The stick fell to the ground.

It was time to face a live enemy - if he dared.


No, there is no benefit. At beginning of the round the dice pools are refreshed.

Fredrick's thrust to arm= 5 successes
Dummy's swing = 1 success

Hit location: [roll0] = hand

Fredrick has initiative = Fredrick's hit lands first.

Damage: 5 for weapon + 5 net successes = 10
Resist: TO 4

Level 5 wound to hand

Some wounds have additional effects. In this case: instantly drops any weapon! You dis-armed your opponent.

Fredricks retains initiative! New round, new dice, the pools refresh!

BL: 9 (total 5+ 9; now he would most probably be bleeding each round)
S: 8
P: 9-WP (if we assume average enemy; total pain = 8

If you want, you can use the rollv function:
xd10

If you want, you can test combat against a live enemy. I suggest taking one of the weaker ones since you won't be fighting too much, I assume.

Any questions?

[Valmark]

"So... The boss wants to see how I fight, uh?" I say, entering the arena where a mannequin awaits me.
"...GH... Just a mannequin... Really no faith in my abilities..." I unsheat my sword while pushing the mannequin to get it swirling.
I study the mannequin for a second before lunging at his head in one swift motion, trying to avoid the shield.

Red dice

So... Seeing as the mannequin can't strike me back I'll use all my 12 dices for a head thrust (-1 CP)

[roll0]

[Lacco]

The thrust was neat and went deep - deeper than expected - hitting the dummy's "neck" it split the stick, and the wooden head fell to the ground.

The arena master clapped his hands, and asked "How about trying your skill with a live opponent?", pointing towards the farmboy, pirate and soldier.


Dummy throws white die!

Elija's thrust to head = 8 successes
Dummy does not defend.

Hit location: [roll0] = neck

Damage: (ST+1) 3+1 for weapon + 8 net successes = 12
Resist: TO 4

Level 5 wound to neck

Elija has no dice for second exchange! He loses initiative and dummy gets free attack...

...fortunately, dummy has lost its head and has no dice :smallwink:

New round, new dice, the pools refresh!

BL: All
S: All
P: All
Instant death.

[Valmark]

"Veeeery well, I'll go with the pirate" I say, gesturing at him to come at me and studying his movements while he comes to me.

white dice.


Yeah, I figured the dummy wouldn't strike me back. Thought there was an error, I said that I made it spin so shouldn't it have tried to "dodge"?

How do I use body language in fights?


Regarding the fight:

Defensive stance, the two bonus dices go to countering, that way:

CP: 12+2

Defense:
Counter (2) and defense roll [roll0]

Offense:
[roll1] and, hoping the counter suceedess, [roll2]
That way it should cover any evenience

[Lacco]

The pirate stands from his chair, a bottle in one hand, the other hand on the hilt of his rapier.

"You'll go sleepin'wif fishes, tha's the only thing y'll go!"

He takes a large swig and throws the bottle to the ground, drawing the rapier. Staggering, he moved towards Elija...

...and then he lunged forward, rather slowly, in a predictable fashion, which Elija quickly used, preparing to counter the attack.

He engaged pirate's rapier, and fluidly swung it aside, readying a powerful lower blow, but he put too much power into it and was unable to stop himself when he stepped on a loose stone.

The pirate just watched him on the ground. "Stand op! I'm not done wit'ye!"


RED die!

The pirate thrusts at Elija's chest for 3 dice.
Pirate's thrust: [roll0] (3d10)[6][5][5](16) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22303211&postcount=165) = 1 success
Elija's counter: 4 successes

3 net successes for Elija

Elija gains 1 die from counter for his next attack, which is slash at upper leg.

Counters are unpredictable. You have to roll a d10 to see how you counter.
Counter type: [roll1] = slash at 2

Elija's attack: 0 (from dice) + 0 (from counter) successes (with two 1's it gives you a fumble!)
Pirate will use expulsion (if the attack is thrust) or counter (if cut) for 6 dice (+3 activation cost): [roll2] TN 6

If applicable:
Hit location [roll3] =

In such cases I would suggest using Drama to reroll all failed dice (= all dice in this case). Otherwise you either end on the ground, with 1/2 of the invested dice lost in the next exchange, or losing your weapon.

In this case, if you don't spend Drama, the next step is:
New initiative!

Round 2, Exchange 1:
Your opponent lets you stand up and fight again.
Your initiative?

RE: Dummy does not dodge. It could have hit you in the second exchange were you not successful in stopping it.

[Valmark]

I stand up, feeling pretty ridicolized by this whole exchange.
"This guy... now you've done it..." I say, looking at him with hateful eyes, readying my sword for his attacks.

Frankly, I didn't understand if I can use all my dices now or not.

If so:

White die

Counter (2 dice cost) 8 dies [roll0]
Attack [roll1]

Otherwise:

White die

Full evasion 6 dies [roll2]


Also, how do I use body language?

[Sleepy Shade]

Opponent:Farmboy holding a sword for the first time
As Fredrick was making his way out the Gambling house he was attacked by a farm boy mistaking him for someone else. Not wanting to kill or be killed by the boy he draws his rapier and buckler.

I have Armor ar leather Jacket and buckler
Red Dice
[roll0]
Attack order
thrust:Sword arm
Feint
thrust:Chest
Double strike: Sword arm
thrust:Leg
thrust:leg
thrust: Sword arm
Stop short

[Lacco]

Elija

The pirate stepped up with a smirk on his face...

"Show me what you're made of, boy..."

...and throws his point, thrusting at Elija's chest. Elija tried to counter his blade, but the pirate flicked around his parry and struck home.

Elija felt the tip of the blade scrape against his ribs...


Round 2, Exchange 1:
RED die!

5-die thrust at chest.

Pirate's thrust: [roll0] TN 5 = 4 successes
Elija's counter: 3 successes

Hit location: [roll1] = under the ribs

Damage: 4 + 2 + 1 = 7
Resist: TO 4 + AV 2 = 6

Level 1 wound under the ribs

BL: 0
S: 3
P: 4-WP = 0

In second exchange it's usually good to use all dice (except when using a certain tactic...). And in some cases you can pre-plan your round (e.g. in case you plan on using counter). However, you should not write your defence before I write the attack - you should react to what I do.

Body language: you have to spend 2 CP as activation cost. You then roll PER/Body language. Each success gives you 1 additional die to defend against incoming attack. One success is usually enough to tell if the opponent's planning to feint. Three successes give you an overview about opponent's favouring (a tactic where you prepare for specific attacks).

You got your first wound!

Now, shock dice are removed from your remaining CP - if that reduces your CP below zero, the overflow goes to next exchange/round.

Question: do you want to spend a drama for reroll? Otherwise I get a cheap shot at you with the pirate.



Fredrick

The farmboy stood there, almost shaking. "You have insulted my sister's honor! You'll die!"

It was obvious he wielded the sword for first time. He would be maybe more intimidating had he chosen a quarterstaff - he looked strong.

But now he was... almost funny. But the sword was still sharp, and could kill.

It was time to settle this.


Let's follow the steps:
Step 1: Check your CP. Each round you get your CP in dice to spend on manuevers. Each round is divided into two exchanges. One exchange is one action/manuever usually.
Last point: initiative.

Since you threw red, you are now the attacker.

The farm boy throws White!.

Round 1 Exchange 1: What manuever do you use and how many dice? (I assume "thrust at arms"?)

[Valmark]

not sure what to do. Meaning, is what I wrote valid or not? Also, I didn't understand if I've got half dices or not.


Note: before the pirate succeded at 6 or more, now at 5. Why?

Also, if I'm not wrong I don't have drama, right?

[Sleepy Shade]

Yeah red dice
Thrust and all 8 dice since you said hold back doesn't give me any advantages and they are restored the next round. use the dice roll I had in my last post for the first exchange.
[roll0]
Use the dice roll here for the second echange
Thrust all 8 dice to his leg.

[Lacco]

not sure what to do. Meaning, is what I wrote valid or not? Also, I didn't understand if I've got half dices or not.

Note: before the pirate succeded at 6 or more, now at 5. Why?

Also, if I'm not wrong I don't have drama, right?

You are correct - that's what I get when I work from memory and not my notes. I forgot I chose the imbalanced rapier for the pirate. Ignore the above post, I'll re-calculate.

Normally, you would get 1/2 dice if you fought from the ground. But - the pirate let you stand up.

You can put SA points to Drama as well during character generation.





Yeah red dice
Thrust and all 8 dice since you said hold back doesn't give me any advantages and they are restored the next round. use the dice roll I had in my last post for the first exchange.
[roll0]
Use the dice roll here for the second echange
Thrust all 8 dice to his leg.



Holding back does not give much benefit in second exchange - it does in first exchange, as you'll have to fend off the opponent if he has at least one die left in second exchange.

Holding back dice is a valid advanced tactic, but not useful for these starting matches.



Elija
Re-done Round 2, Exchange 1

The pirate stepped up with a smirk on his face...

"Show me what you're made of, boy..."

...and throws his point, thrusting at Elija's chest. Elija countered his blade fiercely, catching the pirate's disengagement and riposted, thrusting at pirate's chest.

The point pierced the leather vest, but stopped short on pirate's ribs - the pirate winced as Elija recovered from the lunge - there was a drop of blood on the tip of his blade.

But the pirate was still standing...


Round 2, Exchange 1:
RED die!

5-die thrust at chest.

Pirate's thrust: (5d10)[10][3][5][5][10](33) TN 6 = 2 successes
Elija's counter: 3 successes

1 net success for Elija.

Elija gains 2 additional dice from the counter for his next attack, which shall be...

Counter roll: [roll0] = thrust to body!

Hit location: (1d6)[2] = under the ribs

Round 2 Exchange 2:
The pirate attempts to parry with 6 dice.
Elija's counterattack: (3d10)[2][8][7](17) + (2d10)[4][9](13) TN 5 = 3 successes
Pirate's parry: (6d10)[1][6][10][3][5][3](28) TN 6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22313853&postcount=166) = 2 successes

1 net success for Elija!

Damage: (ST+1 for weapon) 3+1 + 1 net success
Resist: TO 4 + AV 2

Level 0 wound to ribs

BL: 0
S: 0
P: 0

Level 0 wounds mean you barely hit. No significant damage, but you move to your optimal range and retain initiative.

New round, new dice!
Round 3 Exchange 1:
You have initiative. What is your action?




Fredrick

Fredrick made a half-step forward and lunged, thrusting at the farmboy's leg. His opponent made an attempt to parry the thrust, but was too slow. The tip of the rapier entered his thigh and he barely contained scream.


White die!

Parry for 5 dice!

Fredrick's thrust at leg: (8d10)[2][5][9][4][4][5][4][6](39) TN 5 = 4 successes
Farmboy's parry: [roll1] TN 6 = 3 successes

1 net success for Fredrick.

Hit location: [roll2] = thigh

I just checked your charsheet (the linked one) and did not find the attributes there... :smalleek:
I think his ST was 3...

Damage: 3+2 (ST+weapon) + 1 net success = 6
Resist: TO 5

Level 1 wound to thigh

BL: 0
S: 4-WP (total: 1)
P: 4-WP (total: 1)

Round 1, Exchange 2:
Fredrick retains initiative (=remains attacker). What is your action?
If you don't have dice available, the farmer could potentially get free attack.

[Valmark]

"Pschhh, what, you got sealegs, sirenlover?" I say, showing him a fake opening rising my blade.

white due
I don't remember if I've got Ridicule, in any case:
Ridicule [roll0] (yeah I don't remember my SOC stat too)

Body language[roll1]
And I'll wait

[Lacco]

Elija

The pirate's face changed colour from pale to red as he screamed "You filth!" and jumped forward, his blade threatening Elija's flank.


RED die!

He attacks with a belly thrust for 8 dice.

Your defence?

You successfully provoked him - so he'll attack. And overspend.
Your body language cost 2 dice, you gained 2 dice. You are sure he's not feinting.

[JeenLeen]

Would you be okay if I try out two combats at the same time, since we're closer to the IC game?

If not, just ignore the lightly armored combat.

Against Farmboy, being lightly armored (just leather, sword, and shield)

Neiman walks into the arena, seeing the farmboy. "So, how 'bout a practice round? I see you could use some training with your blade, and it's been many a year since I've had to fight for blood."


CP = 6 proficiency + 6 REF = 12 dice
Neutral stance.
Throw red. 5 dice to attack. Do a cut to the chest.
[roll0]


Against Farmboy, being heavily armored (mail, shield, sword)

Neiman walks up to the lad and says in a steady voice. "I heard you know my past. I'm truly sorry for this, but I can't let you stand between me and my goals. I'll make sure to send your family some money for the burial expenses."

Try to kill in one strike. Aim for head.

CP = 12 -1 for penalty = 11
Neutral stance.
Throw red. -1 die due to acting against Conscience. +3 for acting towards Drive. 13 total dice.
10 dice towards attack, TN 6.

[roll1]

[JeenLeen]

Retrying rolls, since that didn't work.

5d10
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

10d10
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]
[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]

[Lacco]

Let's do this. Since we are doing two fights at the same time, I'll also try something: little to no descriptions during the fight from my side, but will sum up the whole fight after. Do you agree?



The boy, paler than dead, swallowed hardly and raised his sword, holding it by both hands.

The blow was powerful - and the boy was barely able to block it. He took a step back, stumbling, giving Neiman another chance to attack...


R1E1

WHITE die!

Boy uses 5-die parry.

Neiman's cut to chest: 5d10: [8][6][7][3][3] TN 6 = 3 successes
Farmboy's parry: [roll0] TN 6 = 3 successes

Tie!

The boy parried, but Neiman keeps initiative for the second exchange.

Hit location (if applicable): [roll1]

Damage: ?
Resist: TO 5

Level ? wound to ?

Was it a horizontal or diagonal cut? Normally I assume diagonal.

Also, you can use xd10 command.





The boy guessed his intent based on his words and was ready to defend himself, sword in hands.

When Neiman attacked, he already had his sword above his back. The swords clashed and farmboy's kees almost gave way - he nearly kneeled and did not have time to respond to attack - giving Neiman time for another try.


WHITE die!

7-die parry!

Neiman's cut to chest: 10d10: [1][4][1][4][4][8][1][1][10] TN 6 = 2 successes
Farmboy's parry: [roll2] TN 6 = 2 successes

Tie!

The boy parried, but Neiman keeps initiative for the second exchange. Your attack?

Hit location (if applicable): [roll3]

Damage: ?
Resist: TO 5

Level ? wound to ?

Thank you for including all the information I need. Makes things more manageable for me.

[Valmark]

"Hey! I always bathe!" I say laughing while my blade descends towards his.

gonna spendi those two dicessi for countering!

CP: 12+2

Defence: [roll0]

Offence: [roll1] eventual gained dices: [roll2]

[JeenLeen]

Less details sounds good for me for this. (Also, I plan to play him less bloodthirsty than he's coming off in this.)

Combat 1: unarmored
Neiman goes on the defensive, preparing to block the boy's counter. (Do I maintain initiative if I succeed?)
DEFEND @ TN 5 for shield: [roll0]

Combat 2: armored
Angry at his pathetic blow, Neiman pushes the attack. If the boy strikes him, hope the armor works.
ATK diagonal cut to chest @ TN 6 [roll1]

[JeenLeen]

If I roll a 10, do I roll again and see if I get another success?
If yes, I may add a couple d10 rolls at the end of each combat post, in case needed.

And for my d10 [roll0]

[Lacco]

The pirate lunged forward, his point aimed at Elija's belly...

"You're..."

but Elija's sword caught his blade and deflected it. He swirled it and immediately riposted towards the pirate's throat. His opponent's parry was worthless...

"...gonna bath*hurg*!"

...and Elija's blade pierced the side of his throat, not too deep, drawing first blood!

The pirate's eyes widened as he stepped back.


R3E1

Pirate's thrust to belly: (8d10)[9][4][7][1][3][3][9][8](44) TN 5 =4 successes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22320495&postcount=168)
Elija's counter: (10d10)[10][8][9][4][10][8][9][10][5][2](75) TN 6 = 7 successes

4 net successes for Elija

Hit location (if applicable): [roll0]

Damage: ?
Resist: TO 5

Level ? wound to ?

Counter succeeded!

R3E2
Counter: [roll1] = thrust to face!

Thrusts to head get 1 die activation cost (removed the 5 from additional dice; I always take dice from right).

Elija's attack: (2d10)[8][6](14) + (8d10)[3][6][5][5][4][5][8][10](46) TN 6= 3 successes
Pirate's parry: [roll2] TN 6 = 1 success

2 net successes for Elija!

Hit location (if applicable): [roll3] = collar and throat!

Damage: (ST+1) 4 + 2 net successes
Resist: TO 5

Level 1 wound to throat!
BL: 2
S: 4
P: 5-WP (total: 1)

New round, new dice!
R4E1: Elija has initiative. Your action?

[Lacco]

The boy attacked slowly, swinging his sword in wide horizontal line - and Neiman blocked it.

It was time to attack.


R1E2
Boy's attack: [roll0] TN 6 = 1 success
Neiman's defence: (7d10)[2][2][10][7][8][8][2](39) TN 5 = 4 successes

1 net successes for Neiman!

New round, new dice!
R2E1: Neiman gained initiative! Your action?

Hit location: [roll1]Regarding the "less bloodthirsty" - I'm glad :smallsmile:

Regarding the d10s - only if you use Drama to reroll.

If you block successfully, you gain initiative.



The boy stepped back, attempting a weak parry - and was unable to deflect Neiman's strike.

He cut into his shoulder and the boy stumbled back, more shocked than in pain, but Neiman was at advantage now.


R1E2
Neiman's diagonal cut to chest: (2d10)[2][9](11) TN 6 = 1 success
Farmboy's parry: [roll2] = 0 successes

1 net successes for Neiman

Hit location: [roll3] = shoulder

Damage: (ST+1) 4+1 + 1 net success = 6
Resist: TO 5

Level 1 wound to shoulder

BL: 0
S: 4-WP (total: 2)
P: 4-WP (total: 2)

First blood!
New round, new dice!
R2E1: Neiman has initiative. Your action?

You don't have to worry about the boy attacking you while you have initiative.
When you have initiative, you attack. When he has it, he attacks. Normally (there is one option that allows you to bypass this, but it's dangerous and costly) if you decide to attack while you don't have initiative, your blow lands second.
There the armour helps a lot :smallsmile:

[JeenLeen]

Combat 1

Keeping on the offensive. CP 12.
8 dice to attack.
[roll0]

Combat 2

So, I need to roll damage, right?
Arming Sword is ST + 1, so I roll 6 dice. (I've changed around my stats a bit with those 2 attribute points for flaws.)

[roll1]
Is the target number 6 for damage?

Assuming he is still in combat, here's my roll for the second round/bout/whatever-the-term-is.

Pressing the attack. This is OOC, so try to finish him.
12 dice (out of 13) into ATTACK.
[roll2]

[Valmark]

R3E1

Pirate's thrust to belly: (8d10)[9][4][7][1][3][3][9][8](44) TN 5 =4 successes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22320495&postcount=168)
Elija's counter: (10d10)[10][8][9][4][10][8][9][10][5][2](75) TN 6 = 7 successes

4 net successes for Elija

Hit location (if applicable): [roll0]

Damage: ?
Resist: TO 5

Level ? wound to ?

Counter succeeded!

R3E2
Counter: [roll1] = thrust to face!

Thrusts to head get 1 die activation cost (removed the 5 from additional dice; I always take dice from right).

Elija's attack: (2d10)[8][6](14) + (8d10)[3][6][5][5][4][5][8][10](46) TN 6= 3 successes
Pirate's parry: [roll2] TN 6 = 1 success

2 net successes for Elija!

Hit location (if applicable): [roll3] = collar and throat!

Damage: (ST+1) 4 + 2 net successes
Resist: TO 5

Level 1 wound to throat!
BL: 2
S: 4
P: 5-WP (total: 1)

New round, new dice!
R4E1: Elija has initiative. Your action?


Wasn't the pirate TN 6? I know, it doesn't change the outcome

Also, wouldn't it be two successes taking dices from the right? So 3 NET successes?

So, due to blood loss he has to test, and due to shock he has 4 less dices? But why pain is 5-wp?

[Sleepy Shade]

Ok combat for me is a bit confusing you said each round I get all my dice back, but rounds are made up of exchanges? How many exchanges are in a round?
And I used all my dice for that last thrust so yeah I guess he gets a free attack on me.

[JeenLeen]

I think I see that we don't roll damage. It just is, assuming a hit, and bonus successes add to the damage amount.

The interplay of stats is interesting. Toughness is awesome for defense, since it is basically armor, while health and endurance start to matter when you take damage.
I have a backup idea of an anemic knight. Heavy plate, high Toughness, but a health of 2.

[Lacco]

@Valmark: You are correct about the TN - will have to check that next time.

Regarding taking dice... my bad, I wrote it too ambiguously.

My usual rule regarding rolling additional dice is, that I use the additional dice from left to right. If I have to "lose" a die due to modifiers (e.g. length/range, etc.), I remove dice from right to left.

Your evaluation of his wound was correct. At the start of new round, he will roll for blood loss. BL, shock and pain are taken from wound table - and while shock is in most cases unresisted, pain can be fought with willpower. So while the wound itself is not so deep, the shock of getting hit into his neck is quite powerful.

So, R4E1: your actions?



@Sleepy Shade: In melee, each round you get your CP (minus wound/fatigue modifiers, plus potential SA). Each round is split into two exchanges - usually it's "I attack, you defend, you attack, I defend" - but this can be easily changed into "You attack and hit, you attack and hit, you attack and kill" or other form.

While using all dice is sometimes valid tactic, always keep at least one die for second exchange if possible - in these cases you have still the initiative.



Fredrick

The boy stepped back as Fredrick tried to recover from the lunge - he overextended and while he drew first blood, the boy was still alive, with sword in hand.

And was swinging his sword at Fredrick in a wide, scythe-like swing.


Fredrick has no dice = farmboy takes initiative.
Farmboy attacks with 1-die swing at zone III (horizontal swing).

Farmboy's swing [roll0] TN 6= ?
Fredrick does not defend

? net successes for farmboy

Hit location (if applicable): [roll1]





@JeenLeen: For both cases: how do you attack?

There is a difference between attacks, e.g. cutting at his arms (e.g. getting +1 die for this specific attack, most of the time forcing a roll making him lose his weapon, but never inflicting insta-death), attacking diagonally (e.g. getting nice insta-kill chance, but mostly attacking torso which is usually protected) or thrusting at head (getting 1-die activation cost for the head thrusts, but getting very high insta-kill chance, as well ask knock-out chance, also trusts are faster and in case you both attack the ones who trust get +1 to the "which blow lands first" roll... :smallsmile:

Yes, damage is not rolled. Final damage is calculated as damage from attribute + weapon modifier (e.g. ST +1) + *optional* bonus for certain weapons against certain armours + *optional* bonus for power attacks (with cutting/swing weapons you can pay 1 CP to increase damage by +1, however this can be done only once per attack) + net successes.

Basically - your weapon and strength attribute sets the base damage, modified mostly by how well you hit.

And yes, the knight idea is nice. I usually recommend staying at HT 3... TO 3... and not getting hit :smallbiggrin:

[Valmark]

"It's time to shine, captain sealegs" I say, pressing my attack with a step forward and a cut to his belly.

Red die!

Yeah, it's a cut, I know.

CP for thrust: 12, using 2

[JeenLeen]

@JeenLeen: For both cases: how do you attack?

Oops.
To see different stuff, go with cutting to the arms in Combat A, and diagonal cut to the chest/torso in Combat B.

[Lacco]

Elija

Captain sealegs decided to play it safe and went for quick parry and deflected his opponent's weak attack.

He then went for a deep thrust below the belt...

"I'll make a mermaid of you!"


R4E1
You don't need to state initiative unless there is a break in the combat.

Pirate parries with 3 dice.

Elija's horizontal cut: [roll0] TN 6
Cap'sealegs' parry: [roll1] TN 6

3 net successes for pirate

Hit location (if applicable): [roll2]

R4E2: The pirate gained initiative and attacks.
Thrust for 4 dice at zone X!
Elija's response?




Neiman

Boy parried with almost all he got...

...and it wasn't enough.

Neiman's blade passed across his forearm, in a long grazing cut, hitting the bone. The boy was able to hold to his weapon although his face betrayed the immense pain, as he focuses on not dropping his weapon...

...and not on his opponent.


R2E1
Neiman's cut at arms: (8d10)[2][7][10][7][9][7][7][4](53) TN 6 = 6 successes + 1 = 7 successes
Additional die for cut@arms: [roll3] TN 6

Boy's parry: [roll4] TN 6 = 5 successes

Hit location (if applicable): [roll5] = forearm

Damage: (ST+1) 4+1 + 2 net successes = 7
Resist: TO 5

Level 2 wound to forearm

BL: 3
S: 5 (total: 5)
P: 7-WP (total: 2+5 = 7)

He keeps his weapon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22331246&postcount=169).

He has no dice left due to shock.
R2E2: Neiman has initiative. Your attack?


Seeing that his opponent is mounting a powerful attack, the boy attempted a weak parry.

And he paid the price.

Neiman's blade cut deep into his temple, crushing bone, cutting through the contents of his skull.

The boy was dead before his body hit the ground, and a large pool of blood formed quickly around his now open head.

The fight was over.


R2E1
Neiman's diagonal cut: (12d10)[7][7][3][3][1][1][2][10][5][9][6][10](64) = 6 successes
Boy's parry: [roll6] TN 6 = 0 successes

6 net successes for Neiman!

Hit location (if applicable): [roll7] = upper head

Damage: (ST+1) 4+1 + 6 net successes = 11
Resist: TO 5

Level 5 damage to head.
Instant death!

Neiman finished the match in 1st exchange of 2nd round.
I will do the whole writeup in post below.

[Lacco]

Neiman's combat 2:

Neiman walked up to the lad and said in a steady voice. "I heard you know my past. I'm truly sorry for this, but I can't let you stand between me and my goals. I'll make sure to send your family some money for the burial expenses."

The boy was pale, but listened with his sword in his hand.

As Neiman was finishing his last sentence, he immediately raised his sword and swung it downwards at the farmboy.

The boy guessed his intent based on his words and was ready to defend himself - when Neiman attacked, he already had his sword above his head. The swords clashed and farmboy's kees almost gave way - he nearly kneeled and did not have time to respond to attack - giving Neiman time for another try, which he immediately used. First strike was followed by a diagonal cut, keeping the boy on defensive. The boy stepped back, attempting a weak parry - and was unable to deflect Neiman's strike.

His opponent's strike cut into his shoulder and the boy stumbled back, more shocked than in pain, but Neiman was at advantage now and did not give him breathing space.

He swung his sword again, in a powerful attack, and the boy - weakened by his wounds - attempted only a weak parry.

And he paid the price.

Neiman's blade cut deep into his temple, crushing bone, cutting through the contents of his skull.

The boy was dead before his body hit the ground, his lifeless eyes watching a large pool of blood that formed quickly around his now open head.

The fight was over.

[Valmark]

"As if you have ever seen a woman before!" I say, suddenly changing my footing and spinning around, getting closer while my blade goes to his... "offspring makers".

So. I think it's pretty clear, but anyway...

FEINT ****ING PIRATE. THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR MAKING ELIJA FALL IN THE FIRST ROUND.

Ridicule: [roll0]

Offense (CP 10 -1(changing zone) -6): [roll1]

Defense (partial evasion): [roll2]


Notes: so. If I have to lose 1 more CP for targeting his... well, you know, than take only 5 dices. Obviously if possible I prefer thrusts, otherwise cut or my foot is ok. Also, if I have to lose more than just that 1 CP than nope, normal feint.

Regarding defense... I have to defend, right? It's not like if I hit him he doesn't attack? Since I put 2 drama points now I can protect myself from fumbles...

If I can teorically stop him from attacking me (not necessarily killing him) then I'll be putting more dices, take the results from defense.

Yeah, I know that it's unsafe to not defend, but I want to see how it goes since it's safe here to get wounded

[Lacco]

Elija

Captain sealegs decided to play it safe and went for quick parry and deflected his opponent's weak attack...

...and he fell for his ploy, as Elija pulled back the cut to thrust below the pirate's belt...

The thrust was precise, and well-aimed. The pirate almost collapsed of pain - his face contorted in extreme pain, as he tried to hold to both his rapier, and to stop the blood flowing from his crotch.

When Elija pulled back his rapier, the blade was covered in blood.


I assumed it was going to be a feint, but wasn't sure :smallsmile:. So, ignore the post above.
1 CP for targeting is ok.

Feints happen in the same exchange as the original attack - you cut, and switch to thrust (in case of feint & thrust maneuver). If you hit him... it depends. He may lose all his dice due to damage, or may still be able to fight back. You can never be completely sure.

But with 2 points in drama, you should be able to get enough rerolls.

One point though: a small breakdown of dice spending.
CP: 12
2 dice 'spent' for original cut
1 die spent for activation cost (moving from cut to thrust)
6 dice spent for the feint:
- three given away
- three added to the attack, resulting in 5-die thrust into soft areas
43 dice for second exchange evasion

R4E1

Pirate parries with 3 dice.

Elija's feint & trust at jewels: [roll0] TN 6 = 2 successes
Cap'sealegs' parry: [roll1] TN 6 = 1 success

1 net success would result in a "scratch", so let's use on of those drama points...
Elija's re-roll: (3d10)[9][5][8](22) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22334218&postcount=170)

3 net successes for Elija

Hit location (if applicable): [roll2] = groin

*ouch*

Damage: (ST+1) 4 + 3 net successes
Resist: TO 5

Level 2 wound to groin!
BL: 8
S: 8
P: 10-WP (total: 1+6=7)

Again: *ouch*

R4E2: Elija has initiative and 3 dice left.
The pirate is without dice...

[Valmark]

"Maybe at the tavern are searching for a barmaid?" I say, making a small jump back and suddenly thrusting to the immoble pirate...ss.

well...

Ridicule: [roll0]

Offense: [roll1]

[Lacco]

@Valmark: how do you attack?

[Valmark]

Uuuuhm? Random? Thrust to torso

[JamesT]

Sword and shield at the ready, Elden looks for a live opponent.

I think I have 11 dice (6 prof, 5 agil)

No idea if I'm doing this right but...

I'll block and attack simultaneously:

5 attack
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

6 defend
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]

[JeenLeen]

Combat question: if we do the full evasion Defense maneveur, the one where you basically run away & initiative resets and such... if you do that in stage 1 of a round, does stage 2 not happen since combat essentially resets?

I'm trying to think of how my guy would act if fighting undead. I think him either going on full defense for the first round or running away the first round makes sense (in addition to the required -1 die penalty), but I don't want to accidentally leave myself open to a deadly blow.

So I devoted all my CP to running away in stage 1, would stage 2 probably not happen? (I realize that, if I fail to run away, I probably got hit and now am going to get hit really, really bad.)

[Lacco]

Uuuuhm? Random? Thrust to torso

You shouldn't target at random - remember that he has a leather vest. In this case, (strong) cut at arms would be advantageous (+1 die that will be spent for additional damage, getting you in total +3 to damage).


Sword and shield at the ready, Elden looks for a live opponent.

Which one? There's a handy list at the opening post.

I think I have 11 dice (6 prof, 5 agil)[/quote]

CP is calculated as Reflex + Proficiency; however the amount of dice is still the same.

No idea if I'm doing this right but...

I'll block and attack simultaneously:

5 attack
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

6 defend
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[/QUOTE]

One thing: for your first combat, please follow the "procedure" to the letter - the steps are here for you to learn the system. After few combats, we can start skipping over stuff, since you'll know it.

Also: you can use xd10 command to roll the dice - and please, put TNs next to roll (it will speed up my work). Pretty please :smallredface:


Combat question: if we do the full evasion Defense maneveur, the one where you basically run away & initiative resets and such... if you do that in stage 1 of a round, does stage 2 not happen since combat essentially resets?

Correctamundo.

If you put distance/obstacle between you and the attacker, second exchange does not happen. You get a break in combat and if you engage the enemy (or he does), a new fight/round starts.


I'm trying to think of how my guy would act if fighting undead. I think him either going on full defense for the first round or running away the first round makes sense (in addition to the required -1 die penalty), but I don't want to accidentally leave myself open to a deadly blow.

So I devoted all my CP to running away in stage 1, would stage 2 probably not happen? (I realize that, if I fail to run away, I probably got hit and now am going to get hit really, really bad.)

By using the Full Evasion, you are evading all attacks that are aimed at you with one roll.

So, let's say there are three undead and each takes a swing at you.

You roll 5 successes (the TN of 4 with full evasion helps), they roll 3, 2 and 4 successes. None of them succeeded => you evade all attacks and are out of their reach. If they follow you, new round (and initiative) starts. If they don't the combat is practically over.

Let's say they do. Again - you evade, but this time only with 3 successes. They roll the same (3/2/4). First one ties with you = you don't evade him, but it's just a scratch. No damage done, but you are at his ideal distance and the second exchange happens again. Second one misses and stays back. Third one succeeds - he does damage (maybe) and keeps you at his ideal distance for second exchange.

At new round, undead no.2 shambles towards you and joins his two friends.

...yeah, the lesson is: don't get surrounded by undead. And if you do, don't put all your CP to running away. Keep 1 or 2 dice to ensure you have something to defend with in second exchange.

However, with TN 4 and point of drama, there's almost no chance of getting hit.

[Valmark]

Well then, cut to the arms u.u

[Lacco]

Elija

The pirate got another hit - a solid blow to the forearm, costing him his weapon, which fell to the ground.

He backed down, stumbling - trying to stop his bleeding wounds, he did just howl in pain and curse Elija, kneeling down.


R4E2
Elija's cut at arms: 2 successes (+1 damage)
Pirate does not defend.

2 net successes for Elija

Hit location: [roll0] = forearm

Damage: 4 (weapon) + 1 (power attack) + 2 net successes
Resist: TO 5

Level 2 wound to forearm!

BL: 3 (total 2+8+3 = 13)
S: 5
P: 7-WP (total: 1+6+3=10)

R5E1: new round, new dice. Elija has initiative.
Pirate has no dice!

Pirate's HT/BL [roll1] TN 13
Pirate bleeds! His HT is one lower (current: 2).

One point: this is actually almost won - if shock goes away, he'll have just one die in his CP to do anything.
And he'll bleed out within 2 rounds (or within a minute if he just sits without any movement and covers his wounds).

[Valmark]

I look at the pirate, saddened in face.
"...this was too gruelsome..." I say, sticking my sword through his head to end it.

I feel a bit bad...

Thrust to head: [roll0]

Spent one die for activation

[Lacco]

The blade entered pirate's throat cleanly and his eyes dimmed.

He was dead at the instant, spared more pain and suffering.

The fight was over.


R5E1:

6 net successes for Elija

Hit location: [roll0] = throat
Damage: 4 (weapon) + 6 net successes = 10
Resist: TO 5

Level 5 wound to throat

Instant death!

Don't feel bad. He was evil and used to kick puppies and once he sold kicked puppies to puppy kickers.

Also: most of the time you will want to fight only if you care about the fight. Pick your fights. This is only practice.

Would you like to see a full narration?

[JamesT]

I'll be honest - I have no idea what I did wrong. I'll try again tonight but if you can spell it out clearly that will help.

[Valmark]

I'll explain, that way I can see if I understood clearly:

When a fight begins, considering that both sides are ready to fight, you state if you use a white dice or a red dice.

Red dice means attack, white dice means defense. Who chooses red dice gets initiative (unless they both choose red, in that case they bot attack and it gets horribly bloody)

If you attack then you state your manuever and how many dices you use, after that the defenser chooses his and dices are rolled.


Also, at the beginning try with a immoble object (didn't see you fight one before) maybe a mannequin, which at least tries to dodge at second rounds.

Also, if I not wrong your manuever says that you have to use double the dices for one of the two movements: so either 6 attack 3 defense or 3 attack and 6 defense if you wish to use as many dices as you can. Thought really, it's better to defend more

@Iacco36: yeah, I'd like to. Even that fight made me wish to have first aid to help the pirate...

[JeenLeen]

I'll be honest - I have no idea what I did wrong. I'll try again tonight but if you can spell it out clearly that will help.

If you haven't already, I recommend reading the start of this thread through the end. This combat system is somewhat intuitive once you get the basics, but the basics are wildly different from most other games I've seen (World of Darkness, D&D, Exalted, etc.), especially with how bad getting hit is. I'd try to explain them, but I've only got a basic grasp.

Eh, I'll try, but take this with a grain of salt & note that the DM may need to correct me.

Each melee combat is comprised of rounds. Each round contains 2 exchanges.
For each round, you have a dice pool equal to your CP (your proficiency rank + the derived attribute used for combat.) You should save dice for the 2nd exchange, and generally it's better to use more dice for defense than offense, since wounds are so bad.
At the start of the FIRST exchange, each participant declares if they are on the offense or defense.
If both offense, they both attack and whoever is 'faster' hits first. This can often end a fight in one round or even wind up with both participants dead if you're really unlucky.
If one offense and one defense, attacker attacks. Net successes mean who wins. I think whoever wins gets 'initiative', but I'm still a bit fuzzy on that.
If both defend, essentially nothing happens.

In the 2nd exchange, and in subsequent rounds, whoever has initiative... sorta has a bonus? I'm not real clear on that, but I think you have the other person on the defensive, so it's harder for them to attack you.

If you are hit, the damage (which equals the damage of the weapon, usually Str +/- a number plus net successes) is first absorbed by the target's Toughness and any Armor protecting the body part. So it is possible to get hit but have your natural defenses and/or armor soak it. I'm not real clear how shields factor in, but I think they can help, too. Note: unlike old World of Darkness, you do not roll damage or toughness. It is already determined by the attack/defense rolls and the weapons/armor/toughness in play.

Getting wounded can cause you to lose CP in the next exchange due to Shock and in all subsequent exchanges due to Pain. Also, you suffer blood loss from your wounds. There's a roll (against Endurance?) to see if the blood loss impacts you or not. If it does, you (temporarily?) lose a point of Health. If Health reaches 0, you die. Some really bad wounds cause instant death regardless of the Health attribute.

And so on until someone dies or surrenders.

There are some complex moves you can do, which involve things like attacking & defending in the same exchange, but they're better to explore until you have a better grasp of the system. (I've been reading the core rulebook and Flower of Battle when I have time in the evenings, so I've gleamed a bit of this from that and seeing others' fights here.)

[Lacco]

I'll be honest - I have no idea what I did wrong. I'll try again tonight but if you can spell it out clearly that will help.

Only one thing: you did not choose an opponent.

Otherwise you only skipped initiative and went directly for an attack - which is possible, but you are giving me an advantage. And by skipping initiative and going for simultaneous block & strike, you are giving me another advantage. A large one.

That's why I suggested starting over and going step-by-step. As JeenLeen stated - the system is easy once you know the basics, but it takes getting used to.


Imagine, that you are standing in a field, ready to duel your opponent - a swordsman.

Now let's switch to the gaming table. The GM is the swordsman – he tells you that you can see the smirk of overconfidence, the arrogant bearing.

Also imagine, that the swordsman has a real sword - one blow and you can be dead. Or lack a hand. Or eye. No HPs.

It's time to begin. The GM hands you a red and white die. Red means you attack. White means you defend. He also has a red and white die.

"The swordsman narrows his eyes, ready to duel to death."

The GM secretly puts one die into his hand.

"You look at the man who is about to kill you - or who you are about to kill."

You both raise hands over the table. Neither of you knows what die the other one has.

"1...2...3...throw!"

On three, you both drop the dice - and see what fate befalls you. You chose red. He chose red. You both state your attacks.

"You both lunge forward, swinging your blades..."

You both roll your Reflex attribute against your attack target number to know whose hit landed first.

"...you are fast, but the swordsman is faster..."

GM rolls the dice for the swordsman.

"...and you feel your chest explode with pain as his blade cuts you across, leaving a deep gash..."

Calculating damage...and you are left with 3 dice out of your original dice pool, which you already allocated to the attack.

"...but straining against the pain you continue your attack, cutting the swordsman deep into his neck..."

Calculating damage... and he has no dice left for this round.

"You both step back, blood flowing from your wounds."

No dice left for both = there is no second round.

"New round, new dice. Initiative!... 1...2...3..."

And the fight continues...

...sorry, got a bit carried away.


I'll explain, that way I can see if I understood clearly:

When a fight begins, considering that both sides are ready to fight, you state if you use a white dice or a red dice.

Correct. Additional info: when fight begins or there is a break.
Also: you don't have to use red dice or white dice. You only need two of these (I use d20s) for each opponent.

Red dice means attack, white dice means defense. Who chooses red dice gets initiative (unless they both choose red, in that case they bot attack and it gets horribly bloody)

Absolutely correct.

If you attack then you state your manuever and how many dices you use, after that the defenser chooses his and dices are rolled.

Correct. Attacker states first.

In case of RED-RED, you compare your Reflex - the one who has lower reflex has to state attack first (so the "faster" one can adapt his moves).

Also, at the beginning try with a immoble object (didn't see you fight one before) maybe a mannequin, which at least tries to dodge at second rounds.

Good advice.

Also, if I not wrong your manuever says that you have to use double the dices for one of the two movements: so either 6 attack 3 defense or 3 attack and 6 defense if you wish to use as many dices as you can. Thought really, it's better to defend more

Correct.
There are - as always - exceptions to the “defend more, attack less” rule… well, it’s more like a guideline… (e.g. tough & heavily armored fighters can afford to put less into defence).

@Iacco36: yeah, I'd like to. Even that fight made me wish to have first aid to help the pirate...


The dice land on the table, both white.
“You circle around, watching each other, trying to figue out a way how to kill each other without getting further wounds.
You feel your wound pulsing in unison with your heart and you know that if the fight takes too long, you may not walk away from it alive. But you also remember, that your opponent is known for hasty attacks… and so you pick up one of the shields that lie on the ground. Your opponent switches to a two-handed grip and you can see signs of desperation in his eyes. He bleeds…”.


Ok, I’ll write the narration… :smallsmile:


If you haven't already, I recommend reading the start of this thread through the end. This combat system is somewhat intuitive once you get the basics, but the basics are wildly different from most other games I've seen (World of Darkness, D&D, Exalted, etc.), especially with how bad getting hit is. I'd try to explain them, but I've only got a basic grasp.
Also a great advice. And you already have a good grasp of the basics, so we can build on it.
Eh, I'll try, but take this with a grain of salt & note that the DM may need to correct me.
Not much to correct. I’ll mostly add information.
Each melee combat is comprised of rounds. Each round contains 2 exchanges.
For each round, you have a dice pool equal to your CP (your proficiency rank + the derived attribute used for combat.) You should save dice for the 2nd exchange, and generally it's better to use more dice for defense than offense, since wounds are so bad.
There are multiple tactics, which can be used. Fighting aggressively has its place – when you want to finish the enemy fast – but you need to be able to take a hit in that case.
At the start of the FIRST exchange, each participant declares if they are on the offense or defense.
Through use of the initiative – red/white die. They state it as blind choice – there is large amount of uncertainty involved in a real fight.
If both offense, they both attack and whoever is 'faster' hits first. This can often end a fight in one round or even wind up with both participants dead if you're really unlucky.
Absolutely correct.
If one offense and one defense, attacker attacks. Net successes mean who wins. I think whoever wins gets 'initiative', but I'm still a bit fuzzy on that.
The attacker has initiative. If you successfully defend, you can take initiative (even though in case of e.g. partial evasion you need to pay dice for it.
Parries, blocks, counters, expulsions, etc. allow you to take initiative automatically if you have net successes.
If both defend, essentially nothing happens.
Correct. You may, however, change stances, switch weapons/proficiencies, change location of fight… or take a breather.
In the 2nd exchange, and in subsequent rounds, whoever has initiative... sorta has a bonus? I'm not real clear on that, but I think you have the other person on the defensive, so it's harder for them to attack you.
To explain the “bonus”… one of my friends, an active member of the swordfighting community, once explained the “german longsword doctrine” according to Meyer to me:
“If you attack, the other guy needs to defend. If you attack, and attack, and attack, he has to keep parrying. Keep him in defensive, and he will not be able to attack. Offensive is the best defence.”
Game-wise, the attacker’s blow always lands first. If you are the defender, you can switch to attack, but unless you “steal initiative” (you know the samurai movies where one guy attacks, but the other one who launches his attack second, hits him? – that’s what stealing initiative is), your attack lands second.
So you either risk getting hit (viable tactic if the attacker has small amount of dice and/or you are armored), launch your attack and try to steal initiative (a risky/costly effort, but can destroy an opponent easily) or you try to defend to gain initiative.
If you are hit, the damage (which equals the damage of the weapon, usually Str +/- a number plus net successes) is first absorbed by the target's Toughness and any Armor protecting the body part. So it is possible to get hit but have your natural defenses and/or armor soak it. I'm not real clear how shields factor in, but I think they can help, too. Note: unlike old World of Darkness, you do not roll damage or toughness. It is already determined by the attack/defense rolls and the weapons/armor/toughness in play.
Shields are actually quite awesome. They:
- add several nice off-hand manuevers,
- have low DTN, which means they are good for blocking = gaining initiative the safe way,
- they provide additional armor to the body parts covered (usually armor value 4+, equal to banded armor) – which in combination with armor and toughness no-sells most attacks,
- they are good for favoring (advanced tactic – basically preparing to blow specific attacks, doubling your defensive dice).
Getting wounded can cause you to lose CP in the next exchange due to Shock and in all subsequent exchanges due to Pain. Also, you suffer blood loss from your wounds. There's a roll (against Endurance?) to see if the blood loss impacts you or not. If it does, you (temporarily?) lose a point of Health. If Health reaches 0, you die. Some really bad wounds cause instant death regardless of the Health attribute.
The roll is Endurance against the value of Blood Loss (which is cummulative).
If you fail, you temporarily lose 1 point of HT.
Once HT hits 1, ALL your pools are halved.
Once HT hits 0, you are dead.
You can restore 1 point of HT for a full day of rest.
And so on until someone dies or surrenders.
Or runs away.
It’s a matter of choosing “full evasion” manuever (available to everyone) and succeeding, as well as placing some distance between you and the attacker.
There are some complex moves you can do, which involve things like attacking & defending in the same exchange, but they're better to explore until you have a better grasp of the system. (I've been reading the core rulebook and Flower of Battle when I have time in the evenings, so I've gleamed a bit of this from that and seeing others' fights here.)

Again, sound advice. Try the basic manuevers first (cut, thrust, parry, block). Once you know how CP works and what to roll against, try out a manuever or two.


Both dice are red as the blood that covers both of your shirts.
This time, he launches a thrust against your head, to finish you.
You launch a simultaneous block & strike.
He is faster again, but your shield deflects the strike.
Your weapon lodges into his head… and you back away, watching him fall to the ground lifeless.
You notice your seconds running towards you with a healer… as your vision blurs and fades…

[Lacco]

Elija vs. the drunk pirate

"So... The boss wants to see how I fight, uh?" said Elija, entering the arena where a mannequin awaited him.
"...GH... Just a mannequin... Really no faith in my abilities..."

Unsheathing the light sword, he pushed the mannequin to get it swirling. He watched it for a second, and then lunged forward, thrusting at its head. The thrust was neat and went deep - deeper than expected - hitting the dummy's "neck" it split the stick, and the wooden head fell to the ground.

The arena master clapped his hands, and asked "How about trying your skill with a live opponent?", pointing towards the farmboy, pirate and soldier.
"Veeeery well, I'll go with the pirate" said Elija, gesturing at him while carefully studying his movements while he approached him.

The pirate stood from his chair, a bottle in one hand, the other hand on the hilt of his rapier.

"You'll go sleepin'wif fishes, tha's the only thing y'll go!"

He took a large swig and threw the bottle to the ground, drawing his rapier. Staggering, he moved towards Elija, lungng forward, rather slowly, in a predictable fashion. Elija quickly used his slow attack to launch a counterattack. He engaged pirate's rapier, and fluidly swung it aside, readying a powerful lower blow, but he put too much power into it and was unable to stop himself when he stepped on a loose stone.

He landed on the sand, while the pirate just watched him. "Stand op! I'm not done wit'ye!"

Elija accepted his challenge, standing up, with hate in his eyes and sword in his hand, ready to defend against his attacks.
"This guy... now you've done it..."

The pirate stepped up with a smirk on his face...

"Show me what you're made of, boy..."

...and threw his point, thrusting at Elija's chest. Elija countered his blade fiercely, catching the pirate's disengagement and riposted, thrusting at pirate's chest.

The point pierced the leather vest, but stopped short on pirate's ribs - the pirate winced as Elija recovered from the lunge - there was a drop of blood on the tip of his blade. Knowing he is at advantage, Elija decided to wage war where he was strongest and started provoking the pirate, trying to coax him into attacking, to make him lose his temper and attack wildly, to make mistakes.

"Pschhh, what, you got sealegs, sirenlover?" he stated, rising his blade to show the pirate a fake opening. The pirate's face changed colour from pale to red as he screamed "You filth!" and jumped forward, his blade threatening Elija's flank.

"Hey, I always bathe!" laughed Elija, while deflecting pirate's blade.
"You're..."

Elija's sword caught pirate's blade, swirled it and immediately riposted towards the pirate's throat, his blade quick as thought. His opponent's parry was worthless...

"...gonna bath*hurg*!"

...and Elija's blade pierced the side of his throat, not too deep, but drawing first blood! The pirate's eyes widened as he stepped back, but Elija pushed him further, making a quick horizontal cut aimed at his belly. "It's time to shine, captain sealegs!"

The pirate played it safe, attempting to parry the cut, but fell for Elija's ploy. Elija flicked his wrist, disengaging around pirate's rapier, went for a deep thrust below the belt.

The thrust was precise, and well-aimed. The pirate almost collapsed of pain - his face contorted in extreme pain, as he tried to hold to both his rapier, and to stop the blood flowing from his crotch.

When Elija pulled back his rapier, the blade was covered in blood. Elija jumped back as he continued to mock the pirate "Maybe at the tavern are searching for a barmaid?". To ensure that his opponent is given no pause to collect his strength, he immediately returned to offensive and the pirate got another hit - a solid blow to the forearm, which cost him his weapon.

With the rapier on the ground, the pirate backed down, stumbling - trying to stop his bleeding wounds, he did just howl in pain and curse Elija, kneeling down.

"...this was too gruelsome..."

It was a matter of mercy by now, and Elija delivered it with a quick thrust which ended both the career and the suffering of the pirate. The blade entered his throat, and the pirate fell to the ground, dead.

[JamesT]

Ugh, this seems needlessly complicated. So I need to say what I'm fighting, declare white or red and post all of that in one post? Or wait for the GM to reply first? Combat is my least favorite part of role playing so maybe I should just make a manor owner who is a pacifist. :smallsmile:

How do I know the TN of my attack? Sorry, looking for cliffs notes here as I don't have time just yet to read through everything.

For starters, I'll attack a dummy.


Red die
Full attack
[roll0]

[Valmark]

You know. I think that was awesome.

Also, I think Elija is ready for the big game. Checking, there are basically three different enemies with styles that I've yet to try:

-Spear wielding hunter
-Sword and board soldier
-armoured obese knight with halberd and short sword

I'd say let's go with the sword and board soldier. The hunter would be actually weaker then the pirate and the obese knight seems like It would just become a fight of attrition.

Or, if you wish to be done with the arena, ranged practice. OR, RANGED FIGHT.

[Lacco]

Ugh, this seems needlessly complicated. So I need to say what I'm fighting, declare white or red and post all of that in one post? Or wait for the GM to reply first? Combat is my least favorite part of role playing so maybe I should just make a manor owner who is a pacifist. :smallsmile:

How do I know the TN of my attack? Sorry, looking for cliffs notes here as I don't have time just yet to read through everything.

For starters, I'll attack a dummy.


Red die
Full attack
[roll0]


Just FYI: the cliff notes are in the first post of this thread. Really. But you'll have to read them.

Pacifists are welcome, but you're gonna be missing out all this :smallbiggrin: Combat is also less... common in RoS games, and players learn to choose their fights. Dying is easy.

As for the process: you should first do the initiative. Based on the result you should either (if attacker) state your attack or (if defender) wait for opponent to state his attack and state your defence.

Since this is a dummy fight, we can skip initiative. The dummy only defends.

However, the important thing is: HOW do you attack?

Choose whether you cut or thrust.

Now choose how do you swing your sword/thrust it (e.g. diagonally from left, upwards swing, horizontal swing from right, cut at left arm? or thrust at torso/head/upper legs?). Imagine that you are actually wielding the sword - and against you stands a dummy.

...it's easier at the table because I ask the players to show me how they attack :smallwink:

And last, with how many dice? In dummy fight, feel free to put all in. In live fight, think about second exchange.

...so, how do you attack?


You know. I think that was awesome.

The fight or the narration? In both cases, I'm glad you like it.


Also, I think Elija is ready for the big game. Checking, there are basically three different enemies with styles that I've yet to try:

-Spear wielding hunter
-Sword and board soldier
-armoured obese knight with halberd and short sword

I'd say let's go with the sword and board soldier. The hunter would be actually weaker then the pirate and the obese knight seems like It would just become a fight of attrition.

Or, if you wish to be done with the arena, ranged practice. OR, RANGED FIGHT.

Feel free to do both - use ranged weapon at start of the fight.

Each of these opponents has his purpose, and if we had time (= what I normally do with newbies) I would make you fight each of them.

Farmboys/peasants are for you to learn basics.
Hunter is there to show advantage of long reach.
Pirate is for tricks and surprises, as well as psychological warfare.
Sword & board... see if you figure it out :smallwink:
Knight is for you to find a way how to deal with armored opponents.
Above-average fencer is deadly threat that will utilize everything to win.

So, let's begin the sword & board fight. This time, minimum narration during fight from my side and summary at the end - if you are fine with it. It will speed things up.

Enter the arena, start the fight. And beware, this is your third fight (dummy/pirate...) and the sword & board fighter is a veteran soldier. He'll have some tricks at hand, but also serious weaknesses.

[JamesT]

I'll thrust at the torso

[Valmark]

I entered the arena, ready to fight my next opponent. In front of me, a soldier with a sword and a shield stands.
"I hope you'll entertain me!" I say, circling around the soldier, sword in hand.
since it's first round: white die!

Yeah, gonna wait on the throwing dagger, unless I start with it already in hand it kind of takes away two rounds. Which is a problem.

Regarding the narration: both u.u

[JeenLeen]

I'll try out the knight, and try something a touch fancy. Going in armored. With my revised stats, CP is 6 (REF) + 7 (prof) - 1 (penalty), or 12.
ST = 5. TO = 6. AG = 7.

Neiman walks up to the knight, calling him a honorless disgrace.
[spoiler]
Throw red.

Trying Simultaneous Block/Strike, assuming he'll also throw red.

6 dice to attack (TN 6), 3 to defense (TN 5 for shield).
[roll0]
[roll1]
[/spoilers]
I probably wouldn't try this to open a real combat, but good for practice.

[JeenLeen]

Forgot to say where I attack.
Cutting attack to the arms.

[Lacco]

Ox entered the arena, with a borrowed arming sword and round shield from the nearby stand. He stood in front of the dummy and swung it few times just for practice.

Then he stepped back, and lunged forward and drove the sword through the dummy, crushing the wooden torso.


Thrust at the torso: (11d10)[2][9][5][8][6][2][4][8][4][10][2](60) = 4 successes
The dummy does not defend.

4 net successes for Ox

Hit location: [roll0]

Damage: 6 (weapon: ST) + 4 net successes
Resist: TO 0 + AV 4

Level 5 wound to abs

Normally this would be:
Blood loss: 19
Shock: All
Pain: All

May lose consciousness.

The dummy is dead!



The soldier spat on the ground.

"Hope you die without squealing."

He took a defensive stance, and then just stood there, watching Elija's every move.


R1E1
Defensive stance.
White die!

Nobody attacks, new round, new dice.

R2E1: Initiative!
The soldier takes a high back stance.

...roll REF with target number of ATN+1 for the knife. If you succeed, you draw the knife during the short break.




The knight bears the insult with just a twitch of his walrus-like mustache, as he dons his armor and unsheathes his greatsword.

He then salutes his opponent and immediately attacks by powerful upwards slash while jumping back and even though Neiman tries to block, the sword passes through an opening on his thigh, scratching his skin. Neiman was able to repay him the favour by slashing at his shoulder, loosening knight's right pauldron.

Red!

Evasive attack; activation cost 1, upward cut for 6 dice, 3 dice to increase opponent's TN by 3, increases his TN by 1

6 dice to attack (TN 6), 3 to defense (TN 5 for shield).
Neiman's Cut-at-arms: (6d10)[8][10][8][9][8][10](53) TN 6+2 = 3 successes
Neiman's Block: (3d10)[6][9][2](17) TN 5 = 2 successes

Knight's Evasive attack: [roll1] TN 6+1 = 4 successes

3 net successes for Neiman's attack
2 net successes for Knight's attack

Whose attack lands first:
Neiman: REF/6 [roll2] = 3 successes
Knight: REF/6 [roll3] = 4 successes

Hit location (Neiman's attack): [roll4] = shoulder
Hit location (Knight's attack): [roll5] = inner thigh

Knight's attack lands first:
Damage: 6 (ST) + 3 (weapon) + 2 net successes = 11
Resist: TO 5 + AV 5 = 10

Level 1 wound to inner thigh
BL: 0
S: 4-WP (total: 0)
P: 4-WP (total: 0)

Neiman's attack:
Damage: 5 (ST) + 1 (weapon) +3 net successes = 9
Resist: TO 6 + AV 5 = 11

Level 0 wound. It's a scratch!

Neman hits last, he has initiative.
Round 1, Exchange 2: your action?

[JeenLeen]

That went about as poorly as expected. Well, let's stay foolhearty for the experience.

Putting the rest of his die into another attack, against cutting towards the arm.
[roll0] @ TN 6

Question: if the knight had wounded me badly enough to inflict pain or shock with his attacking-first, would that decrease my CP for my attack against him?
Also, in case editing this to ask this question erased my rolls (I'm not clear on what does or doesn't change them during an edit), I had 2 successes.

[Valmark]

I look at the man, gritting my teeth.
"You're no drunken pirate, are you?" I say before suddenly throwing one of my knives at him.




So, quick draw: [roll0]
Throw dagger: unknown number of cp spent for quick draw, +1 cp for point blank range and -1 to aim at the part visibly less protected. Capable of using 10 dices right? So:

[roll1]

I really hope I've done everything right. Even because it's 7 successes which I guess will be blocked by the shield. Oh well.

[JamesT]

I'll go up against the drunk pirate

White dice!

[Lacco]

Neiman

Neiman swung his sword upward - to try to cut across knight's outstretched arms, as he tried to attack Neiman with a straight downwards cut.

Neiman's blow did not pass through the plate on the upper arm - but it made the knight to miss Neiman entirely.


R1E2
The knight decides to attack; his attack comes second.

Neiman's cut-at-arms: 2 successes
Knight's vertical attack: [roll0] TN 6 = 0 successes

Hit locations:
Neiman: [roll1]
Knight: [roll2]

Neiman's attack:
Damage: 5 (ST) + 1 (weapon) +2 net successes = 8
Resist: TO 6 + AV 5 = 11

Level 0 wound. It's a scratch!

Neman hits, he retains initiative.
Round 2, Exchange 1: New round, new dice. Your action?

One question: did you count the +1 die for cutting at arms? If not, we'll treat the additional die as "power attack" - getting +1 to damage for the cut. (although it will not do anything)

Answer: yes. Officially the shock removes dice from dice pool - in this case, first from dice you have allocated to your attack.




@Valmark: for ranged combat the procedure is a bit different.

When you "prepare" your weapon, you gain Proficiency dice into your Missile Pool.

Each round spent aiming, you can add AIM dice into the pool.

Quick-draw maneuver is something a bit different. While it gives you exactly your Proficiency dice to roll for attack, it requires that you succeed in a terrain roll (roll where you use dice from your CP to do something else than fight) to draw the weapon.

Since there was a break in combat, it's assumed you have time to draw the dagger. If you decide to throw it, you can use only Proficiency dice - if you decide to aim, you are "sitting duck" (could work with more distance).



Ox

The drunk pirate staggers forward, his rapier ready. As soon as he closes the distance, he lunges, thrusting at Eldan's chest.


Round 1 Exchange 1:

Red die!

Pirate attacks with thrust to chest for 5 dice.
Eldan's response?

[JamesT]

Elden brings up his shield

Block, 6 dice
I think I'm supposed to leave some for a counterattack? Any reason not to use all 11 dice here? Because if not, I'll use them all.

[Lacco]

Ox

Pirate's thrust was more solid than his gait - the man knew how to handle a sword, and definitely was not as drunk as he pretended to be.

Eldan's shield was already raised when he started his attack, but the sheer force of the attack surprised him and made him step back, made him miss a beat and he did not get chance to respond - the pirate continued with another quick thrust - aimed at Eldan's head!


R1E1:
Pirate's thrust at chest: [roll0] TN 6= 3successes
Eldan's block: [roll1] TN 6 = 3 successes

Tie!

Hit location (if applicable): [roll2]

R2E2:
Pirate keeps initiative (in ties, initiative stays with attacker) and attacks with 6-die thrust to head (one die shall be spent as activation cost).
Eldan's response?

Main reason to not spend all dice in first exchange is, that even if you have initiative, if you run out of dice, you are open to any attack from your adversary.

Example: you spend 11 dice to block my 5-die attack. You succeed.
Now for second exchange you can't do anything - only watch as I attack again.
Again, in some cases, overspending is valid tactic.

For example, now you can spend all dice, because after second exchange a new round comes with new dice.

Wooden round shield:
DTN 6 (defence target number), AV 4 (armor value), covers one side of chest and belly, arm up to shoulder.
No penalties.

I also assume at least leather armour with AV 2.

[JeenLeen]

I did not include the +1 for cutting to arms.
Beyond using it for 'power attack', is there any other way to increase my damage? I seem to be having trouble dinting this guy. I recall reading that, after X rounds (ENx2 for most folk, just EN for full plate, maybe?), your CP goes down due to exhaustion/fatigue from the fight. Are we doing that and, if yes, could I potentially focus on defense until he is too tired to defend effectively?

But since practice and I'm being brazen, cutting attack at arms again (the other arms, if it matters, so he might not expect it), using Power Attack (spend the +1 to get +1 Str). Put 7 dice into the attack. No defense.
[roll0]

[JamesT]

Elden will defend (block with shield) with his 5 remaining dice.

[Lacco]

Neiman

Both of them trade another set of blows, even more savage than the one before, but even now armour protected the both.

Neiman loosened up his opponent's shoulder plate, while knight's blow was absorbed by Neiman's shield.


Other ways to increase damage? Investing more dice would be one way - more successes = more damage. Other than that - increasing ST or getting a more damaging weapon (in this case axes, maces, most mass weapons are good choice).

With advanced maneuvers, counter is good way how to get ahead of opponent with his own successes (especially when used in second exchange). You should try it out. The activation cost is a bit scary (3 dice with shield with counter, 2 with block open & strike) but you'll be rolling against the shield DTN (5) which is advantageous. In case of counter you'll gain dice equal to your opponents' successes (not net successes, all of them!) and in case of block open & strike you get additional dice for following attack. If you can manage to block first blow next round with as few dice as you can, use either block open & strike or counter in the second exchange.

Basically, you build up a momentum to demolish him.

Fatigue rules are in play. In round 3, his CP goes down by 1 (his EN is 3 => ENx2 - 3 = 3). For you that's round 9 if I'm correct, so if you focused on staying unharmed, you could definitely get him to faint :smallbiggrin:

Neiman's cut-at-arms: [roll0] TN 6 = 3 successes
Knight's diagonal attack: [roll1] TN 6 = 2 successes

Hit locations:
Neiman: [roll2] = upper arm/shoulder
Knight: [roll3] = chest cross-cut

Neiman's attack:
Damage: 5 (ST) + 1 (weapon) + 1 for additional power + 3 net successes = 10
Resist: TO 6 + AV 5 = 11

Level 0 wound to shoulder.

Knight's attack:
Damage: 6 (ST) + 3 (weapon) + 2 net successes = 11
Resist: TO 5 + AV 5 + AV 6 (shield) = 16

Level 0 wound. It's a scratch!

Round 2, Exchange 2: Knight has initiative!





Ox

Eldan again raised his shield and deflected the thrust aside, stepping firmly forward to attack.


R1E2:
Pirate's thrust: [roll4] TN 6 = 2 successes
Eldan's block: [roll5] TN 6 = 3 successes

1 net success for Eldan!

Hit location: [roll6]

Round 2, exchange 1: new round, new dice (dice pools renew)!
Eldan gained initiative. Your action?

[JamesT]

Ox slashes at his foe, eager to finally attack!

Cut at his abdomen, 5 red dice

[Valmark]

Uhm, I didn:t understood, is my roll valid or not? (Aorry I took so much time answering

[JeenLeen]

He has initiative, so trying for evasion.
If I recall the rules, full evasion is not an option in exchange 2, so my best bet is to block with my shield. If I partial evasion or something else is a better option (i.e., lower TN), I do that instead.

7 dice spent out of 13 - 1, so 5 left.
[roll0]
Might try a counter next turn, when I have more dice.

[Lacco]

Ox

The pirate demonstrated a strong circular parry, deflecting Ox's cut and followed up with deep lunge towards Ox's head.


R2E1:
Pirate parries with 6 dice

Ox's horizontal cut: [roll0] TN 6 = 1 success
Pirate's parry: [roll1] TN 6 = 4 successes

3 net successes for Pirate.

Hit location: [roll2]

Pirate deflects, gains initiative.

R2E2:
Pirate attacks with 5 die thrust to head (-1 for thrust to head)
Your response?

...just a question: how many dice does your opponent have?




@Valmark - it's not valid.

If you want to use the quickdraw maneuver to draw & toss the dagger in one exchange, you're using too many dice.

Your MP pool works a bit differently than CP. When you prepare (see "prep time" in your weapon) the weapon, you don't gain all dice. You gain Proficiency dice. Then, you can decide to spend the round aiming (= you get AIM dice in addition to your proficiency, usually filling your missile pool) or you attack (you can wait until second exchange, however there's no direct benefit).

So in case of Quickdraw maneuver, you immediately attack = you use only Proficiency dice.

Quickdraw maneuver has activation cost of 1.
Then you have to succeed in terrain roll (=allocate CP dice for the roll to draw the weapon) with TN being equal to ATN-1 (if drawing hand is free) or ATN-2 (if it's already on the weapon grip).
Then you can allocate the remaining dice to an attack.

On the other side, if we assume you had time to draw the dagger during the break in combat (white-white initiative) and prepare it, you can immediately throw it without the Quickdraw maneuver (quickdraw is best used when you want to throw it within an exchange) "outside" the round, before the initiative starts.

(you can also aim, but don't expect the point-blank enemy to just stand idle for the rest of the round - assume you'll have to evade his attacks)

I would suggest the second route. And if you want, you can use the dice from original roll you made, just decrease the amount according to your proficiency.

...did the explanation help? Or not really?



Neiman

Neiman's block was so powerful that he was almost sure the knight would lose his weapon, however he held to it. However, trickle of sweat was visible behind his visor, and he panted and grunted with each movement.

He was slowing down - Neiman could see that.


Sorry, I forgot to say how he attacks :smallredface:
R2E2:
Knight cuts diagonally for 5 dice!

Knight's diagonal cut: [roll3] TN 6 = 1 success
Neiman's block: [roll4] TN 5 = 5 successes

4 net successes for Neiman!

Hit location: [roll5]

R3E1: Neiman has initiative. Knight loses 1 CP due to fatigue.
Your action?


So, if you want to see how counter works, go on defensive - don't take initiative and wait for him to attack. You know how he attacks - there is a pattern of stronger attack followed by weaker one.
Now counter works well against very powerful attacks.
Block open & strike works better against less powerful attacks.

Rule clarification: full evasion is not possible in the exchange directly after an attack. You can use it anytime, but not after attack.

...just a question: how many dice does your opponent have?

[JamesT]

I thought my opponent had 11 dice. That's what you used for him last round.

Those were some horrible rolls for me.

[Lacco]

@JamesT: remember that. Also remember, that pirate is here to teach you some things about trickery.

And one point: you have something he does not. SAs. Especially Drama. In some cases, it's good to use it for rerolls (and getting exploding dice) because fights are really dangerous.

[thatsi]

Great read hahah :)

[Valmark]

Something tells me I made a calculation error...

My proficiency is NOT 10, right? It's 5? Because I took 10 dices. I think that's what I'm missing.

So wait, what if I wanted to dodge and aim? Would I be using al my CP to dodge while increasing my MP?

[JamesT]

@JamesT: remember that. Also remember, that pirate is here to teach you some things about trickery.

And one point: you have something he does not. SAs. Especially Drama. In some cases, it's good to use it for rerolls (and getting exploding dice) because fights are really dangerous.

My SAs are Conscience and Oath - I don't see how I can work those in here.

[Lacco]

The dagger swished through the air and landed at the most inappropriate place...

...and the soldier just bent over, almost falling to the ground...

...but he was able to overcome the sudden shock of having a dagger hit his intimate parts and raised his shield and sword once again...


Something tells me I made a calculation error...

My proficiency is NOT 10, right? It's 5? Because I took 10 dices. I think that's what I'm missing.

So wait, what if I wanted to dodge and aim? Would I be using al my CP to dodge while increasing my MP?

Correct.

Your (maximum) missile pool is 10. Consists of proficiency 5 and aim 5.

If you wanted to dodge and aim, you would have to dodge with CP from daggers proficiency. Not best idea.

Aiming within melee combat is really bad idea. So, let's take 5 dice from your previous roll... and use the additional die you get from point blank for additional accuracy (switching hit zone/location).

Elija's throw: (5d10)[7][9][7][7][8](63) TN 7 = 5 successes

Out of combat you usually dodge with REF against TN set based on if you know the attack is coming/how much time you have to dodge. Standard TN is 7 (I see you aiming and have some space/time to dodge); this time it's 9 because he does not have much space to evade, has limited visibility and the throw was not telegraphed.

I know, I normally take the other side, but I liked this roll :smallsmile:

Knight's evasion REF/9: [roll0] = 1 success

4 net successes for Elija

Hit zone: [roll1] = "pelvic region"
Hit location: [roll2] = hip = > moved to groin (much more painful) for the one die

Damage: 4 + 4 = 8
Resist: TO 5 + AV 2 = 7

Level 1 wound to groin.

BL: 6
S: 7
P: 9-WP (total: 5)

Shock is not relevant - but pain will be. Congrats, you "softened" the target.

R2E1: Initiative!





My SAs are Conscience and Oath - I don't see how I can work those in here.

In this case: you can't. You can only use Drama for rerolls/damage reduction mostly.

However, had you known the pirate plans to pillage your village... :smallwink: The important thing to consider is to fight only when it matters to your character. Choose fights carefully & save Drama for dangerous situations.

[Valmark]

"Hey, did that hurt! Don't use a shield if you can't swing it!" Elija said, piruetting for a sudden thrust towards his higher body.

Red die! God hope that knife hurts him enough to put on the defensive

4 dies for attack, thrust to chest

[JeenLeen]

If I follow the math right, the knight had 13 dice, so down to 12 now?

Hmm... trying counter.
Despite throwing the knight off guard, Neiman stands defensively, rearing up his shield and waiting for the incoming blow, although he plans to use his blade instead.
It is correct that I cannot go into a defensive stance at this point, right?


Spend 3 dice on activation (12 - 3 = 9 dice left)
Spend 6 dice on the counter (3 left for next exchange)
[roll0] @ TN 6 (arming sword)

[JamesT]

Ox uses 6 dice to block with shield

[Lacco]

The soldier only grunts in response, but prepares to block nevertheless - and it's a powerful block, followed by the soldier pushing Elija's blade aside, to provide himself an opening for quick follow-up horizontal swing aimed at Elija's sword-arm...

R2E1: White die!

Block open & strike, 5 dice.

Elija's thrust: [roll0] TN 6 = 2 successes
Soldier's block: [roll1] TN 6 = 4 successes

2 net successes for soldier!

Hit location: [roll2]

Soldier blocks, gains 2 dice for his next attack and initiative.

R2E2: Cut at arms for 3 dice!
Elija's response?





Seeing an opening, the knight launches his own powerful attack.


R3E1: Diagonal cut for 8 dice.

One reason why you shouldn't post defence before an attacker launches his attack: are you sure you want to roll 6 dice against his 8 with the same TN?

Yes, that CP should be correct. If you ever get to a break in this combat, you should use "Style Analysis" skill.

And yes, you are correct. No time to assume a stance - the moment you don't attack, he launches an attack of his own - only if a true break (white-white/nobody attacks/full evasion) happens, you can assume a stance.



Pirate's thrust was immediately blocked by Elden's shield, giving Elden an opportunity to attack...


R2E2:
Pirate's thrust to head: [roll3] TN 6 = 3 successes
Elden's block: [roll4] TN 6 = 6 successes

Hit location: [roll5]

3 net successes for Elden, who gains initiative!

R3E1: New round, new dice!
So... let's try one of the fancier tricks...what about bind & strike? You can use that one with a shield.
There is no activation cost, you state you want to bind his weapon, roll attack as normal cut.
If you succeed, you don't hurt him, but he loses 1 CP per your net success from his next defence.

[JamesT]

Okay, I'll try that bind and strike. I think the post implies that it requires 6 dice

[Valmark]

"Not so fast!" I say, trying to deflect his attack.

well... Which was the manuever for stealing initiative?

In any case [roll0]



I think it was duck and weave at TN 9

[Valmark]

...something went bad.

You know, I'm missing one rule: who rolls the dices?

In case, [roll0]

EDIT: GOD THOSE ROLLS.

Anyway, noticed it's not duck and weave, whatever that one is better and I made three successes

[Lacco]

Okay, I'll try that bind and strike. I think the post implies that it requires 6 dice

Well... it doesn't really require 6 dice. There is no activation cost, and you can spend any amount of dice for the bind (in some cases it's advantageous to overspend - and this might be one of them).

Should I assume it's bind & strike for 6 dice?



Elija


R2E2
Soldier's cut-at-arms: [roll0] TN 6 = 1 success
Elija's duck & weave: 3 successes

2 net successes for Elija!

Hit location: [roll1]

Soldier loses 1 die for next round.
He may not use shield in next exchange.
Elija remains in his optimal range for his weapon & gains initiative.

R3E1: New round, new dice.
What does Elija do?


Lost 1 die due to Duck & Weave.
BL: 6 (no HT loss this round (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22382479&postcount=174))
P: 5

Re: Stealing initiative.
It's possible only in "RED-WHITE" situation. Normally, defender may decide to attack instead of defending - but his attack will land second.
To steal initiative, he needs to:
- declare that he attacks, select maneuver/allocate dice (the maneuver can not be then modified),
- pay activation cost (based on proficiency),
- roll REF against ATN of used weapon - whoever wins the roll gets to hit first,
- the REF roll may be modified by both contestants by adding CP to the roll, as well as by other modifiers (e.g. thrusts get +1, length modifiers apply normally).

Activation cost is:
Proficiency 0-4: 5 CP
Proficiency 5-9: 4 CP
Proficiency 10+: 3 CP

[JamesT]

Sure, 6 dice

[Lacco]

Elden tried to push pirate's blade aside, but his opponent disengaged his blade in a wide circle to avoid getting trapped, and went straight for a thrust again.


R3E1

Pirate parries with 8 dice
Elden's bind: [roll0] TN 6 = 1 success
Pirate's parry: [roll1] TN 6 = 3 successes

2 net successes for pirate, who gains initiative and launches a thrust-at-head for 5 dice (-1 for thrust to head)

R3E2: Your response?

[Valmark]

"See if you can block this!" I scream, thrusting at his most vulnerable part.

Now that that pesky shield is gone I believe it's better to really lay down the punishment.

Since you didn't really say, what's the least armoured part of his body?
If he has a space without armor I'll be thrusting there. Otherwise I'll get fancy: I'll attack the hand with a slash (I think it suits better, no?) to make him drop his weapon.

CP 12, -1 for aiming, 6 dices for attack:

[roll0] at TN... 6, right?

[Valmark]

[roll0] TN 6 e.e

[Valmark]

[roll0] TN 6 e.e

Right, spending drama to reroll [roll0] TN 6

[JamesT]

5 dice block with shield