Advanced Combat

 

Sometimes, encounters are not as simple as a few player characters trading blows with some bandits or bugaboos until one side stops fighting back. Sometimes people are surprised, ambushed or blinded. Sometimes people are fighting from mounts. Sometimes they fight underwater or while falling through the air. Sometimes there are dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of people fighting, and resolving things with individual die rolls at the unit level is tedious.

The advanced combat rules exist to handle these sorts of special cases, either by providing quick reference to the modifiers you need to reolve simple cases, or by providing simplified rules for handling complex situations quickly and efficiently, so that play can keep moving.

Helpless, Unaware, Surprised or Defenseless

Attacking targets who are helpless, unaware, or surprised, or any target who has no skill to defend themselves or who chooses not to defend is treated as a 21 Challenge - meaning the target does not roll to defend. Attacks using Thrown Weapons are at +4, attacks using Ranged Weapons are at +6, and Melee attacks are at +10. Uniquely, such targets can be attacked when within the minimum range of a Ranged or Thrown Weapon - in this case, the attack bonuses are the same as for Melee attacks (+10).

Targets with the Danger Sense perk can roll a 21C using their Alertness, and if successful the attacker still gets their bonus, but the attack is treated as regular attack instead of a 21C, and the defender can roll to defend.

A target who is subjected to a surprise attack can generally only be surprised once, in the first attack made against them in a given combat encounter, though multiple targets could all be simultaneously surprised with a co-ordinated attack or ambush. Once combat has begun, all combatants are considered to be generally aware of all other combatants on all sides who have been seen or who have attacked or defended in a given turn. Regaining the element of surprise requires a character to completely escape detection by all the sense of all enemies (breaking line of sight, becoming unheard, disguising their scent, etc) and then successfully sneaking to a position 8 hexes or more distant from their last known position. Once this is a achieved, a surprise attack can again be attempted.

Entangled Targets

Attacking targets who are in the entangled state, such as due to being subjected to a spell, entangled in a net or grappled or bitten in melee allows the grappler or entangler to automatically apply the strong damage of their entangling or grappling weapon, limb or bite to the target each turn that the target does not escape.

Unlike attacks made against helpless, unaware, or surprised targets, entangled targets can still defend (except against automatic damage applied by grapplers/biters as described above). All defense rolls made while in the entangled state are at a penalty of -5. If within the minimum range of an enemy with a Ranged or Thrown Weapon, entangled targets do not prevent their attacks.

Fighting Blind

When blinded due to loss of a sense, or to darkness, smoke, or some other impairment, a character or creature may be forced to fight blind. In order to attempt an attack against someone you cannot see, you must have at least one other sense you can detect them with, such as hearing, smell, or the Magic Sense perk if they are magically concealed, carrying magical items, or are themselves magical. In this case you may roll a 21C using your Alertness at -5 and if successful, you may attack at -6 with melee attacks, or -10 with ranged or thrown attack. Spells that require line of sight to target an individual cannot be used, but spells that affect an area or radius suffer no penalties.

Similarly, in order to defend against an unseen attacker, you must also be able to detect them using another sense, and then roll a 21C using your Alertness at -5. If you succeed, you can defend at a penalty of -6, otherwise, you are considered an unaware target - see above.

When fighting blind, you must suucceed these Challenges each turn, for each opponent toy wish to attack or defend against or you are unable to do so.

Mounted Combat

A mount is able to enter mounted combat with a rider only if it has the Unfazeable perk, and the rider has the Riding skill. Some potential mounts may have this perk naturally, otherwise preparing a mount to enter into mounted combat means extensive dedicated training from highly specialized trainers in order to grant them this perk.

Untrained Mounts

Mounts who do not have the Unfazeable perk will not allow a rider to ride them into combat. To the mount, this means they will refuse to approach any combatant to within a number of hexes equal to their Base Move. If a mount without the Unfazeable perk finds itself in combat (such as due to an escalation or an ambush), the mount automatically enters the afraid state (which immediately throws any untrained rider and requires trained riders to roll a 21C of the Riding skill every turn to remain on the mount). An afraid mount will flee the combat area at its maximum move, and it cannot be calmed until it is separated from any combatant by at least a number of hexes equal to its Sprint Move.

Trained Mounts

Mounts can be trained for mounted combat using the Husbandry skill. Combat trained mounts (those that have the Unfazeable perk) can be freely ridden into combat by a rider with the Riding skill, and such a rider can use their Riding skill to direct the actions of the mount in combat. As with all characters, mounts have both a Basic Action and a Combat Action. A rider can use their own Basic Action to roll a 21C using their Riding skill, and if successful, they can then direct both the Basic Action and Combat Action of the mount, while also performing their own Combat Action (or a second Basic Action). If unsuccessful, the rider can still direct the mount to perform a single Basic Action, and can perform a second Basic Action of their own (but not a Combat Action).

This means the typical range of actions available to a trained mount and rider in mounted combat are:

Rider fails their 21C using Riding skill:

  • Mount can perform a Basic Action.
  • Rider can perform their second Basic Action (such as dismounting).

Rider succeeds their 21C using Riding skill:

  • Mount can perform Basic Action and Combat Action and rider can second Basic Action
    • ie: mount moves Base Move and attacks, rider dismounts
  • Mount can perform Basic Action and Combat Action and rider can perform Combat Action
    • ie: mount moves Base Move and attacks, rider attacks or casts spell
  • Mount can perform Basic Action twice and rider can perform second Basic Action
    • ie: mount moves Base Move twice (sprinting), rider dismounts
  • Mount can perform Basic Action twice and rider can perform Combat Action
    • ie: mount moves Base Move twice (sprinting), rider attacks or casts spell

Uniquely in the case of mounted combat, a rider can launch their Combat Action at any point during the movement of the mount. This is similar to the Mobility perk, in that it theoretically permits the mount to close the distance to an on-foot enemy, enabling the rider to attack that enemy, and then allows the mount to continue their move, potentially taking both rider and mount out of range of the enemy.

Attacking and Defending to or from a Mount

While the relative position and facing of targets in melee combat only matters when shields are involved, it is more complex in mounted combat. When one or more combatants are mounted the position and facing of the mount relative to the target, the handedness of the attacker, and the type of weapons being used all matter. These factors together determine whether the mount, rider and target can attack one other in any given context.

Because a rider in mounted combat must always maintain control of the mount with their off-hand, they may only attack with their main hand. They may still defend using a shield if they have one in their off-hand, but they may not attack with their shield and they may not defend with an off-hand weapon. A rider may not use the Dodge defense.

There are two possible configurations for a mount and rider relative to a standard hex grid; either straight, or angled. Depending on the facing, the mount and rider may only attack or be attacked by targets (themselves mounted or on foot) in specific hexes, as defined below.

Mount and Rider Facings
TARGET POSITION         ENGAGEMENT POSSIBILITIES
FRONT
  • Ground target can attack mount with any weapon
  • Mount can attack ground target or target mount with Kick, Bite, Claw, Trunk
  • Rider can attack ground target, target mount, or target mounted rider with 1H Spear, Trident or Bastard Sword only
  • Rider can defend against attack from mounted rider with any 1H weapon in main hand or shield in off-hand
MAIN SIDE (right-handed)

OR

OFF SIDE (left-handed)
  • Ground target can attack mount or rider with any weapon
  • Rider can attack ground target, target mount, or target mounted rider with any non-short 1H weapon in the main hand
  • Rider can defend against attack from ground target or mounted rider with any 1H weapon in main hand
REAR
  • Ground target can attack mount with any weapon
  • Mount can attack ground target with Kick
  • Rider cannot attack to rear or defend against attacks from rear
OFF SIDE (right-handed)

OR

MAIN SIDE (left-handed)
  • Ground target can attack mount or rider with any weapon
  • Rider cannot attack target to off-hand side
  • Rider can defend against attack from ground target or mounted rider with shield in off-hand only