Battle Handbook
-Back to Main Page
Last Updated: - March 31th, 2004
   The thing to remember with Skure is that, while it is complicated regarding rules and such, the BM will ensure that everyone knows what's going on. Everything that follows is the complete set of rules for how battles work, from start to finish. Anybody wishing to become a Brotherhood Master will have to know these details backwards and forwards. Any players wishing to increase their level of knowledge about the game, especially if they plan on becoming captains or lieutenants of the team, are advised to read through it to at least get the basics. Good luck.
    It should be noted that these rules are often under revision and may change unexpectantly. Keep yourself updated.

It is advised that you read over the details on the character sheet before continuing with the details of the battle system.
- Have a look at
Battlefield Team Positioning
Taking your Turn - A Round of Combat
   The Skure battle system is turn-based.

           The turns are played in order from characters with highest agility to those with lowest agility.

    Once all the players in the battle have taken their first turn, the first round has been completed.
    The battle continues until the objective has been reached, which is either specified by the BM or set as the default: surviving team claims victory. At any time when an action is not being taken, players are free to role-play to their heart's content. Bear in mind, however, the "time-line" of the battle. In reality, characters are not standing "waiting" for their turn. Feel free to speak and ask questions during battle.
Actions During Your Turn
Moving
   The movement in Skure is where the chess-like style comes in to play. Each character class not only has a rate of movement, but also a turning ability, a charging speed, and the type of movement they do. These rules are now formalized in the following notes:
Example Movement Rating:
3F (+1) Ground
- "3" represents the number of spaces a character can move in a turn, not including diagonals.
-  Moving diagonally requires 2 movement points


- "F" shows the turning ability of the character. Turning ability is how far the character can turn on the square they MOVED TO in order to perform their next action, like attacking.

---  If the character does not move, they may turn to any direction, regardless of their turning ability.
---  A character may turn to any direction and then move if they don't want to move backwards, but they cannot turn again after moving. This leaves the character's flank and rear exposed.

- There are three ranges of turning and one modifying rule shown at the end of this part.
- "(+1)" represents that added on movement from charging. The rules for charging are further down the battle handbook.

- "Ground" refers to the type of movement the character performs, of which there are three types: Ground, Climbing, and Flying. These three movement types are detailed in the class abilities section right at the bottom of that page.
F - Front S - Side A - All
1) F - Front - The character may turn themselves a max of 45 degrees, meaning they can face as far as diagonally left or right from their initial position.

2) S - Side - The character may turn themselves a max of 90 degrees to either side, meaning they cannot turn to their flank or rear.

3) A - All - The character may turn themselves in any direction at the end of their turn, including flank and rear.
Attacking
Here are all the rules in attacking, a move that most characters and teams rely on to win battles.
- Range of Melee attacking (default) is 1 space.
- Attacking ends your turn.
- You must directly face the target you are attacking.
- You can attack diagonally.
- You may move and then attack, but not the other way around.
- Ranged attackers count spaces non-diagonally for range (this goes for all ranged attacks, including spells and effects) - i.e.- diagonals count as 2 spaces in this respect
- An attack that successfully hits deals damage equal to the Attacker's attack rating minus the Defender's defense rating, barring all other modifiers. This is the natural damage count. It can never be less than 1.
You will not always hit --- The one thing that bothered most players in the original Skure was that your character will not always hit upon attacking. The chance of hitting depends on your speed and your opponent's speed. The attack roll rules are as so:
- Attack roll is done as a % (1 to 100) and goes by "stages":
Attacking Stage Damage Modifier
- Stage 1 - Miss or Block (Roll: 1 to 10)
- Stage 2 - Partial Block (Roll: 11 to 20)
- Stage 3 - Standard Hit (Roll: 21 to 69)
- Stage 4 - Accurate Hit (Roll: 70 to 89)
- Stage 5 - Critical Hit (Roll: 90 to 99)
- Stage 6 - Mortal Wound (Roll: 100 to 119)
- Stage 7 - Kill Shot (Roll: 120+)		 -100% (miss)
-50% (halved)
No Change
No Change
+100% (doubled)
+200% (tripled)
+400% (x5)
(recently revised!)
   The dice roll without any modifiers whatsoever (of which there are plenty) is between 1 and 100. This is called the NATURAL HIT ROLL and needs to be kept in mind for reference.
    We now move on to the modifiers for this roll. There are so many modifiers that players need only remember which ones will help them and which ones will hurt them. These two modifiers are added BEFORE the natural hit roll is made:
1) Speed Ratio - This ratio adds or subtracts from the natural hit roll according to the difference between the attacker's and defender's speeds. It has only a small bearing on the hit roll, although it DOES allow a change in hit stage (a roll of 80 +15 from the speed ratio equals 95 which is a critical). It uses the following table:
(recently revised!)
- Att Speed < Def Speed (0.50)
- Att Speed < Def Speed (0.51 to 0.60)
- Att Speed < Def Speed (0.61 to 0.75)
- Att Speed < Def Speed (0.76 to 0.85)
- Att Speed < Def Speed (0.86 to 0.99)
- Att Speed = Def Speed
- Att Speed > Def Speed (1.01 to 1.19)
- Att Speed > Def Speed (1.20 to 1.39)
- Att Speed > Def Speed (1.40 to 1.69)
- Att Speed > Def Speed (1.70 to 1.99)
- Att Speed > Def Speed (2.0)		 -25 (Awful Hindrance)
-20 (Bad Hindrance)
-15 (Bad Hindrance)
-10 (Slight Hindrance)
-5 (Slight Hindrance)
No Change
+5 (Slight Edge)
+10 (Slight Edge)
+15 (Good Edge)
+20 (Good Edge)
+25 (Great Edge)
Att = Attacker
Def = Defender
2) Positioning - Where the attacker is positioned in relation to the defender when they attack is vital for good tactics and teamwork. In large battles, one of the main objectives is to flank the enemy. This can be done on an individual level in the Skure battle system. All attack's are either front (default), flank, or rear. The positioning and modifications go like this:
- This field displays the position of front, flank, and rear attack positions.

- If the attacker positions themselves on any of the blue squares in relation to the defender and attacks, it is considered a flank attack. Flank attacks are visible.

- If the attacker stands on the turqoise squares when attacking, it is a rear attack. Rear attacks are not visible.

- All other positions (side, forward) are front attacks. The thick black square marks the melee range of attack.
- Front Attacks have no modifiers.
- Flank Attacks add +15 to hit roll before the roll is made and adds +25% damage after calculations. (+50% for Backstabbers)
- Rear Attacks add +30 to hit roll before the roll is made and adds +50% damage after calculations. (+100% for Backstabbers)
- Long-Range attacks use the same modifiers.
- Flank and Rear Attacks both allow the hit roll to exceed stage 5, and so can deal mortal wounds or even kill shots.
Charging
   A charging attack is a good way to open up the combat. It is not easy to charge, and some classes are much better at it than others. It is also not advised unless the player realizes what they are getting into. Once a character charges into combat, they are right in the thick of things, and may not last long if they don't have back up. Charging attacks can be performed within limits and have certain advantages:
- Charging attacks must be made from at least 3 spaces away at perfect horizontal or vertical points and the charger must "see" the target (i.e. the target cannot be at their flank or rear - they must within front view).

- The character must face their potential target at the beginning of their turn. If they are facing any other direction, they cannot turn and then charge.

- Charging increases the limit to which the character can move by the amount indicated in their movement in brackets. So, if a character has movement of 3 (+1), they can charge a max of 4 spaces.

- IMPORTANT NOTE: If there is no (+X) bonus in the movement column, that means that class CANNOT CHARGE. Zombies, ghosts, will o wisps, and three of the elementals and various other classes cannot charge, either because they are fully ethereal or do not have the speed or physical prowess to be able to thrust their bodies in such a way.

- When charging, a character can move no less than their regular movement. In the case above, that would be 3 spaces.

- There are two types of charges: Cut and Ram, based on the size rating of the character.

- A Cutting (C) charge means the attacker moves through the enemy to the opposite side and immediately turns in the opposite direction. So if a character cuts through an enemy from the south, they move past them, heading north, and then turn to face their enemy (south). The enemy is also gored if the attacker is no smaller than 1 size rating of the target.
- Characters size 7 and lower can only do cut charges.

- A Ramming (R) charge involves the attacker hitting the enemy so hard that it knocks them back (equal to half the number of spaces the charger moved). The charger, if they hit, stun their enemy (if they are no smaller than 1 size rating of the target) and take their place. If they miss, they simply cut through and turn around (like above).
- Characters size 8 and above can only do ram charges.

- For flying characters, the rules are the same, except that the character dives instead of charges. In the case of either a cutting or ramming dive, the character has the advantage of moving to low or mid height after they charge, even if they hit. All other rules remain the same.
- In the case of any successful charge, damage is boosted by +50% after calculations for the hit roll. Successful Cutting charges inflict gore and successful ramming charges inflict stun with 50% success.
- Charging, by itself, does not increase the chance of hitting. Same hit modifiers are added if it comes from the rear or flank, however.
Casting Spells, Using Breath, and Other Oddities
   Casting a spell or using breath is like any other action. It ends the character's turn and the battle continues. All rules relating to these particular abilities are in the spell descriptions for spells and breath section for breaths. There are only a few general rules to mention about using these abilities:
- A character may move and then cast a spell in a turn, but it costs 1 more essence point to do so.
- A character with not enough essence points left to cast a spell may still cast the spell, and for each essence short, there is a cumulative 25% chance that the spell will fail instantly and the character becomes stunned. Their essence is then reduced to 0, but not below. At 0 essence, no spells can be cast.
Aiming
   If you're getting frustrated with your attacking strategy of somewhat random hit and miss, this is where a passive offensive move comes into play - aiming. Aiming improves hitting chances and makes a great tactical move for those that like to sneak up on their enemies.
- Like any other action, aiming ends your turn. A character may also move and then perform this action.
- The character aiming must specify whom they are aiming at. Anyone can do this, including melee warriors.
- Aiming can be used so long as the potential target is constantly within sight during the aiming period.
- If a character is attacked during aiming, they keep the bonuses that they have accumulated. If the character is disrupted, however, like being stunned or paralyzed or anything alike, their bonuses are removed and they must begin anew.
- If a character does any action but aiming after they have aimed already, the bonus is removed immediately.
- Aiming adds to a character's natural hit roll (i.e. before the roll is made, like the speed ratio) as follows:
- After 1 turn of aiming, the character aiming will gain +20 to their natural hit roll when attacking their aimed target. They cannot exceed stage 7 (mortal wound) on their hit.
- After 2 turns, the character gains +35 to their natural hit roll (+20 first aim, +15 second aim). They cannot exceed stage 7 on their hit.
- After 3 turns, the character gains +45 to their natural hit roll (+20, +15, +10 third aim). They can hit at any stage.
- Aiming after 3 turns maintains the +45 bonus but does not help it further.
Defending
   If a character moves and is unable to perform any action whatsoever, this is the default action. The defending action is well-advised for those who are weak in front line combat or feel that they would better serve themselves (and the team) by being more protective. There are two types of defending and each has its own bonuses.
1) Defending Self - The character prepares to protect themselves by blocking whatever attack comes their way, including ranged attacks. It only blocks physical attacks, though, not magical. This does several things:
- All visible incoming attacks (front, side) do damage at a reduced -25% (-50% for those with SUPER DEFENSE).
- All visible incoming attacks have a -15 penalty to hit on the defender (-25 for those with SUPER DEFENSE).
- The defending bonus continues even if the character defending has already been hit.
- The defending bonus is removed if the character is disrupted (paralyzed, put to sleep, etc.)
- Defending does nothing to ward off flank or rear attacks.
- For characters with magic, 1 essence is recovered by defending self.
1) Defending Ally - The character stands in front of another to draw any attack that would normally be made on the ally they are protecting, acting as a living shield. This type of defense has other bonuses:
- All front attacks that would normally be made on the ally being protected are instead placed on the defender in front of them.

- The defender may CHOOSE to defend the ally behind them at any time. So if an ally moves into a position behind the defender, they will be protected so long as the defender allows it. This makes "Defending Ally" an instant action used to respond to enemy attacks and is allowed to be used when declaring defend or when any physical attack targets the ally.

- All damage on the defender is reduced by -25% (-50% for those with SUPER DEFENSE), but there are no hit modifiers.

- Same rules apply for disruption as on defending self.

- The defending ally action is removed if either the defender or the ally move out of their respective positions at any time.

- If the ally is attacked from the flank or rear, the defender can do nothing to help them with this action.
Countering Position
   This passive action is best used for character's with high speed. It allows the character to assume a position whereby they are ready to counter-attack any melee attack that comes their way, provided that they can see it. Here is how it works:
- Any visible (non-rear) melee attack coming at the character in a countering position has a -15 penalty to hit (like defending).
- Countering does not reduce damage if the attack hits.
- If an attack on the countering character misses (even if it's not the first), the character counter-attacks. The success of hitting is just like a regular hit: Attacker's speed minus defender's speed at base 80 success. Damage by a counter-attack is always reduced by -25%.
- Once a counter-attack has been made, the character reverts to a standing (non-defending position).
   Suggestion: Because a character is vulnerable to other attacks after countering, it is wise to use this ability not in the thick of heavy combat, but on the outside, where the possibility of being attacked by only one enemy (and no more) is greatest.
Attacks of Opportunity (AOOs)
   These attacks are made not on the character's actual turn but on their opponent's. An attack of opportunity occurs when a character moves by their enemy for too long to be safe. In moving near them, the opponent leaves themselves within range of being attacked, which the character may immediately take advantage of without spending a turn. The rules for this automatic move go as so:
- Whenever a character moves 2 adjacent spaces to an enemy in a turn, even if it is the enemy they are targetting, the enemy automatically makes an attack of opportunity. These adjacent spaces include diagonals.
- An attack of opportunity makes the same calculations for a hit roll as does any other attack at base 80% success.
- All attacks of opportunity are reduced in damage by 50%.
- When an attack of opportunity is made by a character, regardless of whether they hit or not, their ending actions on their turn which may give them bonuses (defending, countering, etc.) are not removed. These bonuses remain.
- A character can only do an attack of opportunity if the character provoking the attack is in a front position (in other words, not moving in flanking or rear area of the character).
This example above shows that the attacker moves 5 spaces south to the target. On the way there, the target's team member makes an attack of opportunity, since the attacker moved 2 adjacent spaces within their view. Even if the team member (in teal) was being attacked, they would still get to make an attack of opportunity. Once the attack of opportunity is made, the attacker continues (wounded, maybe) to the target, where they make their standard attack.
Elemental Damge and Related Add-ons
   While spells do elemental damage by themselves, some characters have added elemental damage to their regular physical attacks. A good example is the fire elemental. Whenever a fire elemental makes a physical attack, 75% of the damage dealt that would normally be physical is instead turned into fire. This has some obvious implications. If the target being attacked is weak to fire, the 75% converted damage is increased proportionately. In contrast, if the target is strong to fire, the damage is reduced. The remaining 25% physical damage (in this example) is untouched as far as being weak or strong to fire goes.
    There is also added-on damage. This damage is over and above the damage that is counted normally as physical damage. To stay along the lines of the example above, a fierce fire elemental (promoted) not only has the same conversion but adds 25% fire damage, the % being of the total physical damage dealt.
    The conversions and the added on damage is calculated in the following method:
- Conversions: After ALL MODIFIERS have been added from the attacker's position, type of attack (charge, counter-position, standard), and hit roll (weak hit, standard, critical, etc.), the % of this final number is converted accordingly. So, for example, if a character converts 50% damage to light, and after accounting for their attack that they came from the flank and dealt a weak hit equalling out to 8 damage, 4 damage is converted into light damage, and 4 remains as physical damage.
    [If the target is 50% weak to light, the 4 then becomes 6. Added to the remaining 4 physical, this equals 10.]

- Added-on Damage: The same rules apply to added-on damage as conversions in terms of when to add the damage on: after all modifiers have been taken into account. The difference here is the damage is over and above the total BEFORE further modifiers, like conversions. Here is an example. A character converts 75% damage to water and adds on 25% cold damage. If an attack is made that comes out to (after all modifiers) 14 damage, 11 of this damage is converted to water (always round up) and 4 cold damage is added on. The total = 3 physical + 11 water + 4 cold = 18 total damage. If the target is weak or strong to either water or cold, this would be changed.
Death by Elements - If a character falls dead from elemental damage, the situation becomes a little more complicated than just the standard -20 death. Although the character still technically dies, other effects take place, usually unfortunate ones. Below are all the elements and the effects of each upon death (-20 HP):
Earth - No other effect upon death.
Fire - The character turns to ashes. All revival attempts have instant 50% failure.
Water - The character drowns. Upon any revival, the character is stunned their first turn.
Air - No other effect upon death.
Cold - The character is frozen solid. They can be attacked, and any critical hit destroys them (-30).
Light - The character becomes "enlightened". If evil, all revival attempts have instant 75% failure.
Dark - The character becomes "damned". If good, all revival attempts have instant 75% failure.
Thunder - Same effect as fire - char turns to ashes. All revival attempts have instant 50% failure.
   All of these actions will be used repeatedly throughout numerous battles in the careers of active characters and non-player characters (NPCs). Over time, players will begin to understand which actions are better in certain situations, and which classes are better suited to specific actions. It is also advised that BMs learn in full detail everything that has been mentioned on this page. It is of the utmost importance in the core of how the game of Skure works.
Exceptions to The Rules of Skure
   The rules and details above are extensive and represent the game core of Skure, sure. One thing that players will begin to understand, though, is that there are always exceptions, especially if they play incredibly well.
    This is not to say that BMs will be lenient in letting players do whatever they like and the rules are just for reference. Exceptions are exceptions. Here's an example.

- A flying character does a dive attack on their target and tries to PICK THEM UP into the air and then, once high enough, drop them.
    This kind of action is not in the rulebook, but it sounds interesting and obviously can be done. If the player playing the flying character role-plays this action out well, the BM might allow it to happen, within limits. If the flying character is half the size of the target, the BM should use common sense and forget about it.
    Keep this in mind though, players and BMs alike. There can and will be exceptions.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1