Combat

Base Attack: Coordination

Base Defense: Speed + 12 + odd levels Combat Position

Base Initiative: (Melee) Initiative + Even Levels Combat Position

(Missile) Initiative + Attentiveness Level

Your attack with a melee weapon is --

Base Attack + Weapon Style Level + Weapon Modifier + any armor mod + any shield mod


Your defense with a melee weapon is --

Base Defense + Weapon Modifier + Fighting Style Level Bonus + Any other modifier (shield, armor)

Your Initiative with a melee/missile weapon is --

Base Initiative + Fighting Style Level Bonus + Weapon Modifier + armor mod, if any

Fighting Styles

There are basically THREE different fighting styles, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses (see SKILLS for more details). There are other fighting styles in the World, but they are exotic and not commonly available.

Weapon: this style is the simplest; the character has learned to both attack and defend with his chosen Weapon category. +1 to both Attack and Defense per level, and it is assumed that Parrying is done with the Weapon. An attempt to damage or remove the weapon in combat may be Deflected by rolling skill level or less on a d12, if character has initiative (see Strike At Weapon; Combat Options).

Weapon and Shield: This style combines the use of a weapon to attack with a Shield for all parrying. ALL defense except for the Weapon's inherent Weapon modifier comes from the Shield; the character who uses this style is only skilled in attacking with a weapon and gets no plus to defense from skill without a Shield. +1 to Attack, + 2 to Defense per level, plus Shield modifiers. Shield also subtract from Attack score (see Things to Parry With). Shields deflect blows without damage if skill level or less is rolled on a d12.

Two Weapons: This style teaches the use of a weapon in the off hand which can be used for parrying purposes, as a Shield. However, it also teaches how to defend with a single weapon, so those proficient in this style can attack with either weapon and still receive their Two Weapons level to their Defense score. Those using this style can also choose to attack with both weapons, losing the use of the secondary weapon for defense, but effectively Swinging Twice for only -2 Attack/Defense instead of -4, with no plus to Fumble. If the secondary weapon is used to defend, twice the Two Weapons level is added for figuring defense (as with a Shield). There are no shield modifiers to Attack or Defense, only skill modifiers. Learning Two Weapons effectively trains a warrior to be ambidextrous at this skill only, so whether he is ambidextrous or not, he swings with either weapon at the same modifier. When swinging with each weapon, a warrior gets no advantage for Left handed. Left handed fighters will gain an advantage when swinging with their left hand and defending with their right.

Fighters with Two Weapons are treated as fighters with shields for purposes of Swinging at Weapon or Swinging at Shield. When using Two Weapons skill for defense, a fighter receives no extra bonus for Parrying (effectively, he/she can’t use the option).

Because a character using this skill is taught to be effectively ambidextrous with this technique, the Two Weapons taken have to be in the same Weapon category. Two Weapons is simply not taught using two widely differing weapons.

Those who wish to take Weapon and Shield or Two Weapons should check the Combat Equipment section for Attack and Defense modifiers, as well as the Skills section for Difficulties.

Weapon and Shield may be used with any 1-handed weapon, regardless of category. If using a weapon other than your main weapon, you lose one level, effectively, of Weapon and Shield, plus all defensive weapon modifiers--picking up a rapier won’t help you defensively if you are used to fighting with a battle axe. Remember that losing 1 level of Weapon and Shield effectively takes 2 off your Defense!

Basics of Combat

In combat, an attack is made by rolling a d30 and adding it to your melee attack score. If the total beats your opponent's defense you score a hit. If you beat your opponent's defense by 10, the poor sap has taken a critical hit, and the effects of the wound will be increased one level. If you nail him by 30, the wound goes up 2 levels. For example, Big Red Chewing-Gum swings at Bob the Blob. Poor Blobby has only a 22 defense, and Big Red's attack total is 32. Therefore, Big Red's damage against this pitiful quivering mass is increased by 1 level, meaning that whatever level of crit Blobby takes will become one level nastier. If Big Red had somehow managed to nail this incredibly slow gelatinous mass with a 52 total, Blobby's crit would have become two levels more severe, and he probably would be doing a great Elvis impersonation: fat and dead.

No number on a d30 guarantees an automatic hit; if you roll a 30 and this added to your attack still won't beat your opponent's defense, you don't hit. However, if a 30 is rolled, you may roll a d20 and add this number to your total; if a 20 is rolled on this d20, roll a d10 and add this total, etc. No normal attack may ever raise a hit more than two critical levels (see combat options).

Once engaged in combat, you will have several different options at your disposal. During each round of combat (six seconds, or 10 combat rounds to a minute), you may perform one or more combat options. This option may affect your attack and defense. Combat options are various and sundry maneuvers such as dodge or parry. Remember that a melee round is a full six seconds, and that when you attack or parry, whatever you're doing is treated as a stance you are taking as opposed to a particular action. If you dodge for instance, it is assumed you are frantically trying to duck the flurry of attacks coming from your opponent, not just ducking once.

Damage

Physical damage will be applied to the location that was hit (rolled on a d30), and this damage comes in levels, representing the severity and size of the wound. A level 3 wound is smaller than a level 4 wound, but a small wound to the head will be more serious than the same size wound to the shoulder and will probably have greater pain effects.

Each weapon has a variable amount of points it will inflict represented by a dice roll and a modification (weapon damage). If a person is particularly large or strong, he or she will have a higher modification to the dice. Or a person could be small and weak, and could have a lower modification to the dice roll. For every point the character's might exceeds 6, he or she will do one point extra. For every point the character's might is less than 5 (4 for thrusting weapons), the character will do one point less. This does not apply to missile weapons. Bows depend upon the draw strength. For thrown weapons, use the same procedure as for melee weapons, but substitute coordination for might.

All weapons will have a maximum bonus. If your bonus exceeds the maximum bonus with the weapon, get a bigger weapon. Barring this, average the two to get your total bonus, as, for example, no matter how strong you are, you can only do so much damage with a pointed stick.

When you hit, roll the weapon damage and subtract the armor protection the person is wearing. The remaining points are compared against the damage resistance of the hapless victim, as a fraction rounded down to the nearest quarter. So if your broadsword did 8 points of damage past the victim's armor, and he has a damage resistance of 15, you have done a level 2 hit (second quarter, or half of 15). Then roll location (d30), and see where the victim was hit. Note if that had been a critical hit, then the victim would take a level 3 hit.

Exhaustion

For every action that you take, whether it's swinging a sword, running, or dodging for your life, there is an Exhaustion cost. Subtract the Exhaustion cost of the action or actions during the round from your exhaustion level. For every point your PC’s exhaustion level is below zero, you take an additional -1 (see Pain and Minuses, below). Upon reaching an increment of 5 below their Exhaustion Level, a character must make an immediate roll off of 1/2 Willpower vs. the amount below zero Exhaustion they currently are. If failed, they will immediately Recover (see Combat Options), taking a -10 to Attack and Defense and recovering 2 Exhaustion and doing nothing else that round. If the roll is failed by 10, the character immediately collapses, effectively incapacitated until they fully Recover all of their Exhaustion.

No character may spend more than 3 exhaustion per round. Weapons, armor, and shields will also tend to reduce your exhaustion level. The exhaustion penalty for armor is constant, however a stronger character can wear more armor without taking the same penalties. For every 5 a character's strength is above the armor's minimum strength requirement the character may reduce the armor's Coordination, Exhaustion, and Tactical Movement modifiers by 1. On the other hand, for every 2 a character's strength is below the equipment's strength requirement, the character may subtract 1 from his Coordination, Speed, Exhaustion, and Tactical Movement. These penalties also apply for weapons and shields, although one does not receive any sort of bonus for these.

Pain and Minuses

When a character in the World of Empire is operating at less than their optimal level, regardless of why, their level of impairment will be represented by a minus. Minuses are generated as the result of being injured or wounded, being sick, having low morale, being tired, or for any other reason that a person might not be at full physical and mental health. These minuses are applied to the results of all dice rolls the character makes, including saving rolls. For every 5 minuses a character takes, they have +1 chance to Fumble on any dice roll they make while under these minuses. If a character is at -5 or higher, even if they are not Incapacitated, they may well have to make roll offs for actions that would normally be considered automatic.

Minuses interact with a character's Pain Level to control when that character can no longer function due to excessive trauma of some nature. Characters have a Pain Level equivalent to their Fortitude + 2, which may be modified by attributes like Pain Resistant/Susceptible. Whenever a character takes minuses equal to half their pain level, or their entire pain level, or any time the character takes an additional minus while over their Pain Level, they must make a Pain Check on a d6. On a 1, they collapse, Incapacitated, which is not the same as unconscious; they simply cannot function due to excessive minuses, meaning that in order to make any kind of volitional action, they must roll off their WP vs 25. On a 2, they fall to their knees and are Incapacitated for the rest of the round. On a 3, they remain on their feet but are Incapacitated for the remainder of the round. On a 4-6, they grit their teeth and tough it out without any further effects except the minuses themselves.

When a character reaches 1.5x their Pain level in total minuses of any sort, they are automatically Incapacitated. If a character ever accumulates 2x their Pain level in minuses, they lapse into unconsciousness and remain unconscious until stimulated into consciousness or until enough minuses have been removed to allow them to recover consciousness naturally.

If a character ever takes 2x their Pain level in minuses all at once from one specific trauma, they are instantly killed.

WOUNDS

When a character is wounded in combat, the DM will tell them the number of minuses that the wound causes. As a general rule, minuses from a wound will halve an hour after the wound was inflicted, after which point they will heal at a rate that depends on the type and severity of wound that was taken (what level the wound was, and what kind of damage was inflicted).

BLEEDING

Many wounds also inflict bleeding points. Every 10 points of blood lost will generate another -1.

If you're resting (expending no Exhaustion) you may halve the amount you are bleeding. Pain minuses accumulate by normal rounding, i.e., for every 5 points of bleeding you take, your minus rounds up to the next whole number. Thus, if you’ve bled 5 points, you are under a -1; if you’ve bled 15 points, you’re under a -2, etc.

Bleeding wounds will stop bleeding by themselves if the character rolls their Constitution or less on percentile; they may make this roll after 10 rounds in which they receive no damage and expend no exhaustion points, and every 10 rounds after that if those conditions continue to be met. Characters may make a chirurgeon roll vs 8 + the number of points a wound is bleeding to stop the wound from bleeding; this roll takes only one round to make, but the wound will begin bleeding again when the wounded character next expends exhaustion or makes any skill roll off if it is not bandaged or sutured. Up to 2 points of bleeding can be bandaged with a Chirurgeon rolls vs. 0, wounds bleeding 3 points or more must be sutured, at Chirurgeon vs the 8 + number of points the would is bleeding. If this roll is failed by 10 or more, bleeding will actually increase by 1.

Blood minuses do not halve or heal the way wound minuses do; instead, characters regenerate one point of blood per hour. Thus, a character who has lost 23 blood points in combat before their bleeding stops will be at a -2, but need a full 23 hours of rest to recover all their lost blood points. If they are wounded again before they fully recover all their blood points, they add any additional blood loss to the amount not yet recovered from the previous wound.


DISEASE

Occasionally characters will be exposed to disease. When this happens, the DM will require a Fortitude roll off against whatever difficulty is appropriate to the situation. If the character fails this roll off, they will become sick, and they will generally suffer a minus equivalent to the specific disease's Virulence Factor as modified by the character's Fortitude (usually as [Virulence Factor - FRT]). Most natural diseases will allow the character to make a Recovery roll of their FRT vs the disease's Virulence Factor once per 24 hours, usually with the disease's Virulence Factor decreasing over time. A character's FRT for these rolls may be enhanced by attributes like Disease Resistant/Susceptible, by appropriate medicines and treatments, especially as administered by a physicker.

POISON

Poison generally works like a combination of a Wound minus and a Disease minus. When a character is Poisoned, they will generally make an immediately roll off vs their FRT, modified by any antidotes they may take and/or Drug Resistant/Susceptible. If they fail this roll off, they will usually begin to take minuses from the Poison. Poisons generally have Virulence Factors much, much higher than those of Diseases (often by orders of magnitude), but after subtracting the Poisoned character's FRT from the Poison's VF, the resultant number will be spread out over the next 10 rounds. Thus, if a character is poisoned by a drug that has a Virulence Factor of 60, they will subtract their Fortitude, say, 8. The remaining 52 minuses will be divided by 10, for a result of 5.2. This will be rounded in favor of the character, to a 5, and the poisoned PC will take a -5 per round for the next ten rounds.

Antidotes/antivenoms will generally have a Healing Factor. When an antidote is administered, this Healing Factor will be added at once to the character's FRT, and an immediate FRT save will be made against the Poison's Virulence Factor again. If this is successful, no further Poison minuses will be taken and any Poison minuses already inflicted will be halved, and then recovered from at a rate of 1 minus per hour of rest, 2 per hour of sleep.

If an antidote is administered and the modified FRT still fails to save against the Poison's Virulence Factor, as can often happen with the more dangerous poisons, the antidote will still have the effect of reducing any poison minuses taken from that point forward by 2 per turn.

Once all Poison minuses have been done, the poisoned character must roll against Death Shock. The character may subtract 2x their Pain Level from the total number of Poison minuses they have taken, and then roll off [base FRT + Wgt/20] vs the remaining Poison minuses. If this roll is failed by 10 or more, death is instantaneous. If it is failed by 9 or less, the character lingers without healing; repeat this FRT roll every 10 rounds. If the roll is made, the character will begin to recover at a rate of the character's FRT per day of rest, plus an additional 3 per hour of sleep.

EXHAUSTION

Spending exhaustion will also generate minuses when a character has used up all their available Exhaustion points and continues to expend them anyay, going below zero in total Exhaustion. For every 1 this character goes below zero in Exhaustion, they will take a -1. When they reach -5 or higher in Exhaustion spent, they must roll off 1/2 WP vs the amount they are negative not to immediately spend a round Recovering. They must repeat this roll for every factor of 5 they go below zero in Exhaustion.

FATIGUE

Normally when a character or characters travels on foot, they move at their Tactical Movement in miles per day, assuming a normal 8 hours of movement per day. In normal caravan travel, for example, caravans move from 8 am to noon, rest for two hours, then move again from 2 to 6 in the evening. Caravans following this schedule would be presumed to move at the slowest tactical movement in the caravan, and would thus move that tactical movement's miles per 8 hours of travel, as modified by terrain conditions. (A good Imperial road allows full TM per 8 hours, but there are no good Imperial roads on the River. A well kept caravan trail allows 2/3s of TM per 8 hours of travel, relatively open but unimproved terrain with little hazards or obstacles allows 1/2 TM, woods allow 1/4 to 1/10 depending on the density of growth, etc.) At this pace, characters take no additional Fatigue minuses per day.

When characters have to move faster than their TM in miles per 8 hours of travel, or when characters travel longer than 8 hours per day, they will take a -1 from Fatigue per +1 TM they move after 2 hours of travel at that pace. As these Fatigue minuses accumulate, they will have to make Pain checks and suffer Incapacitation as normal.

Thus, if a party of characters whose slowest member has a TM of 12 needs to get to a location 20 miles distant in 8 hours time, assuming there is a good Imperial road leading directly there, they will have to travel at TM 20 for that 8 hours. At the end of the first 2 hours they attempt to travel at TM 20, each member of the party will take a minus equivalent to 20 - [individual TM]. The party member with the 12 TM, for example, will take a -8 at the end of the first two hours of movement at 20. Assuming that character makes all Pain checks, they can take this minus for 4 hours before collapsing from Fatigue minuses.

All of which is a good reason to take the skill Marathon or use horses.

Fatigue minuses can be generated by other strenuous activity, per the following chart:

Jogging -2 per hour
Light Labor -1 per 2 hrs
Med Labor -1 per hr
Hard Labor -3 per hr
Backbreaking Labor -4 per hr
Riding - 1 per 4 hrs
Sleeplessness - 1 per hr

Fatigue minuses can be healed up to 1/2 their total at a rate of 1 per level of rest, but will never fully heal without sleep. After four hours of unbroken sleep, 2 fatigue minuses will heal. For every hour of restful sleep after the first four, 2 more fatigue minuses will heal in addition.

MORALE

Under dire circumstances, the DM may require Morale rolls. These are rolls off vs 1/2 WP; if a roll is failed, the character failing the roll will be under a minus equivalent to 1/2 the amount they failed the roll by. DMs will not back up 20s when rolling Morale difficulties.

Minuses from Morale rolls can be offset temporarily by a successful Leadership roll; the effects of this roll will last for a number of hours equal to the amount the Leadership roll was made by, minimum 1. Morale minuses may not be permanently removed until either the morale damaging influence is removed or, in instances where this is not possible (party morale is low due to the death of a beloved character, for example), some event occurs that will allow the suffering characters to resolve the issue and move on.

ESSENTIAL

Occasionally characters may take minuses due to a sudden drain on their essential life force, or essence. These are generally minuses that are inflicted directly by non physical means, such as magic or some sort of psionic attack. Essential minuses do not halve after an hour; instead, they halve after two days, and completely heal in another two days.

When a mage works a healing spell on a character, that mage is healing all the trauma that caused the original minus, and converting that minus to an essential minus, generally equivalent to half the total of the original minus that the mage is modifying.

Shock

After combat, shock can set in. A character will have to roll against shock any time they take in excess of a -10. There are two types of shock a severely hurt character can go into; minor shock, which will incapacitate the character for a few hours or days, and Death Shock, which the character can die from in a few hours in they fail their saving rolls. Shock is a serious matter, and the presence of a skilled medic or the Attribute Shock Resistant can be a lifesaver.

Instant Death

There are two things which can kill a character instantly. One is taking, from one source, 2x the character’s Pain Level in minuses at once. Fortunately, things that do such huge minuses all at once are relatively rare. The second thing which can kill a character instantly is an Instant Kill critical wound effect. Certain wounds in certain vital areas have a percentage chance of killing instantly; if the player rolls within that chance, the character is instantly killed.

Initiative

Initiative is speed and decisiveness in combat. When two opponents are facing each other, the one with the higher initiative will be able to see what his/her opponent is doing and react to it first. Generally, a long quick weapon will give a person a higher initiative.

Melee rounds are six seconds long, and each second in considered to be divided up into increments taking 6 Initiative. Thus, just for example, a character who has an initiative of 23 perceives and reacts 1/6th of a second faster that someone with an initiative of 22. Such fractions of a second can decide whole battles. A melee round is considered to begin at initiative 30, and to end at initiative -6. No matter how slow a character is, he is considered to be able to make one action per melee round; no matter how fast a character is, he cannot make a movement at higher than initiative 30. Initiatives higher than 30 are only used to measure relative reaction times.

Conventional multiple actions are normally considered to take 10 initiative to make. This means that if someone swings twice, their next swing will come at a point in the round 10 initiative lower than their first swing. Or a character could, say, Parry at Initiative 17 and, if he rolled a successful return swing, swing back at Initiative 7. There are specialized skills that will allow multiple actions to be taken in a turn faster than this, but this is how standard multiple actions work.

When a player's turn to declare his character's combat actions comes, he has 30 seconds to do so. If he fails to do so within 30 seconds, his character Guards for the round. (See Combat Options)

Multiple Opponents

When a person is fighting more than one opponent, certain special rules come into effect. If facing two opponents, attack and defense are -5 toward both, if facing three -10. Any person not faced is ignored. A character cannot put any kind of conscious, skilled defense to an opponent they are ignoring; such an opponent receives a defense equal to the character’s Adjusted Speed + 6. A character can only face, at most, three opponents; if there are more enemies than this facing them, they must ignore them. However, it is difficult to get three or more opponents on one without crowding each other. Generally, they will fumble more often and get in each others way.

The above modifiers apply to initiative as well, but only after facing has declared. In other words, in a mass melee situation, characters must declare who they are facing in normal initiative sequence. Once facings have been declared, the above modifiers are applied, and the modified initiatives are used to determine who declares actions and then moves in what order.

Missile Weapons

Attack: (Dexterity/2) + (2 x Level) + Accuracy modifier + Range modifier

Initiative: Initiative + Attentiveness level + Weapon Level + Weapon Bonus

Your missile weapon will have an Accuracy modifier, which adds directly to your Attack with it. It will also have a Range modifier, which will subtract from your Attack over distance.

To hit, roll a d30 and add your attack. If you beat the Target Rating (based on range, movement, cover, etc.) of whatever you are shooting at, you hit.

Initiative for missile fire is used for a person who is outside melee range to determine when his fire will affect the melee round; it is also useful during an exchange of missile fire to determine which character may act and perceive the intentions of the other(s) first. When the missile hits is another matter. Missile weapons hit their targets at an initiative modifier equal to their Range modifier (i.e., if you’re firing a longbow at a target 30 yards away, the arrow will hit at -6 to the Initiative it was fired. (Longbows are -2 per 10 yards, a very accurate weapon.)

Recovery

Keep track of the Level and type of damage your character takes in combat. After combat, the DM will tell you the Healing rate of, for example, a Level 2 Slashing wound. After the first hour, your minuses will halve. After that, they will halve again in the number of days specified for that kind of wound.

Combat Options

NOTE: Each round, regardless of whether you make an attack or not, you MUST roll a d30 to check for Fumble.

Attack (1) Normal attack and defense. You may also attack with extra effort and increase your attack by +2 while decreasing your defense by -2, or you may defend with extra effort and raise your defense by +2 while decreasing your attack by -2. Each extra effort costs an extra point of exhaustion to perform and raises your fumble chance by +1.

Parry (1) +4 Defense. You may strike back on a 1-2 on a d6, 1-3 if you can parry with a shield, secondary weapon, cloak, or quarterstaff.

Dodge (2) +7 Defense to all opponents. If you choose this option, it is the only one you can do this turn. You may either disengage from any opponent who misses you, or strike back on a 1-2 on a d12, normally rolled as a 1 on a d6 (see Shoito under Special Training for exceptions).

Desperate Dodge (3) +10 Defense to all opponents. If you choose this option, it is the only option you may do this turn. Desperate Dodge gets you out of melee regardless of whether anyone hits you. You must then make a Combat Position roll-off against 10, +5 for each person who hit you, to avoid falling down.

Desperate Attack (3) +3 Attack, -8 Defense, +2 Fumble. This option indicates that your are putting everything into one desperate attack. If you hit, the level of the wound increases by one. If your opponent hits you while you are Desperate Attacking, he does +1 level, too. If you miss, make a Combat Position roll off vs. 9 to remain on your feet. If you fail this roll by 10 or more, you go prone; otherwise, failure means you have fallen to your knees.

Charge (3) +3 Attack, -6 Defense, +3 Fumble. Like a Shield Bash, only with intent at striking your target with a weapon. If you hit with a Bashing or Slashing weapon, you inflict +1 level. If you hit with a thrusting weapon, you do +2 levels. If you are thrusting with a Polearm and you hit, you inflict +3 levels. If hit by any of these while charging, you take the same effects. You may not charge someone you are already in melee with.

Close (1) -4 Attack, -6 Defense. If you hit, you enter Close Combat unless your opponent hits you for (your weight/20) points of damage. If you're hit by a thrusting weapon, your opponent automatically inflicts maximum damage. If you make it into Close Combat, a 1-2 on a d6 indicates that you also scored a hit for Close Combat damage. If you are using a thrusting weapon, you automatically inflict maximum damage. When you Close, your opponent always goes first.

Jump Opponent (2) -4 Attack, -10 Defense, +2 Fumble. Desperate attempt to enter close combat with opponent, ignoring his parry skills, but not any Shield skill or modifier. If you hit, you enter Close Combat as under Jumping unless your opponent hits you for (your weight/10) points of damage. Any weapon which hits you rolls damage twice and inflicts the higher, thrusting weapons automatically maxing out and moving up one crit level. Roll off (attackers might, +5 if charging) vs. (defenders might) on d10's. If attacker wins, the close combat goes to the ground. If you miss, make a Combat Position roll-off vs. 10 to avoid falling down. When you choose this option, your opponent always goes first.

Strike at Weapon (1) -5 Attack. Your opponent must subtract his weapon and any parry modifier from his defense. If you hit, roll a d6:

* 1-2 you attempt to break opponent's weapon-- do damage, roll off total damage vs. opponent’s weapon strength. If you win the roll off, you crack his Weapon and he must subtract the amount you won by from his Weapon Strength. If you win by 5, his weapon is broken. Hitting his weapon by 10 will add 5 to your damage to it, hitting by 30 will add 10.

* 3-4 you attempt to disarm him -- Roll-off MNP vs. MNP

* 5-6 you get your choice of what to try.

A character with better initiative than her opponent may attempt to Deflect the Strike At Weapon. To do this, you must expend 1 exhaustion and your opponent does not have the -5 Attack modifier. If your opponent hits, you may attempt to Deflect the attack by rolling your Weapon level or less on a d12.

Strike at Shield (1) -5 Attack. Your opponent must lower his defense by the amount his shield protects him. If you hit, you hit his shield. Thrusting weapons do 1/2 damage to a shield, axes and edged polearms do 1.5 times damage to the shield. Opponent may attempt to Deflect if she has initiative, as in Strike At Weapon above. However, if she attempts this, you do not have the -5 to your attack, and if her Deflection roll fails, you automatically do double damage to the shield.

Shield Bash (2) -6 Defense, +3 Fumble. Your opponent loses all non Weapon defense bonuses against this attack. If you hit you make forceful contact with your opponent or his shield, trying to knock him over. If your opponent hits you with a thrusting weapon, he may roll damage twice and take the higher. If you hit your opponent, each rolls a d10 and adds it to their might. If you win that roll-off, your opponent is knocked to one side and must roll his Combat Position against (10 + your margin of victory) or fall. Charging adds +5 to your might roll, but if you lose, then you must roll Combat Position vs. (10 + margin of defeat) or fall. This attack may be done without a shield.

Fall Weeping To The Ground (3) No attack, 0 Defense. Try and evoke pity in an overwhelming foe. Never works on the River, but they’ll usually at least finish you off fast in disgust.

Flourish (2) Barely an attack, -5 Defense. You must allow your opponent to swing first, if he misses, you roll off your Flourish rating vs. his ACU + 2x Weapon level. If you win, he is considered to be Faked and Bound by Combat Position rules. You may attack in addition if you roll a 1-2 on a d6. +1 to Fumble.

Guard (0) Normal defense. You expend no exhaustion, and may make no other maneuvers whatsoever.

Pause (0) -3 Attack, -3 Defense, +2 Fumble. Wait to see what your opponents are doing (only useful if they have a higher initiative). Their action will still come first, but you at least get to see what it is and respond to it.

Rest (-1) -5 Attack and Defense. Get one (1) exhaustion point back and do nothing else, you rested.

Recover (-2) -10 Attack and Defense. Get two (2) exhaustion points back and do nothing else, you recovered.

Trip (1) -2 Attack, -4 Defense. Requires using either a Kick or Polearm attack. If a Trip attack hits, the target falls to his knees; if the Trip hits by 10, the target is prone. Trip will void a Desperate Dodge leaving combat if successful. If the Trip only results in knocking a Desperate Dodging target to their knees, the target must roll off Combat Position vs. 10 not to actually go prone.

Blow Opponent (1) +8 ‘Attack’, No defense. Your slip to your knees in combat and figure ‘WTF, as long as I’m down here…’ Excellent method to offer unconditional surrender, especially on the River. Roll off Pillowing vs. ½ opponent’s WP. If you succeed, opponent will not kill you. If you succeed by 10, opponent will not sell you off at first opportunity, or at least, will demand a premium from potential buyers.

Combat Position Maneuvers (1) Normal Attack and Defense, +1 to Fumble. Choose one of the following moves. Roll off your Combat Position rating vs. opponent's. If you win , the maneuver worked.

Bind - Opponent will be at -5 attack and defense next round and may not dodge, parry, or desperate dodge. Opponents with shields may not make Deflection rolls when bound. Ha ha.

Fake - Causes your opponent to completely misjudge his orientation in combat. Next round your opponent may not perform any action against you, although he will still have his full defense. If he dodges or desperate dodges, you still face his normal defense.

Force Fumble - So badly befuddle your opponent that he must roll on the DMs dreaded Fumble Chart at the end of the round to see what horrible mischance you have suckered him into with your oh-so dazzling footwork.

Take Position - You put your back to a terrain feature in such a way that only one opponent may attack you at one time. Not applicable in certain situations (completely open terrain). You must successfully roll off your Combat Position level against all of the opponents you wish to exclude, but you need not beat their totals by five. If you succeed, you may only be dislodged from your position by being successfully Combat Positioned (Bound, Faked, Driven, or Force Fumbled).

Drive Opponent - Position yourself to force your opponent to approach you in a certain manner (over the hidden bear-pit) or shift your footwork to force your opponent to move in a direction you choose. Move your opponent up to one yard per 1 this Combat Position roll off wins by. Useful when fighting at the top of stairways, on a ship, on a flying carpet, etc.

Gaze of Death no attack, no defense, no exhaustion cost. Drop all weapons, cross your arms, stand there and stare at your opponent, willing him to die. Roll off ½ WP vs. 1500 (20s may not be backed up). If WP roll off succeeds, opponent dies.

Aim for Location (0) +1 Fumble. You may aim for specific location on an opponent or for a weak or missing section of his armour. For each location there is a specific penalty associated with it (see chart below).

Head -10 Upper Arm -6
Face -12 Lower Arm -6
Neck -12 Arm -4
Head & Neck -8 Upper Leg -4
Shoulder -6 Lower Leg -4
Chest -4 Leg -2
Stomach -4 Wing -4
Torso -2 Aim Low-2
Tail -6 Aim High-2


Combat Option Summary

Option Attack Defense Exhaustion Fumble
Attack +0 +0 1 +0
Attack XEA +2 -2 2 +1
Attack XED -2 +2 2 +1
Parry (1-2) +4 1 +0
Dodge (1) +7 2 +0
Desp Dodge - +10 3 Swash vs. 5
Desp Attack +3 -8 3 +2
Close -4 -6 1 +0
Jump Opponent -4 -10 2 +2
Flourish (1-2) -5 2 +1
Combat Position - - 1 +1
Strike/ Weapon -5 +0 1 +0
Strike/ Shield -5 +0 1 +0
Shield Bash +0 -6 2 +3
Pause -3 -3 0 +2
Rest -5 -5 -1 +0
Recover -10 -10 -2 +0
Aim (- chart) +1
Swing Twice -4 -4 2 +1
Swing Thrice -8 -8 3 +2
Grab -2/-1 2/-4 1 +0
Wedgie -17 -82 3 +18
The Old
Billy Berule -6 autohit 6 +21

Combat Modifiers

Description Att Def. Init. Swash Damage Fumble
Two Attacks -4 -4 +0 +0 +0 +1
Three Attacks -8 -8 +0 +0 +0 +2
On Knees -2 -4 -4 -4 -2 +2
Prone -4 -8 -8 -6 -3 +1
One Leg Disabled -1 -2 -2 - -4 +0 +2
Opponent Below You +2 +2 +1 +0 +2 +0
Dark -2 -4 +0 +0 +0 +1
Very Dark -4 -8 +0 +0 +0 +3
Blind -24 -24 +0 +0 +0 +15
Three On One -2 +0 +0 -2 +0 +1
Four On One -5 +0 +0 -5 +0 +3
Being Savagely
Beaten By
Invisible Troll -17 -39 -44 -28 -19 +16
Orally gratifying
Opponent hardly d4 nuh uh narp hopefully not see previous