Combat Options

Combat Options and Support Skills

About Support Skills

Support Skills apply to a particular general area of skills. For instance Quickstrike: Long Sword would not exist but Quickstrike: Swords would.

Most support skills add 3% per rank to the primary skill they support. They do NOT, unless explicitly stated, add SPEED and DAMAGE bonuses. They also may not be used as secondaries or tertiaries WHILE they are in use. If they are not acting as a support skill they may be used as a tertiary or secondary skills .

 Some support skills do not contribute to-hit or def:   Quickstrike and Quickdraw

 Some do not contribute to SPD: Called Shot, Set-Up, Evasion, Armor Wearing, Great Blow

Some do not contribute to DAM: Called Shot, Quick Strike, Quick Draw, Feint, Parry, Set-up. Evasion, Armor Wearing, Instant Attack, Great Blow.

There are three primary skills included here because they fulfill a function similar to the support skills.  These three skills are Ki Focus, Trance, and Set-Up. Their descriptions follow.

Ki Focus

Ki Focus is a primary skill that allows the user to pour KI(MEN) into damage and to-hit chance.  It takes 10 counts to do, and is good for one action.  The %-chance bonus for this is limited to the Raw Success Chance(RSC- RANK*10+LVF), and the DAM bonus is limited to the max normal damage of the attack.  Adds RANK/4 to-%-chance or RANK/8 in damage per MEN used.

It is a prerequisite for several "monkish" skills: Body Control, Iron Skin, Reduce Exhaustion.

Trance

This includes Mage Trance, Battle Trance, Ki Trance etc.

Trances are primary/support skills that allow the character to enter an altered state focused in a particular area.  On entering the trance the appropriate perception is activated and all other perceptions are cut in half.  The trance will make that perception and all applicable skills easier (15% + 3% per rank).  You must roll to enter a trance, but no success levels can be used to modify the %-chance mods.  It takes 30 counts to activate.

The %-chance bonuses are limited to the raw success chance of the primary skill being modified.

Set-up

Set-up in real counts will give you 5% per count and is limited to:

(1) 10 + KIF/2 counts of set-up AND

(2) a maximum value equal to  (RANK*10+LVF)- or the default value(saves, MAP, etc.)- of the skill being set-up for.

Do not include secondaries or generals in set-up base chance and do not include the difficulty of the skill.  Only include the RAW SUCCESS CHANCE: RANK*10 + LVF.  This is because the more difficult actions are where set-up is really needed and IMO makes the most difference in real-life.

The set-up skill allows you to double the set-up bonus per count for the first RANK counts of set-up.

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Feinting

A feint is a false attack designed to create an enhanced opportunity to strike and an opening in an opponent's defense. It is a contest between the feinter's skill at feint and the opponent's perception. Feint is a support skill.

The feinter first strikes with the feint to draw away the opponent's defenses.  The feint's speed is weapon speed(WSD) of the weapon used, divided by two.   The Success Level(SL) of the feint is determined as a contest of skills between the feinter's feint and the perception of their opponent.  Then, the feinter rolls reaction as per pre-set and attacks with the real attack.

The formula for the success of a feint is:

FSC = FSC of Feint as a primary skill(it can use the weapon skill as a secondary)

The success of the feint is based on the Success Level of the Opponent's Perception roll.  The SLs the feinter generated are then subtracted from their opponent's perception SLs.   So:

SL of feint = SL(opponent's perception) - SL(feint roll)

A successful feint adds 40% to-hit, halves opponent's defense, and increases ACT by 10.

An unsuccessful feint subtracts 40% to-hit, and subtracts 8 from the feinter's next INIT.
  

Example

Here is an example of Bob the Paladin feinting:

(BOB finishes up an action and announces he is going to feint with his sword.)

COUNT 0

BOB: I am going to feint.

(He rolls initiative, modified by his skill in feint with sword as a secondary.)

BOB: I will react in 2 counts!

COUNT 2

GM: There is a possible opening to the shoulder. (Generated by random location chart)

Bob: I feint an attack to the shoulder to draw his weapon away from his head.

(Bob determines that his sword feint-at half his normal weapon speed, then modified by his ACT points- will take 2 counts)

COUNT 4

(Bob rolls his feint.  GM rolls defender's perception.  Then he subtracts the feinter's SLs from the opponent's perception SLs.  In this case, the opponent fails[SL 0].)

GM: An opening appears at the defender's head.

(Bob rolls his pre-set initiative.  It comes to 1 count.

COUNT 5

(Bob determines how long his real attack takes including the feint mods etc-say 3 counts-)

Bob: I attack and will hit in 3 counts!

COUNT 8

Bob: I roll to hit. (Bob rolls to-hit at called shot minuses for head but at plus 40 for the successful feint and only taking half the defender's defense.)   I hit!!!  Yea!!!!

(Bob rolls reaction to do some new action that he announces now.  If he had failed the feint he would have lost 8 points of his INIT on this roll....)

Blocking and Parrying

Blocking is interposing your weapon between you and the opponent's weapon. This leads to a contest of damage between the two weapons. If the attacker's weapon does more damage (assuming a successful block on the defenders part) then that damage is applied to the blocker's weapon- but cut in half. Your forearm has no intrinsic damage, you could only apply half your punch damage against a weapon. However, the beauty of a block is that it is FAST (1/3 WSD), it causes the attacker's damage to be cut in half, and you can choose where the strike lands.

 With a parry, you deflect the strike away from you through redirection of momentum. It takes longer than a block (1/2 WSD), but if successful the attacker will take -1 point for every point you successfully parry by (you do subtract your attacker's rank in weapon * 3). It is possible to be hit through a successful parry, but damage would be cut in half. It would still hit its original target, unlike a successful block, in which case it would hit the blocking surface.

Disarm

To disarm someone one must make a successful disarm roll with a weapon:

 (Full Success Chance) + PRF + ([RANK in DISARM]*3) - (Opponent's [RANK in Weapon]*3) -30

If you succeed, the disarmed character is at -8 INIT, and must roll a (DEXTERITY SAVE)+ [WPN RANK]*3 or lose their weapon. The weapon will fly (d6-1) feet in a random direction.

Other Blocking Notes- Tournaments, etc.

A successful block has to be overcome by at least 6 points of damage to be acknowledged by the judges- so typically a block is a block.

A successful parry (brush block) needs to stop the attack- i.e. it has to give the attacker enough minuses to hit...

 If you pull so much damage that you don't do any it counts as a miss- though you do lightly tap him/her. If you do damage but it is less than 6 points of damage it becomes a judges call.

Nerve Strikes

With a grapple hold one can do a called shot(small)-hold followed by a nerve technique roll to force someone to make a system shock, or a hold followed by a called shot(small) nerve technique (this is the way Aikido does it!), or a strike (called shot small) PRECEDED by a nerve technique roll to pick the target!

 Most sys shocks from such events would be a 50% wounded sys shock. For every -30% the person took on their nerve techniques the system shock would slip one category down on the sys shock table. So an (almost)automatically fatal nerve strike would take a - 180% nerve technique roll and a successful hit/grapple to called shot(small). This would simulate better knowledge of more sensitive nerve bundles, etc.

An easier nerve technique(+30 maybe) could stun or paralyze a limb based on the system shock!

Florentine

A florentine action is the action of doing two things at once. It is fairly difficult but can be rewarding.:-)

 Mental-Physical, Physical-Maneuver, Mental-Maneuver, and Maneuver-Maneuver florentines are easier than Physical-Physical, and Mental-Mental florentines. Here are the mods:

 TYPE MODIFIERS APPLIED TO BOTH ACTIONS

 Physical-Phys: -40 to chance -4 to SPD -2 dam

 Mental-Ment: -40 to chance -4 to SPD -2 dam

 Mental-Phys: -20 to chance -4 to SPD -0 dam

 Phys-Manu: -20 to chance -4 to SPD -0 dam

 Ment-Manu: -10 to chance -4 to SPD -0 dam

 Manu-Manu: -20 to chance -4 to SPD -0 dam

 Note: A physical action is any physical action that isn't a maneuver. A maneuver is a movement based action: run, jump, accelerate, acrobatics, dodge, etc.

Armor Wearing

Armor wearing gives you 3% per RANK. There are three types of armor wearing: Light, which includes heavy leather, studded leather, quilted armor, ring mail, and light and medium kevlar vests; Heavy, which includes Chain and Scale mail, as well as flak-Jacket, and semi-rigid modern combat armor; and Structured, which includes splint and plate armor, as well as futuristic powered armor and full body, modern combat armor.

 All three are related skills 1/5 apart in order of complexity. (i.e. Light Armor Wearing can be applied 4/5 when using Heavy Armor, and can be applied 3/5 when wearing Structured Armor.)

 At every rank one gains 0.5 MVM points (value never exceeds the MVM value without armor) and 0.5 AGL points (again never better than without the armor). Unranked people gain an additional -1 MVM and -1 AGL above and beyond the standard mods.

Lunge

A lunge is an attack executed by moving rapidly forward into a deep stance and striking, thus adding momentum and penetration to the strike. It is slow to recover from because of its high commitment.

No minuses to hit.It takes half the weapon speed of your weapon (rounded up). It does 1.5*DAMAGE of your weapon (also rounded up). You move three stages of press towards your opponent. After the strike you react at +6 INIT. The Lunge support skill adds 3% per RANK to-hit, and 3% per RANK to defense while in the lunge.

 One may also use the RANK derived speed points for the recovery.

Desperate Offense

Desperate Offense is the skill of utilizing non-weapon objects, or weapons one is unfamiliar with, to do damage. WHen utilizing this combat option the object is at 1.5* its normal speed, and does 1/2 damage. However one is at +40 to use the weapon or object. 10% is taken form the crit chance (it is 10% easier to critical miss[40% higher than needed] and 10% harder to critical hit [15% of total chance]).

 The skill adds 3% per rank and One may use the rank-based SPD and DAM bonuses.

Quickstrike

Quickstrike is the art of striking quicker than normal with an attack or weapon or skill use. It is described in How to Reduce Action Speed with Speed Points on page 2-33. The skill gives one point to SPD for ever RANK. Critical effects can be applied to the value. On a critical miss SPD is cut in 1/(level of critical miss).

Instant Attack

Instant attacks are attacks in which the initiative roll is automatically adjusted to 0.  It is declared at a reaction, a normal attack is launched and then the next attack begins the sequence with an INIT roll of 0 .

The penalties are -40 for the first instant attack, -50 for the next one, and -60 for all following instant attacks.  The first instant attack is defined as the first attack to happen after the adjusted-to-0 initiative.

As with pre-sets the actions must be pre-declared at the reaction before the instant attack..  Each action must be specifically declared.  One can declare up to (RANK + DRIVE/3) actions.

Recurring loops are possible.  For instance:
I block high and then I stab him in the chest again and again and again and don't stop till he is dead...

Great Blow

A Great Blow is a massive attack with all one's strength behind it. It is 1.5*WSD(rounded up) and +4 to INIT after. It does different damage based on the damage type of the weapon being used: Slice and Chop(2*DAM), Pierce(1.5*DAM), and Crush(2.5*DAM). It is at a -30 to-hit. The skill does not add SPD and DAM bonuses but adds 3% to-hit per RANK.

Called Shots

Called shots are striking with more accuracy than a general blow (with a weapon) or using a skill with more precision.

The called shot modifiers can be found in the table Situational Modifiers on page 3-48. Remember that your critical success chance is increased by (called shot modifier/4) ! The skill Called Shot does not add SPD or DAM bonuses but it does add 3% per RANK.

Bash

Bash is the option of turning some of your weapon damage into knockback. When bashing weapon damage is reduced to 1/2 normal damage, WSD goes up by 2, and the basher is +2 INIT after bashing.

 The BASH generates 1/2 the WEAPON damage in knockback points. Damage type modifiers still apply.