Combat

Reasons for Combat

There are many reasons combat might break out. The most common are:

• Survival: You have to fight to live. Someone may be trying to kill you, or you may have unwittingly become the prey of a hungry wild beast. This is the most common reason for combat, and what most random encounters fall under.
• To Meet an Objective / A Hired Kill: You may be asked or hired to do something that leads to combat — taking someone down, or retrieving an item that is guarded by someone or something.
• Wrong Place at the Wrong Time: A story event the GM has developed pulls you in. A town gets attacked, a dragon appears, a barbarian horde sweeps through. This often ties into survival as well.
• Anger / Revenge: Another character — NPC or player — does something that provokes a fight. Out of anger or principle, combat begins.

Forms of Combat

Not all combat is the same. Each form has its own strategies and considerations, though all use the same underlying rules system.

• Full Fledged Battle: The most common form. A large-scale, tactical engagement on a grid battle map against two or more enemy targets. All skills are available, movement matters, and positioning is key. The most time-consuming form — and the most rewarding. Good tactics can overcome serious odds.
• Duel: Combat between exactly two participants. Fast, deadly, and turn-based. Usually driven by anger or a desire to prove something. Can take place on a battle map or be handled as scripted narrative combat. There is no retreat from a duel.
• Indirect: Attacking a target from a distance without being noticed — hunting wild game, or taking down a specific target without triggering a full battle. Tricky, because a mistake can pull you into a duel or full battle. Be aware that sentient enemies may use this form against you as well.

Indirect combat takes place in the adventuring phase rather than in a formal combat round. All other forms use the combat round structure described below.

Supplies Needed

For a full fledged battle you will need the following:

• A battle map. Paper, poster board, cardboard — anything flat you can draw on. Terrain identifiers are optional; draw them in or use pre-made terrain sets if you want them.
• A ruler. Movement, ranges, and areas of effect are all measured with a ruler. The standard space size is 1 inch.
• Identifiers for every participant. Coins, marbles, rocks, bottle caps, pewter figurines — anything that can uniquely represent each participant on the map. Each identifier needs a distinguishable front to show facing direction.
• A full set of polygonal dice. You will primarily need a d20 and percentile dice, but having all dice on hand is strongly recommended.
• Paper and a pencil to record stats and battle information. Players should track their own character's stats; the GM handles NPCs. At minimum, track Vitality, Soul, Power, and armor stats — these change constantly in battle.
• A calculator. You will be doing a lot of quick math. A calculator speeds things up and keeps answers accurate. Spreadsheets set up in advance can help even more.

Determining Battle

Battles can start for several reasons. The most common is that they are story-driven — the battle happens because of an event in the narrative. Battles can also result from your character's own actions, such as provoking another character. The third type is the random encounter: a bad luck situation where you stumble too close to a den of hungry beasts or cross paths with something that decides to attack.

Random encounters are not enemies appearing from nowhere — they are surprise encounters that weren't planned. Whether or not to use random encounters is entirely the GM's call. When the GM does call for one, all players make a Luck check. If more players succeed than fail, the party avoids the encounter. If more fail than succeed, a full fledged battle begins.

Once a battle is determined, the next questions are: can it be avoided, who is participating, and are there any spectators?

Avoiding Battle

Even after a battle is determined, it may be possible to avoid it — depending on the type.

• Story Driven Battle: Use roleplay to avoid the fight. Reason with your opponent, work things out peacefully, stay in character. Whether it works depends on the opponent and the GM's judgment. An Influence check may be called for.
• Cause and Effect Battle: Harder to avoid since you caused it. Bribing or reasoning with the opponent is still possible. The GM may allow an Influence check.
• Random Encounter Battle: There may be no way out. Confer with your GM about what options, if any, exist.

Participants and Spectators

Participants

Participants are directly involved in the battle. They fall into two roles:

• Attackers are whoever instigated the battle. In a random encounter this is always the creatures that attacked the party. Players are the attackers if they struck first.
• Defenders are whoever was being attacked when the battle started. In a random encounter, players are always the defenders.

If you are part of the defending party, you remain a defender for the duration of the battle — even when you are the one attacking.

Spectators

Spectators are characters — players, NPCs, or creatures — who are not in the battle but can see it and potentially affect it. Spectators can target participants with long-range skills, spells, or weapons, and their shouts and taunts can distract those fighting. However, spectators risk being drawn into the battle as participants if they are seen and attacked by someone in the fight.

The Flow of Battle: Active and Defensive Rounds

Battle is organized into rounds. A round is complete when every participant has taken a turn. Each turn represents one participant acting, which counts as 10 seconds of game time. Once everyone has gone, a new round begins. This continues until the battle ends.

Each round is divided into two phases:

• The Active Turn is when your character can act — move, attack, use skills and spells, and take support actions.
• The Defensive Turn is when your character can only defend against incoming attacks.

Both turns are covered in detail on their own pages.

Determining Initiative

Before the first round begins, turn order must be established. Every participant rolls a 1d20 and adds their Initiative stat to the result. The highest total goes first, followed by the next highest, and so on until everyone has a place in the order.

Example: If your Initiative is 4 and you roll a 10, your total is 14. An enemy with a total of 10 goes after you. An enemy with a total of 15 goes before you.

If two or more characters tie, they each roll again to break the tie. The higher roll goes first. If they tie again, keep rolling until it is resolved.

Familiars, pets, and livestock act on their owner's initiative, regardless of whether they have their own Initiative stat.

End of Combat

A battle ends when one of the following occurs: all enemy targets are defeated, the enemy flees or surrenders and you accept, you surrender and the enemy accepts, or everyone on one side is killed. In a duel specifically, there is no option to retreat — the duel ends only through defeat, surrender, or the duel escalating into a full battle when more participants join.

Victory

Victory means you are on the winning side when the battle ends — whether through defeating all enemies, the enemy fleeing, or accepting a surrender. Victory earns you the spoils of battle:

• Experience Points: You earn XP for every enemy killed, even if you did not land the finishing blow. The GM may award bonus XP for exceptional roleplay or clever actions during the battle.
• Money: Some enemies carry money. You can search a dead body within 1 space of you during the active round or at the end of battle — it takes a full round to loot. You can also attempt to steal from living targets using an appropriate stealing skill.
• Treasure or Equipment: Like money, equipment can be looted from the dead within 1 space during the active round or at battle's end. Some items cannot be taken until the target is dead. Some treasure may be parts of the creature itself — a rare shell, an alchemical ingredient, and the like. Looting takes a full round.

Defeat

Defeat does not always mean death. You can survive a lost battle in other ways:

• Retreat: Move to the edge of the battlefield and announce you are escaping. If an enemy pursues, make a Speed check to see if you get away. Whether you escape or not, you still earn XP for any enemies killed during the battle.
• Surrender: Only possible against an intelligent opponent. Plead your case, offer money or valuables, and it is up to the GM or the opposing player to accept or refuse. If accepted, the battle ends. If refused, it continues. You still earn XP for enemies killed regardless of outcome.

Of course, if you and all your allies are killed, the battle ends in total defeat.