House Combat Rules

 

A. Bonuses to hit:  (always add modifier to skill after splitting attacks or doing aimed blows/wild swings)

            +1 level of success vs. totally helpless, unconscious, dying, immobile or completely surprised target (you cruel bastard!).

            +25% to hit surprised victim, victim in shock, etc.

            +20% to hit victim on ground.

            +10% to hit victim surprised in combat.

            +10% high ground advantage

            +1%/2 target SIZ over 20 (snaky shaped things do not have this bonus).

 

B. Penalties to hit:

            -75% if totally blind; less penalty for less darkness/blindness.

            -20% if attacking from ground.

            -10% if attacker is moving rapidly past target (e.g. on charging mount).

            -10% per SIZ of target below 5.

            -10% for attacking moving target with missile weapon.

            x1/2 (before bonuses to hit) for aimed blows, wild swings, split attacks, or wrong-handed attacks ((1/2 * (skill – Manipulation bonus))+Manipulation bonus).

 

C. Multiple parries and dodges: Against one opponent, or if >99% split against 2 opponents:  Choose 1 attack to be primary dodge at full chance (may be later than other attacks in round), then all others are -20% cumulative per attack, so third dodge is at -40% (-ENC too).  May dodge and parry in same SR and attack and parry with same weapon in same SR (alteration to RQ3 rules). Do not roll attacks, parries, or dodges before your turn in combat or else they do not count and you must reroll.

            Multiple attacks: Can be done with two one-handed weapons (or kick/headbutt with 2h weapon in hand) if not parrying or dodging (2 actions), or can be done with same weapon, splitting skill among 2 foes if raw skill is >100% (raw skill including STR/INT/DEX bonus, Fanaticism, Berserk but NOT Bladesharp, situational modifiers from above, etc.).  Second attack is always 3 SR after first; cannot be done if total SR would be >10.

 

D. Aiming high/low: Only works vs. humanoid targets. No penalty to attack; just roll 1d10 for location if aiming low; 1d10+10 for location if aiming high.  Must declare in statement of intent (we generally assume that most people/things aim high anyway, but not always for some monsters etc.).  Missile weapons, wild swings, or spells cannot aim high/low.  Aimed blow to a specific location goes on SR 10 at ½ chance (plus bonuses/penalties to hit; e.g., Bladesharp adds full +5%/pt).

 

E.  Levels of success:

            In any skill (attack, dodge, parry, or otherwise), a failure or fumble is 0 levels of success; success is 1, special is 2, and critical is 3.  If the total modified skill chance is 100% or more, then a roll of (1/100 chance, rounding normally) is a hypercritical (4 levels of success).  At 500-1000%, an 01 is an ultracritical (5 levels of success!).  Luckily we’ll probably never see such a thing as an ultracritical, but there you are.

            Dodging (always –ENC; limited by modified Swim skill when in water, or Ride skill when on mount, etc.) simply cancels out levels of success.

            Parrying usually does cancel levels of success, but see the house parrying rules.

            Attacking requires 1 level of success to be spent to hit the foe.  Any levels of attack success after that allow a choice (so 1 for special, 2 for critical, 3 for hypercritical, etc.) from below.

 

F. Combat Choices:   (always add damage bonus from STR+SIZ at end)

            1. Special damage:

                        A. Impale:        Does full weapon damage plus one rolled weapon damage; so a long spear (1d10+1) does 11+1d10+1 = d10+12 damage on an impale.  Impaling weapons are stuck in the wound (which then cannot be healed) unless the attacker rolls 1/5 of their raw (unmodified by anything except Attack/Manipulation bonus as usual) skill immediately.  If the impale does not penetrate armor, it is still stuck!

                                                Each round thereafter they may roll again to withdraw, using 1 attack option on their attack SR. Victims may withdraw impaling weapon by rolling (STR+CON-weapon ENC)x2% or less; takes 1 action and DEX SR.  A fumbled withdraw drives the weapon in deeper (takes 2 successful withdraw rolls!) and probably causes more damage.  By holding onto the impaling weapon, attacker may apply their damage bonus to the wound (ignoring armor) each round instead of attacking or withdrawing the weapon.  Broadswords and smaller bladed weapons can impale; bastard and great swords cannot unless wielded by naturally extraordinarily strong or large beings.

                        B. Slash:           Does two rolls of weapon damage; so a bastard sword (1d10+1) does 2d10+2.  Weapon sticks as above unless attacker rolls ½ of their raw skill.  The attacker may apply ½ of their damage bonus to the wound, as above.  Axes, all swords, claws, bites, etc. can slash.

                        C. Crush:          Maximizes damage bonus of attacker, up to 3d6 (18).  Only works with blunt weapons.  Never sticks in wound, but almost always does knockback against opponent.

            2. Knockback victim:  each (3 for blunt weapon; 5 for slashing; 10 for impaling) pts damage beyond victim SIZ knocks victim back 1m.  1d6 damage per m remaining to be traveled if anything is hit along the way.  (see RQ3 rules)  Alternatively, may be used to knock victim down.  Victims knocked back must roll DEXx5% or fall down; victims knocked down get no roll.

            3. Maximum weapon damage.  Just roll damage bonus.

            4. ½ armor.  Counts all armor, magical or not.  Round 0.5 up.  May be picked twice (2 levels of success) to ignore all armor.

            5. Choose location.  May hit any hit location desired.

            6. Disarm.  As RQ rules.

            7. Damage parrying weapon even more. -1 AP per pt exceeding AP of parrying weapon.   Victim’s body is unharmed.

            8. Other (do subdual damage, humiliate victim, etc.)

 

G. Passive shield protection:  Left arm is protected by buckler shield 25% even if parry is missed; target/heater shield 50% of time, kite/round shield 95%, hoplite shield covers L arm always AND 1 other location (normally assumed abdomen in melee; chest in missile combat if aware).  Add shield AP to armor AP if struck, but shield loses 1 AP as usual if it is penetrated.  Shields do not protect from behind if they are wielded; if they are slung on the back they may provide passive protection sometimes.

 

H. Effects of damage:

            1. Subtract location AP from damage and apply penetrating damage to location HP and general HP (GHP).

            2. Slashing weapons sever limbs if one blow does penetrating damage equal to 2x location HP; 1d100% of limb is gone.  You cannot take more than 2x HP damage to a limb; reroll subsequent hits to that location and ignore extra damage there. In some cases where damage is very high, hits may sever/maim a limb and then continue to hit other locations.  Giants are an example.

            3. Other body parts are severed if 4x location HP done in one blow (heads, chest, etc.).  Impaling weapons never do more than maim locations; they cannot sever or pulverize.

            4. Locations are maimed if they take 2x location HP in total damage from any sources; pulverized (~ severed without chance of reattaching) if 4x damage from non-slashing/impaling weapons.

            5. Victims with maimed or severed limbs are in shock: can only crawl/Heal/DI/call for help, unless roll CONx1% (Heroic).

 

I. Healing damage:

            1. First aid (takes full round and 5 MR thereafter before damage is repaired; roll in bookkeeping phase to stop bleeding) heals 1HP on success, 1d3 on special, 3 on critical, 4 on hypercritical.  Can only be used once/wound.  Fumble does 1HP damage.

            2. Magical healing can be used as much as MPs are available.  Severed or pulverized locations must be COMPLETELY healed by ONE spellcasting within 10 MR (1 minute). Patients in shock or dying do not recover until the SR they reach positive location HP or GHP, and then their actions have a 3SR penalty.  People regrowing severed limbs have 0 limb HP (and these HP subtracted from GHP) until they are fully healed.  Magical healing in most cases can heal damage from fire and acid, but other damage such as drowning, dehydration, suffocation, poison, bleeding, etc. must be healed naturally (See below) or with Heal Body.

            3. D.I. attempts take 1 SR; state your hero’s prayer to their god and roll 1d100 (gamble hero points as per those rules first); if under POW (+ HEP) then success.  GM determines effects based o roll.  You can DI once/wk per god worshipped per SR.  I normally allow a DI when characters are going unconscious or dying; seldom so for NPCs.

            4. Natural healing depends on the damage source.  For ephemeral damage like bleeding, suffocation, drowing, recover in 24 hrs with a CONx5% roll:  -1 on fumble, 0 on failure, +1 on success, +2 on special, +3 on critical.  For major damage like flesh wounds, poison, etc., recover in 1 week with a CONx5% roll as above.  Drained characteristic points like STR and CON generally recover at a similar rate.  Disease points do not recover without Restore Health magic.

 

J. Experience checks:

            You get attack/parry/dodge checks if you survive a combat and used those skills successfully, even if your opponent missed and you parried, or if your attack failed to penetrate armor.  BUT if you died or became Heroic from shock you gain no checks from that episode, and dead/resurrected characters lose any checks they were waiting to roll for.