V: Crushing Combat!

STEP ONE: INITIATIVE

Everyone involved in the battle rolls an Agility test. Add all of these dice together and apply any bonuses to determine your Initiative Score. Whoever rolls highest acts first and the same Initiative order is followed throughout the remainder of combat. Initiative rolls work differently than normal rolls, and this is the only time you’ll be adding together all your dice instead of looking for individual Successes.

Example: Dave has gotten into a fistfight with a small handicapped child. Dave has an Agility of 1, and the Child has an Agility score of 2. Dave rolls a 3 for his Initiative on his lonely one die, and the Child rolls a 4 and a 2 on his two dice. The Child would add his dice together for a result of 6, which means he gets to act first in combat.

STEP TWO: TAKE ACTION

During your turn, you may take one Full Action. A Full Action can be broken down into two Half-Actions, which grant some variety in how you can structure your turn. Below is a list of the most common Actions you can take. Some Boons also grant additional Actions that you can take.

Move

(Half or Full Action)

You move your Speed Rating in Feet by taking a Half Action. You may spend a Full Action to move twice your Speed rating. Most Species have a Speed rating of 30, but some might have less, or more, depending on your Setting. If you are ever knocked Prone, you must spend a Move Action to regain your footing and get back into the fight.

Interact

(Half Action)

You can spend a Half Action to interact with the world around you in some small way. You can draw or stow a weapon, drink a healing potion, open or close a door, or perform some other menial task that doesn’t take too long.

Guard

(Half Action)

If you have the Combat Training Edge, you may use a Shield in battle and spend a Half-Action to take a Guard Action. While Guarding, you cannot move, but all attacks made against you until the start of your next turn negate the first Success rolled against you to simulate your shield countering the incoming blows. You may take attack in the same turn that you take a Guard Action.

Focus

(Half Action)

Using a Focus Action allows you to attack a particular spot on your target. When this Action is declared, announce what part of your target you are aiming for before your attack roll is made. Then make a Smarts test (with Knack if you have the Perceptive Boon). If you succeed, then you roll your attack as normal, with an added effect if you hit. If you fail your Smarts test, that’s fine. You still get to make an attack roll as normal, but you just don’t get to incur any extra effects should you hit and damage your target.

If your attack succeeds and does damage, you also incur an additional effect onto the target. Hitting someone in the hand might cause them to drop their weapon (forcing them to expend an Interact Action to pick it up again). If you are fighting a Monster covered in a thick, armor-plated carapace, you could use this action to target the soft, vulnerable underbelly of the thing, negating its Armor Value.

Using this Action can add a lot of drama and flair to a combat, but it shouldn’t be spammed or abused. It’s not very dramatic if you just keep targeting someone’s nuts over and over again during a combat, and the Narrator can deny use of this Action if it is being abused.

Attack!

(Half Action)

If you’re attacking with a close combat attack, roll a Vigor test. If you’re attacking with a ranged weapon, then roll an Agility test. Make sure you check to see if you gain Knack on your attack roll due to any Boons you have. Even though this is a Half-Action, you can only take one Attack Action on your turn unless explicitly stated otherwise.

STEP THREE: DAMAGE

Every attack has a Damage Code (Blue, Yellow, Orange or Red). When you make a successful attack, you deal one increment of your attack’s Damage Code for every Success that you rolled on your attack. For instance, if you are attacking someone with a weapon that deals Code Yellow (3) damage and you score 2 Successes on the attack roll, then you would deal 6 damage to them!

The more lethal the attack or weapon you are using is, the higher its Damage Code will be, as detailed below.

-Code Blue (1 damage) attacks are unlikely to do lasting damage or kill someone. Code Blue damage stems from attacks such as bare fists or kicks, thrown rocks, and improvised, poor quality weapons or attacks.

-Code Yellow (3 damage) attacks have a chance of incurring some relatively serious damage, and normally come from attacks with weapons that are smaller and easier to conceal. Daggers, machetes, shortswords, bows, and most Pistols are some examples. As a general rule of thumb, if an item is mostly used mostly for practical purposes (like a Hunting Knife, Bow or a Hand Ax) it would be a Code Yellow weapon. If it is explicitly designed for warfare, then it would be a higher Damage Code. Using the above example, a hand ax would be considered a Code Yellow weapon, while a Battleax would be considered a Code Orange Weapon. A Two-Handed Greataxe would be considered a Code Red Weapon.

-Code Orange (5 damage) attacks have a good chance of putting someone in the hospital, and require some degree of special training to make use of in combat. Code Orange damage stems from heavy duty attacks such as Longswords, Shotguns, Rifles, Heavy Pistols, Light Machine Guns, Sniper Rifles, or anything of similar killing ability. You must have the Combat Training Edge to use Code Orange weapons.

-Code Red (7 damage) attacks are particularly gruesome, and the weapons that inflict this amount of havoc are often times expensive, very rare, heavy, exceedingly destructive, and loud as heck. Using Code Red Weapons requires even more specialized training to wield. Examples of Code Red weapons are Rocket launchers, flamethrowers, heavy machine guns, greatswords, greataxes, or other implements of destruction. You must have the Combat Training+ Edge to make use of Code Red Weapons.

A note on Damage Codes: Keep in mind that this is not designed to be an all-encompassing list of weapons and attack damage, and the Damage Codes listed here can be increased via Boons. Therefore, someone who is skilled with a Pistol can do more damage than someone without the same experience and training using the same weapon.

Weapon Traits: Some weapons and armor have special Traits that apply to their use. Some Traits are beneficial, and others are not. For example, the Heavy Weapon Trait means that you must use two hands to use this weapon, it takes a Full Action to draw or stow, and you must have a minimum Vigor score of 3 or more to lug the thing around. A list of example Weapon Traits is listed below.

Silent

Attacks from this weapon make little to no sound when fired. This quality only applies to ranged weapons.

Light

This weapon is particularly light and easy to conceal, making it capable of being Dual-Wielded for those with the skill to do so.

Makeshift

This trait applies to items of inferior quality, or to improvised weapons like chairs, pool cues, or anything that can be used to smack someone in the head with, but was not specifically designed with durability or quality in mind. If you ever roll 3+ successes on an attack roll with a makeshift weapon, it shatters and is rendered useless. This quality applies to crudely made weapons as well, like toothbrush shivs or other weapons used only by the incredibly poor or desperate. The Makeshift trait only applies to melee weapons.

Light Thrown/Heavy Thrown

A Light Thrown weapon (throwing daggers, shuriken, etc.) uses Agility as its attack roll, and a Heavy Thrown weapon (throwing hammers, throwing axes, etc.) uses Vigor.

Entangle

When this weapon rolls 3+ successes on an attack roll, the target becomes Entangled. An Entangled target can take no action other than freeing themselves via a Vigor or Agility roll (whichever is higher) that scores more than 1 Success. If the target fails, they spend their turn struggling to break free. If the target succeeds, they are freed from entanglements and can act freely.

Two-Handed

Weapons of this quality require two hands to use. I mean...duh.

Versatile

This weapon can be used with one or two hands. If used with two hands, increase the Damage Value by 1.

Reach

A weapon with Reach can attack at twice the normal range of a normal Melee weapon and still be considered in Close Combat.

Unreliable

Whenever you roll an attack and score no successes with an Unreliable weapon and one or more dice come up a 1, your weapon jams, requiring a Full Action and a Smarts or Agility (whichever is best for you) test to clear. This Trait only applies to ranged weapons.

Heavy

The weapon in question is particularly bulky and cumbersome, and requires a Full Action to draw or stow. Heavy weapons can only be wielded by those with Vigor scores of 3+.

Damage Over Time

Whenever this weapon rolls 3+ successes on an attack roll, it deals an additional 1 damage to the target at the start of the target’s turn for the next d6 turns. A target can only have one Damage-Over-Time effect on it at a time. This quality is for weapons like Flamethrowers or Poisoned weapons, or even weapons that make the target Bleed for increased damage after the initial attack.

Velocity

The damage of this weapon increases the closer the target is. Velocity weapons deal Code Red damage within 5 feet, Code Yellow damage within 25 feet, and Code Yellow damage beyond this. This Trait is mostly applied to Shotguns.

Accurate

This weapon is particularly precise, either due to a scope or superior aiming mechanism. When using an Accurate weapon, you may use the Focus Action as a Free Action instead of a Half-Action as long as your target is not in melee range.

Rapid Fire

Whether using burst fire or fully automatic, this weapon can launch multiple projectiles in a single attack. Rapid Fire weapons roll each attack made with them twice, using the better result, but consume d6 ammunition with each shot. Rapid Fire weapons cannot be used to perform the Focus Half-Action due to their recoil and imprecise nature.

Stun

Whenever this weapon rolls 3+ successes on an attack roll, the target is dazed until the end of their next turn. Dazed targets cannot take any Move actions, but may act normally otherwise.

Brutal

Weapons with the brutal property tend to cause more heinous wounds than normal. Once per attack with this weapon, you may re-roll any one die that rolls a 1, using the better result for that die. You may only do this once, and if you roll another 1, then you’re stuck with it.

Radius

This weapon’s damage affects all targets (friend or foe) within a 10-foot radius. This quality is mainly applied to grenades or explosives.

Mayhem

Weapons with this Quality are exceedingly loud, messy, and destructive. Mayhem weapons are impossible to use stealthily, and they often cause horrific property damage and are in no way subtle. Whenever a Mayhem weapon is used, fountains of gore and bloodshed follow closely behind. Mayhem weapons are not for the faint of heart, or the tactfully minded! Mayhem weapons are always ranged, as using these destructive implements is a good way to fall victim to their awesome power.

Applying Damage

If your target has at least 1 Energy...

Deduct your damage you deal from your target’s remaining Energy Pool. Energy cannot be reduced below 0, so if your foe has 2 Energy left and you deal 10 damage to them, their Energy pool is 0 (not –8), and further damage has the possibility to Wound them. Remember, only those of Star Rank have Energy.

If your target has 0 Energy...

Add up your number of Successes that you rolled on your attack roll. Your opponent must then immediately make a Vigor roll (with Knack if they have the High Pain Tolerance Boon). Each success they roll on this test reduces your Successes by one. If all your successes are negated, then the target suffers no further damage. Any successes you roll on your attack roll that are not negated translate directly into one Wound per Success.

If your target is an Extra...

Each success you accrue on your attack roll against Extras knocks out one Extra. Therefore, if you are being mobbed by a gang of henchmen and you roll 3 successes on your attack roll, then you take out 3 Extras with your one attack, as long as you colorfully describe how you dispatch these clueless dolts! You are playing a Hero, dammit. Act like it.

Very Important: You cannot regain Energy for ANY reason if you have Wound damage. Even if you have Vigor 5 and are only suffering one Wound, you cannot regain even a single point of Energy until your Wound is healed.

Wounds and Pain: When you suffer from a Wound, you are in a great deal of physical discomfort. You are most certainly freely bleeding, and have probably cracked or broken some bones. Due to this, the rule of 6 no longer applies, and any 6’s you roll while you are Wounded only count as one success each instead of two. Also, while you are Wounded, your speed is reduced by 5 feet for each Wound you have.

Armor

Whenever you take Energy damage from an attack, reduce the total result by your Armor Rating (if you have one). Therefore, if someone attacks you with a Code Orange (5 damage) weapon and scores 2 successes on their attack roll, you would therefore suffer 10 Energy damage. If you had an Armor Rating of 2, then you would subtract 2 from this, and only take 8 Energy damage. Armor CAN reduce attack damages to 0. It pays to armor up!

-Armor Rating 0: You ain’t wearing nothing but a T-shirt and a smile.

-Armor Rating 1: You are wearing padded cloth armor or reinforced clothing. (Very Light Armor)

-Armor Rating 2: You are wearing sturdy leather armor. (Light Armor)

-Armor Rating 3: You are wearing metal armor like chainmail or a flak jacket. (Medium Armor)

-Armor Rating 4: You are wearing a suit of Half-Plate or riot gear. (Heavy Armor)

-Armor Rating 5: You are wearing Full-Plate or Advanced Armor. (Very Heavy Armor)

Armor and Wounds: Armor only reduces incoming Energy damage, and has no effect on Wound Damage.

Shields

If you are using a Shield in battle, that hand cannot be used for anything other than holding it. Using a Shield in combat gives you access to the Guard Half-Action in combat, which reduces incoming damage, but prevents you from moving.

Very Important: Anyone can use Very Light or Light Armor, but the Combat Training Edge is required to use anything heavier that grants more protection.

Drawbacks of Armor and Shields: Wearing Medium Armor or heavier reduces your Speed by 5 feet. If you are using a Shield, you cannot use that hand for anything other than holding the Shield. Lastly, anything heavier than Light Armor tends to make noise and impede movement and flexibility, and any stealth or athletics type rolls made using such clunky protection are rolled twice, with the worst result being used. It’s kinda hard to climb a mountain or swim in the ocean while wearing a full set of Plate Mail, you silly!

Knocked Out

Once you suffer a number of Wounds equal to your Vigor rating, you are Knocked Out. You’re not dead, but are helpless, and can be finished off by anyone with the inclination to do so. Most times, however, Extras will drag a Knocked-Out Hero back to their Villainous Mastermind employer, who will undoubtedly strap the Hero to some perilous deathtrap.

You awaken after one Hour of being Knocked Out, regardless of Rank. You can be revived from being knocked out by someone splashing some water on you or making use of the Doctor or Hearth Healer Boons as well.

Extras in Combat

While Extras pose little threat to a bold, daring Hero in a one-on-one confrontation, these industrious foes often times attack in groups of up to 5, increasing their odds of success. If a Player Character is a powerful and roaring Lion, then Extras in combat are like mobs of roving jackals who use superior numbers to make up for lack of pure potency. A group of Extras acts as a unit, and use the following rules:

-Squad Goals: Extras attack in groups of no more than 5

-Hard & Fast Rules: Extras roll 1d6 for Initiative, as well as all attack rolls, per member currently in the group. Therefore, if a mob of Extras has 4 members, they would roll 4d6 for Initiative, as well as 4d6 for all attack rolls. If 2 of the members of the mob are dispatched, then the remaining pair would only roll 2d6 for attacks.

-Varying Threat: Some mobs of Extras are more skilled than others. As a rule, untrained Extras deal Code Yellow damage. Trained Extras deal Code Orange damage. Elite Extras deal Code Red damage. Some mobs of Extras that are particularly dangerous have special abilities, like gaining Knack on attack rolls.

-One and Done: Extras do not have Energy Pools, nor can they Endure Wounds. Whenever an Extra is hit in combat, they are immediately dispatched. In fact, each Success a Star makes on an attack roll against a mob of Extras takes out one Extra in the Mob, lowering its number, and therefore, reducing its threat. So, if you’re tussling with a Mob of 4 Extras and attack them with 3 successes, then you heroically dispatch 3 of the 4 Extras, leaving one bewildered, terrified foe to watch in horror as you easily thrash 3 of his allies.

-Moar Drama Plz: Dispatching of multiple Extras in one attack roll only works if the Player gives a detailed account of how they did the deed. Combat should be all about color and action and description, not just bland die rolling. If a Player doesn’t want to go into vivid detail about how they creatively take out multiple foes in the blink of an eye, then their successful attack rolls only eliminate one Extra at a time, no matter how many successes are rolled.

Healing

Your Energy pool refreshes exceedingly quickly once the action is done and the fists are finished flying. After you have a chance to take a 5-minute breather and rest up a bit, your Energy Pool is refilled entirely.

Wounds are far more difficult to heal, however, and will not mend on their own without medical attention or the use of Healing items, Boons that heal, or special abilities that explicitly treat Wounds.

Common Treatment: If you’re playing in a setting where things like healing potions or stimpaks don’t exist, and you need to heal the old-fashioned way, then you’re looking at Common Treatment for Wounds. This normally requires a peaceful place to rest, medical supervision, and a clean bed and some supplies. While under the care of someone with either the Doctor or Hearth Healer Boons, you are allowed to make one Vigor roll with Knack after every 24 hours of rest. Each success you gain removes one Wound that you are suffering from.

Uncommon Treatment: If you are lucky enough to play in a setting where Healing items and maybe even Healing Magic exist, Wounds become less difficult to heal. It should be noted that items that Heal Wound Damage are exceedingly rare and expensive, no matter what setting you are in.

Administering Healing Items: Anyone with the Doctor or Hearth Healer Boons may add their Smarts or Presence Stat rating to the amount of Energy healed whenever they administer a Healing item to a Patient (injecting them with a Stimpak, rubbing healing salve, pouring a healing potion, etc.) This bonus does not apply when using a Healing item on yourself. Stop being so selfish!